Gallup Korea's Favorite Actor
Gallup Korea's Favorite Actor is a recurring survey conducted as part of the "What Koreans Like" (Korean: 한국인이 좋아하는) series. Launched in 2004 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Gallup Korea's founding, the survey is conducted every five years to explore various aspects of South Korean lifestyle and culture.
While an integrated poll featuring both film and television actors was initially conducted in 1994, the survey was split into two distinct categories starting in 2004: Favorite Film Actor (Korean: 한국인이 좋아하는 영화배우) and Favorite Television Actor (or "Talent"; 한국인이 좋아하는 탤런트). This survey is distinct from the Gallup Korea's Actor of the Year rankings for Film and Television. Unlike the annual "Actor of the Year" polls, which have been released every December since 2005 to highlight the most impactful performances of a specific year, the "Favorite Actor" survey measures long-term public preference and is released only every five years.
Choi Bool-am holds the record for topping the Favorite Television Actor poll three times (1994, 2004, and 2014). In the film category, Ahn Sung-ki (2004, 2009) and Choi Min-sik (2014, 2024) are tied for the most wins with two each. Among actresses, Kim Hye-ja holds the record for the most wins, notably topping the television category (1994, 2009).
Top 20 by Year
1994
Gallup Report November–December 1994 (Volume 15), Published on December 5, 1994.[1][2]
Kim Hye-ja, 1994 Favorite Actor (1st place)
Choi Bool-am, 1994 Favorite Actor(2nd place)
| Rank | Name |
|---|---|
| 1st | Kim Hye-ja |
| 2nd | Choi Bool-am |
| 3rd | Ahn Sung-ki |
| 4th | Choi Jin-sil |
| 5th | Park Joong-hoon |
| Choi Min-soo | |
| 6th | N/a |
| 7th | Yu In-chon |
| 8th | Lee Deok-hwa |
| 9th | Chae Shi-ra |
| 10th | Shin Seong-il |
| 11th to 15th | Go Doo-shim |
| Kim Ji-mi | |
| Eom Aeng-ran | |
| Lee Gyeong-yeong | |
| Cha In-pyo |
2004
Ahn Sung-ki, 2004 Favorite Film Actor
Choi Bool-am, 2004 Favorite Television Actor
Survey overview:
- Survey period: May 13 to 29, 2004
- Survey area: Nationwide (excluding Jeju Island)
- Survey subjects: Men and women aged 15 or older
- Sample size: 1,728 people
- Survey method: Household visit individual interview
| Rank | Film Actors | Television Actors | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | % | Name | % | |
| 1st | Ahn Sung-ki | 13.4 | Choi Bool-am | 4.1 |
| 2nd | Jang Dong-gun | 7.4 | Lee Young-ae | 3.5 |
| 3rd | Sul Kyung-gu | 3.8 | Kwon Sang-woo | 3.3 |
| 4th | Choi Min-sik | 3.5 | Kim Hye-ja | 2.3 |
| 5th | Han Seok-kyu | 3.3 | Go Doo-shim | 2.0 |
| 6th | Song Kang-ho | 2.8 | Choi Soo-jong | 1.8 |
| 7th | Shin Seong-il | 2.6 | Song Hye-kyo | 1.7 |
| Park Joong-hoon | 2.6 | Jang Dong-gun | 1.7 | |
| 8th | N/a | N/a | ||
| 9th | Jung Woo-sung | 2.1 | Chae Shi-ra | 1.5 |
| 10th | Won Bin | 2.0 | Lee Seo-jin | 1.3 |
| 11th | Jun Ji-hyun | 1.7 | N/a | |
| 12th | N/a | |||
| 13th | Eom Aeng-ran | 1.0 | ||
| 14th | N/a | |||
| 15th | ||||
| 16th | ||||
| 17th | Jeon Do-yeon | 0.9 | ||
| 18th | N/a | |||
| 19th | ||||
| 20th | ||||
2009
Ahn Sung-ki, 2009 Favorite Film Actor
Kim Hye-ja, 2009 Favorite Television Actor
Survey Overview:
- Survey Period: May 20, 2009 – June 3, 2009
- Survey area: Nationwide (excluding Jeju Island)
- Survey subjects: Men and women aged 15 or older
- Sample size: 1,700 people
| Rank | Film Actors | Television Actors | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | % | Name | % | |
| 1st | Ahn Sung-ki | 9.2 | Kim Hye-ja | 6.1 |
| 2nd | Song Kang-ho | 6.3 | Choi Bool-am | 4.3 |
| 3rd | Jang Dong-gun | 5.4 | Kim Tae-hee | 2.9 |
| 4th | Sul Kyung-gu | 5.2 | Lee Soon-jae | 2.5 |
| 5th | Shin Seong-il | 3.9 | So Ji-sub | 2.0 |
| 6th | Jung Woo-sung | 1.7 | Kim Nam-joo | 1.9 |
| 7th | Hwang Jung-min | 1.6 | Kang Boo-ja | 1.7 |
| 8th | Kim Su-ro | 1.4 | Lee Min-ho | 1.5 |
| Jang Dong-gun | 1.5 | |||
| 9th | Jeong Jun-ho | 1.4 | N/a | |
| 10th | Kim Hye-soo | 1.3 | Go Doo-shim | 1.4 |
| # | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | % | Name | % | Name | % | Name | % | Name | % | |
| 1st | Ahn Sung-ki | 8.0 | Sul Kyung-gu | 8.5 | Jang Dong-gun | 9.3 | Ahn Sung-ki | 15.1 | Ahn Sung-ki | 11.2 |
| 2nd | Kim Soo-ro | 6.1 | Song Kang-ho | 8.2 | Song Kang-ho | 9.0 | Song Kang-ho | 8.2 | Shin Seong-il | 10.5 |
| 3rd | Song Kang-ho | 5.6 | Jang Dong-gun | 7.8 | Sul Kyung-gu | 8.9 | Sul Kyung-gu | 6.2 | Song Kang-ho | 2.4 |
| Jang Dong-gun | ||||||||||
| 4th | Song Kang-ho | 2.5 | Hwang Jung-min | 5.0 | Ahn Sung-ki | 8.3 | Jang Dong-gun | 2.9 | N/a | |
| Shin Seong-il | ||||||||||
| Kim Hye-soo | ||||||||||
| 5th | Kim Hye-soo | 2.0 | Jang Dong-gun | 4.7 | Jung Woo-sung | 2.7 | N/a | Sul Kyung-gu | 1.4 | |
| # | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | % | Name | % | Name | % | Name | % | Name | % | |
| 1st | Kim Tae-hee | 7.4 | Kim Tae-hee | 5.5 | Kim Tae-hee | 3.2 | Kim Hye-ja | 7.3 | Kim Hye-ja | 13.5 |
| So Ji-sub | 5.5 | |||||||||
| 2nd | Lee Min-ho | 4.9 | N/a | Kim Nam-joo | 3.1 | Choi Bool-am | 7.2 | Choi Bool-am | 7.8 | |
| 3rd | Jang Dong-gun | 2.0 | Lee Min-ho | 3.9 | Jang Dong-gun | 2.9 | Kim Nam-joo | 2.6 | Lee Soon-jae | 5.9 |
| 4th | So Ji-sub | 2.1 | Jang Dong-gun | 2.9 | So Ji-sub | 2.1 | Go Doo-shim | 2.5 | Kang Boo-ja | 5.0 |
| 5th | Kim Nam-joo | 1.4 | Kim Nam-joo | 1.8 | Lee Soon-jae | 2.7 | Kim Tae-hee | 2.7 | Go Doo-shim | 2.2 |
2014
Choi Min-sik, 2014 Favorite Fim Actor
Choi Bool-am, 2014 Favorite Television Actor (#2)
Survey Overview:
- Survey Period: October 2nd to 29th, 2013
- Survey area: Nationwide (excluding Jeju Island)
- Survey subjects: Men and women aged 15 or older
- Sample size: 1,700 people
| Rank | Film Actors | Television Actors | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | % | Name | % | |
| 1st | Choi Min-sik | 7.5 | Kim Soo-hyun | 4.3 |
| 2nd | Song Kang-ho | 6.9 | Choi Bool-am | 4.2 |
| 3rd | Ahn Sung-ki | 6.5 | Zo In-sung | 3.3 |
| 4th | Ha Jung-woo | 3.7 | Kim Tae-hee | 3.1 |
| Song Hye-kyo | 3.0 | |||
| 5th | Jun Ji-hyun | 3.1 | Go Doo-shim | 2.6 |
| 6th | Ryu Seung-ryong | 3.3 | Lee Soon-jae | 2.5 |
| 7th | Jang Dong-gun | 3.2 | Kim Hye-ja | 2.4 |
| 8th | Sul Kyung-gu | 3.1 | Kim Hee-ae | 2.4 |
| 9th | Won Bin | 2.7 | Lee Yu-ri | 2.2 |
| Jung Woo-sung | 2.7 | |||
| 10th | N/a | Yoo Dong-geun | 2.1 | |
| Hyun Bin | 2.1 | |||
| 11th | Zo In-sung | 2.2 | N/a | |
| 12th | Lee Byung-hun | 2.1 | ||
| 13th | Lee Jung-jae | 1.8 | ||
| Shin Seong-il | 1.8 | |||
| 14th | N/a | |||
| 15th | N/a | |||
| 17th | Kim Hye-soo | 1.7 | ||
| 15th | N/a | |||
| 18th | Han Seok-kyu | 1.6 | ||
| Kang Dong-won | 1.6 | |||
| 19th | Cha Tae-hyun | 1.5 | ||
| 20th | N/a | |||
2019
Song Kang-ho, 2019 Favorite Film Actor
Choi Bool-am, 2019 Favorite Television
Survey Overview:
- Survey period: May 9–25, 2019
- Survey area: Nationwide (excluding Jeju Island)
- Survey subjects: Men and women aged 15 or older
- Sample size: 1,700
| Rank | Film Actors | Television Actors | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | % | Name | % | |
| 1st | Song Kang-ho | 10.1 | Choi Bool-am | 5.4 |
| 2nd | Ma Dong-seok | 6.0 | Kim Hye-ja | 4.2 |
| 3rd | Ahn Sung-ki | 5.8 | Park Bo-gum | 3.6 |
| 4th | Ha Jung-woo | 5.1 | Hyun Bin | 3.0 |
| Song Hye-kyo | 3.0 | |||
| 5th | Jung Woo-sung | 4.8 | N/a | |
| 6th | Lee Byung-hun | 3.8 | Lee Soon-jae | 2.9 |
| 7th | Hwang Jung-min | 3.3 | Go Doo-shim | 2.7 |
| 8th | Yoo Hae-jin | 3.1 | Choi Soo-jong | 2.5 |
| 9th | Jang Dong-gun | 3.0 | Song Joong-ki | 1.7 |
| 10th | Shin Seong-il | 2.5 | Jun Ji-hyun | 1.5 |
| 11th | Kim Hye-soo | 2.3 | N/a | |
| 12th | Sul Kyung-gu | 2.1 | ||
| 13th | Choi Min-sik | 1.8 | ||
| 14th | Gong Yoo | 1.6 | ||
| 15th | Cha Seung-won | 1.5 | ||
| Jun Ji-hyun | 1.5 | |||
| 17th | Zo In-sung | 1.3 | ||
| 18th | Hyun Bin | 1.1 | ||
| 19th | Kang Dong-won | 1.0 | ||
| Lee Jung-jae | 1.0 | |||
| Han Suk-kyu | 1.0 | |||
| Song Joong-ki | 1.0 | |||
2024
Choi Min-sik, 2024 Fim Actor of the Year
Kim Go-eun placed in Top 10 in both film and television categories
Survey Overview:
- Survey Period: March 22, 2024 - April 5, 2024
- Survey area: Nationwide (excluding Jeju Island)
- Survey subjects: Men and women aged 13 or older
- Sample size: 1,777 people
| Rank | Film Actors | Television Actors | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | % | Name | % | |
| 1st | Choi Min-sik | 8.1 | Kim Soo-hyun | 6.4 |
| 2nd | Ma Dong-seok | 7.1 | Namkoong Min | 2.9 |
| Kim Ji-won | 2.9 | |||
| 3rd | Song Kang-ho | 7.0 | N/a | |
| 4th | Lee Byung-hun | 4.7 | Cha Eun-woo | 2.7 |
| Kim Nam-joo | 2.7 | |||
| 5th | Jung Woo-sung | 4.2 | N/a | |
| 6th | Lee Jung-jae | 3.7 | Choi Soo-jong | 2.5 |
| Hwang Jung-min | 3.7 | |||
| 7th | N/a | Song Joong-ki | 2.3 | |
| 8th | Kim Hye-soo | 3.4 | Choi Bool-am | 2.2 |
| Kim Go-eun | 3.4 | |||
| 9th | N/a | Go Doo-shim | 2.0 | |
| 10th | Son Seok-gu | 3.1 | Kim Go-eun | 1.8 |
| 11th | Yoo Hae-jin | 2.9 | N/a | |
| 12th | Youn Yuh-jung | 2.1 | ||
| Gong Yoo | 2.1 | |||
| 13th | N/a | |||
| 14th | Han Seok-kyu | 1.6 | ||
| 15th | Hyun Bin | 1.5 | ||
| 16th | Song Joong-ki | 1.4 | ||
| 17th | Ahn Sung-ki | 1.3 | ||
| Jun Ji-hyun | 1.3 | |||
| 19th | Ha Jung-woo | 1.0 | ||
| 20th | N/a | |||
References
- ^ "한국갤럽조사연구소". www.gallup.co.kr. Retrieved 2025-12-21.
- ^ 갤럽리포트 1994년 11·12월(통권 제15호) - 한국인이 좋아하는 한국인 [Gallup Report, November–December 1994 (Volume 15) - Koreans Whom Koreans Love].
- ^ 한국인이 좋아하는 40가지 [사람편] [40 Things Koreans Love [People Edition]] (in Korean). Gallup Korea. May 13, 2004. Retrieved 2025-12-21.
- ^ 한국인이 좋아하는 것은? 장미꽃·박정희·가을… [What do Koreans like? Roses, Park Chung-hee, autumn…]. Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2025-12-21.
- ^ a b 한국인이 좋아하는 | 사람 - 영화배우 (2004-2009) [Koreans' Favorite People - Actors (2004-2009)]. www.gallup.co.kr. May 20, 2009. Retrieved 2025-12-21.
- ^ a b 한국인이 좋아하는 | 사람 - 탤런트 (2004-2009) [Koreans' Favorite People - Talent (2004-2009)]. www.gallup.co.kr. May 20, 2009. Retrieved 2025-12-21.
- ^ 한국인이 좋아하는 40가지 [사람편] - 스포츠선수/가수/탤런트/영화배우/개그맨/소설가/정치인/역대대통령/기업인/존경하는인물 (2004-2014) [40 Things Koreans Love [People Edition] - Athletes/Singers/Talents/Actors/Comedians/Novelists/Politicians/Former Presidents/Businessmen/Respected People (2004-2014)] (in Korean). Gallup Korea. October 29, 2014. Retrieved 2025-12-21.
- ^ Kwon, Hye-jin (March 12, 2015). "한국인이 좋아하는 연예인은 조용필·김수현·최민식" [Koreans' favorite celebrities are Cho Yong-pil, Kim Soo-hyun, and Choi Min-sik]. Yonhap News (in Korean).
- ^ 한국인이 좋아하는 40가지 [사람편] - 스포츠선수/가수/탤런트/영화배우/예능방송인·코미디언/소설가/역대대통령/기업인/존경하는인물 (2004-2019) [40 Things Koreans Love [People Edition] - Athletes/Singers/Talents/Actors/Entertainers/Comedians/Novelists/Former Presidents/Businessmen/Respected People (2004-2019)] (in Korean). Gallup Korea. May 25, 2019. Retrieved 2025-12-21.
- ^ 한국인이 좋아하는 | 스포츠선수 (PDF).
- ^ 한국인이 좋아하는 50가지 [사람2편] - 가수/탤런트/영화배우/예능방송인·코미디언/만화가·웹툰작가/유튜버 (2004-2024) [50 Things Koreans Love [Part 2]—Singers/Talents/Actors/Entertainers/Comedians/Cartoonists/Webtoon Artists/YouTubers (2004-2024)] (in Korean). Gallup Korea. April 5, 2024. Retrieved December 21, 2025.