Gang Dong-won was born January 18, 1981 in Busan, and grew up in Changwon of Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea. He is 186 cm tall. His father, Gang Cheol-woo, was an engineer and later vice president of SPP Heavy Industries. Gang's family suffered economic hardship at times and Gang had to work part-time in college to pay for his tuition. Academically gifted with an IQ of 137, Gang graduated from Hanyang University at Ansan with a degree in Mechanical engineering.
Career
2003–2004: Beginnings
In 2000 when Gang was a first year university student, he was spotted on the street by a modeling agent. Thus began his modeling career, and he appeared on the catwalk for prêt-à-porter collections in Paris such as DKNY, Gucci and Hugo Boss, as well as for the local Seoul Fashion Artists Association. After being cast in the music video for Jo Sung-mo's "I Swear," the experience intrigued Gang so much that he decided to take some acting classes. Realizing that acting was what he had been looking for his entire life, the revelation meant a change of career. He quit modeling and made his acting debut on television in 2003, playing a doctor with a regional dialect in Country Princess, and a chaebol's son in Something About 1%. In 2004 he shot his first movie, the romantic comedy Too Beautiful to Lie, which was moderately successful.
2005–2010: Career breakthrough and mainstream success
Gang's first real breakthrough was in Temptation of Wolves, the film adaptation of Guiyeoni's teen internet novel. With his beautiful, androgynous looks, Gang's popularity rose, extending to other Asian countries, especially Japan. He then briefly returned to television as an antihero in Magic, though it was not successful ratings-wise. Instead of starring in more mainstream fare, Gang surprised audiences with his next roles as an inmate on death row in Maundy Thursday, and the antagonist in Voice of a Murderer. His two collaborations with auteurLee Myung-se in Duelist and M further cemented Gang's status as one of the top young actors in Korean cinema, earning him critical recognition for his stylish flair and diverse choice of roles. Gang said that he decided to play the mischievous titular character in the action fantasy because "he wanted to work on a fun movie, as he was emotionally drained while formerly having worked on several serious films. With its strong, star-filled ensemble cast and a high effects budget, the Choi Dong-hoon film turned into a blockbuster holiday event, selling over 6 million tickets over the winter season despite opening in theaters only a week after the release of Avatar in Korea. In 2010, he was cast opposite acclaimed veteran actorSong Kang-ho in Jang Hoon's spy filmSecret Reunion. It became one of the biggest Korean box office hits of 2010, with over 5 million tickets sold. He then joined the Busan-centered omnibusCamellia, starring in Jang Joon-hwan's short filmLove For Sale. Gang's last project before enlistment was the psychic thriller Haunters.
Gang enlisted for his mandatory military service on November 18, 2010 for four weeks of basic training at the Nonsan military camp in South Chungcheong Province. This was followed by non-active duty as a public service worker at Seoul City Research Institute of Public Health and Environment. He was discharged on November 12, 2012. On the day of his release, his agency uploaded a three minutes YouTube clip of him in various locations throughout the city, titled "Gang Dong-won in a Day."
2013–present: Return to acting and Hollywood debut
In 2013, Gang appeared in The X, a 30-minute spy thriller directed by Kim Jee-woon that showcases the visual potential of ScreenX, a new 270-degree exhibition system. In 2014, Gang returned to the big screen in Yoon Jong-bin's period action film ', playing an illegitimate nobleman's son who attempts to destroy a group of Robin Hood-like outlaws in 19th century Joseon Dynasty. He next starred in My Brilliant Life, E J-yong's film adaptation of Kim Aeran's bestselling novelMy Palpitating Life about a couple who must watch their son suffering from progeria grow prematurely old. In 2015, Gang reunited with Jeon Woo-chi co-star Kim Yoon-seok in Jang Jae-hyun's mystery thriller The Priests. In 2016, Gang played a young con artist in the crime filmA Violent Prosecutor directed by Lee Il-hyung, which became the 2nd highest grossing Korean film of 2016. He also starred in Um Tae-hwa's fantasy film ' and Cho Ui-seok's financial thriller film Master together with Lee Byung-hun and Kim Woo-bin. After ending the contract with United Artist Agency, Gang signed with a new agency, YG Entertainment in January 2016. In 2017, Gang made a special appearance as Yi Han-yeol in Jang Joon-hwan's historical film '. In 2018, Gang played a delivery man framed for the assassination of a politician, in Noh Dong-seok's thriller Golden Slumber, based on Isaka Kotaro's novel of the same name. His next project is Kim Jee-woon's science fiction action thriller ', which is a film adaption based on , a Japanese animated thriller. In March, Gang is set to make his Hollywood film debut in the American disaster action film Tsunami LA.
Controversy
In March 2017, a user of movie website Max Movie uploaded a list of currently active movie actors who are descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators, and listed Gang. His maternal great-grandfather :ko:리종만|Lee Jong-man is listed in the pro-Japanese biographical dictionary, having been involved in mining business during the Japanese colonial rule and donating to the Japanese army. Because of the revelation, Gang issued a public apology; and cancelled his scheduled recording for “Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned” commentary.
