Yim Si-wan (; born on December 1, 1988), known mononymously as Siwan, is a South Korean singer and actor. He is a member of the South Korean boy band ZE:A and its sub-group ZE:A Five. As an actor, he is best known for starring in the films The Attorney (2013), and the cable series Misaeng: Incomplete Life (2014), which were both successful at the box office and in the ratings. In addition, Siwan was selected by the Korean Film Council as one of the 200 Korean actors that best represent the present and future of Korea's movie scene.
Early life
Yim Si-wan was born on December 1, 1988, in Busan, South Korea. He attended Busan Gudeok High School, Busan National University, University of East Broadcasting Arts, and is currently studying at Woosong Information College. He legally changed his first name from Woong-jae to Si-wan before his debut.
Career
ZE:A
While he was attending the Chin Chin Song Festival in Busan, Star Empire recruited him as a trainee. He entered a nine-member group called "Children of Empire", where he trained for three years. In 2009, the group started doing guerrilla performances around the country. On January 7, 2010, the group debuted with their EP, Nativity under the name ZE:A. He is also a member of the sub-unit, ZE:A-Five.
Acting
Yim joined the cast of the period drama Moon Embracing the Sun (2012), playing the young version of Heo Yeom. Moon surpassed 40% ratings and gained "national drama" status, launching Yim to fame. Later that year, Yim was cast in the revenge drama Man from the Equator, playing a cold young man with a sad story behind his negative outlook on life. This was followed by the sitcom Standby (2012) and Drama Special Waiting for Love (2013).
In 2013, he starred in the courtroom drama film The Attorney, playing a young student activist detained and tortured by the police on accusations of being a communist sympathizer. The film was a critical and commercial success, selling more than 11 million tickets to become the 8th best-selling Korean film of all time. Yim won Best New Actor at the Max Movie Awards and the Marie Claire Film Festival.
Yim returned to television in 2014 and starred in two drama series. In Triangle, he played the youngest of three brothers separated at childhood, who grew up in a cold chaebol household. While in the webtoon adaptation and cable hit drama Misaeng: Incomplete Life, he reprised his role in Incomplete Life: Prequel as a former baduk player who learns to adapt to Korean corporate culture. Misaeng: Incomplete Life was a commercial hit, recorded high viewership ratings with a peak of 8.4%; and was dubbed a "cultural phenomenon". Im won the Excellence Award in acting at the 4th APAN Star Awards for his performance, as well as Best New Actor awards at the 9th Cable TV Broadcasting Awards and the 51st Baeksang Arts Awards.
Yim then took on his first big-screen leading role in the war drama film A Melody to Remember (2016), playing a good-hearted soldier who is hoping for a miracle even in a desperate situation. He was also cast in the Chinese-South Korean web drama My Catman alongside Chae Soo-bin and Kim Myung-soo.
In a departure from his usual "nice guy" roles, Yim plays a cunning conman in the crime caper movie One Line (2017). He deviated even farther from his clean-cut image in The Merciless (2017), a crime action film where he played an undercover cop who works for a drug-smuggling ring. Yim was invited to the Cannes Film Festival for the first time. The same year, Yim starred in the historical melodrama The King in Love, playing an ambitious crown prince.
In 2019, Yim was cast in the thriller drama Hell Is Other People, based on the webtoon of the same name. This marks his first project after enlistment. The same year, he was cast in the period sports film Boston 1947. In 2020, he was also cast in the disaster film Emergency Declaration.
In 2020, Yim starred in JTBC’s romance drama Run On.
In 2022, Yim starred in the thriller drama Tracer, which aired on Wavve and MBC simultaneously, and appeared in the ENA drama Summer Strike''.
In 2023, Yim held a fan concert called YIM Si wan 2023 'WHY I AM in SEOUL' on February 11th. It was revealed that he was cast for the second season of the hit Netflix series Squid Game alongside previous cast members Lee Jung-jae and Wi Ha-joon and newcomers Kang Ha-neul, Park Sung-hoon, Yang Dong Geun and Jo Yu-ri.
Personal life
Military service
On July 11, 2017, he officially began his mandatory military service. Yim was chosen to be an assistant instructor for new recruits due to his good performance. Yim was discharged on March 27, 2019.