Kwak Min-gyu

In this Korean name, the family name is Kwak.

Kwak Min-kyu
Kwak in December 2020
Born (1987-10-01) October 1, 1987
South Korea
Alma materKonkuk University
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
Years active2013–present
AgentPrain TPC
Korean name
Hangul
곽민규
RRGwak Mingyu
MRKwak Min'gyu

Kwak Min-kyu (Korean: 곽민규; born on October 1, 1987) is a South Korean actor and director known for his work in independent cinema. He gained critical recognition for his performance in Teardrop, winning Best Actor at the Jeonbuk Independent Film Festival. Kwak further established himself with the film Move the Grave, which earned him the Best New Actor award at the 40th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards and a nomination in the same category at the 26th Chunsa Film Art Awards. His role in The Boy from Nowhere resulted in Best Actor Awards at both the Jeonju International Film Festival and the Wildflower Film Awards. In addition to his acting career, Kwak received the Encouragement Award at the 4th Bacchus 29-Second Film Festival in 2016 for his short film as a director.

Career

Kwak graduated from Konkuk University with a degree from the Department of Film. He made his professional debut in the 2013 short film Young Artists. Since then, he has developed a diverse filmography through roles in various independent films, including Do You Like Stephen Chow, Too?, The Boy from Nowhere, and Move the Grave.[1][2]

In the film When Winter Comes, Kwak stars as the protagonist Seok-woo. The story follows Seok-woo as he copes with a difficult breakup by leaving his career as a film director in Seoul to work as a bus driver in his hometown of Jinhae. His subsequent projects include a role in the drama series Summer Strike.[3] On November 22, 2022, it was announced that Kwak had signed an exclusive management contract with the agency Prain TPC.[4]

Personal life

Kwak married his non-celebrity wife on November 16, 2025 in Seoul.[5]

Filmography

Key
† Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released

Film

Feature film appearances[6]
Year Title Role Note(s) Ref.
2013 Young Artists Young-tae Bit part [2]
2014 18: Eighteen Noir Bucheon High School gang 3
Foot Volleyball King Marine Patrol
Mountain Senior Hyun
2015 The Phone Cheonggyecheon Police 3
A Black Pig Min-chul
2016 Match Manipulation DOPS #07
Her Way of Saying Goodbye
Bboongbang Bboongppong Doll Theater Tiger
2017 Rake Ki-cheol
Do you like Stephen Chow too? Min-gyu [7]
Janggi King: Garak Market Revolution Reporter 2 [2]
2018 Hongkong Melo Min-gyu
Teardrop Hong-min
Back from the Beat Min-gyu [8]
2020 Move the Grave Baek Seung-rak [9]
2020 The Boy From Nowhere Kim Soo [2]
2021 When Winter Comes Gong Seok-woo [10][11]
2022 Sophie's World Jong-gu [12]
2023 Concrete Utopia Exam takers Bit part [2]
The Conversation Pil-jae Lead role [13]
2024 The Killer Jong-sae [14]
Regardless of Us Jeong-seon supporting role [15]
2025 Journeys in Math and Genetics Min-gyu Lead role [16]
2025 Summer's Camera Maru [17]

Television series

Television series appearances
Year Title Role Note(s) Ref.
2021 Kingdom: Ashin of the North [1]
D.P.
Taxi Driver Jeon Jin-won
2022 Monstrous
Why Her Soyoung's lawyer Special appearance
Summer Strike Bae Seong-min Supporting role
2023 Taxi Driver 2 Assistant Advertising Director Cameo appearance
2025 You and Everything Else Joo Do-hyang Supporting role [18]
2026 Can This Love Be Translated? Park In-su [19][20]

Music video

Music video appearances
Year Title Artist(s) Ref.
2015 "Gondry" (공드리) Oh Hyuk (with Primary feat. Lim Kim) [21]

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination
Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result Ref.
The 4th Bacchus 29-Second Film Festival 2016 General Encouragement Award (Director) Bacchus Me Won [22]
26th Chunsa Film Art Awards 2021 Best New Actor Move the Grave Nominated [23]
18th Jeonbuk Independent Film Festival 2018 Best Actor Teardrop Won [24][25]
20th Jeonju International Film Festival 2019 Best Actor The Boy from Nowhere Won [26]
40th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards 2020 Best New Actor Move the Grave Won [27]
8th Wildflower Film Awards 2021 Best Actor Award The Boy from Nowhere Won [28]

References

  1. ^ a b "Kwak Min-gyu Tag". 마리끌레르 코리아 | Marie Claire Korea (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e "곽민규". cine21.com (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  3. ^ 이투데이 (November 20, 2022). ""버스기사 연기하려 면허부터 땄죠"...곽민규가 '창밖은 겨울'에서 한 일". 이투데이 (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  4. ^ www.tenasia.co.kr, Digital (November 22, 2022). "곽민규, 프레인TPC와 전속계약…이세영·오정세와 한솥밥". 텐아시아 (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  5. ^ "[단독]'은중과 상연' 곽민규, 16일 깜짝 결혼…♥아내는 비연예인". m.entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  6. ^ www.tenasia.co.kr, Digital (August 25, 2016). "박카스 29초 영화제, 29초 안에 담은 청춘의 고민(종합)". 텐아시아 (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  7. ^ 17_당신도 주성치를 좋아하시나요?. filmdabin (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  8. ^ 곽민규 - 청년의 초상 (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026 – via naver.
  9. ^ [포토] 영화 ‘이장’ 곽민규, 누나들에게 의지했어요. 스포츠동아 (in Korean). February 20, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  10. ^ Park, Jae-hwan (November 1, 2022). 보통의 청춘" 곽민규-한선화 '창밖은 겨울" 이달 말 개봉 ["Ordinary Youth" star Kwak Min-kyu and Han Sun-hwa in "When Winter Comes," opening later this month.]. KBS Media (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  11. ^ Bae, Hyo-joo (November 16, 2022). ‘창밖은 겨울’ 한선화 “몸에 안 좋은 흡연 연기 도전 힘들었다” [Han Sun-hwa of "When Winter Comes": "It was difficult to face the challenge of smoking, which is bad for your health."]. Newsen (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  12. ^ "곽민규 "시나리오 읽다 냄비 태워…현장, 최고의 복지" (소피의세계)[종합]". m.entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  13. ^ [SR문화] '컨버세이션', 썸띵 스페셜 포스터 공개.
  14. ^ '더 킬러스' 곽민규, 킬러 변신…심은경과 호흡 (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026 – via Daum.
  15. ^ 우리와 상관없이. filmdabin (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  16. ^ 영화 [수학영재 형주] 상세정보. 씨네21 (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  17. ^ 곽민규, '여름의 카메라'로 제26회 전주국제영화제 참석 (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026 – via naver.
  18. ^ "'은중과 상연' 곽민규, 영화감독 변신…현실감 더하는 연기로 몰입 UP". 글로벌에픽 (in Korean). September 25, 2025. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  19. ^ Lee, Sang-min (January 22, 2026). 김선호 고윤정 주연 '이 사랑 통역 되나요', 글로벌 흥행 - 중앙이코노미뉴스 ["Lost in Translation," starring Kim Seon-ho and Go Yoon-jung, is a global hit]. JoongAng Economy News (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 24, 2026. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
  20. ^ "'이 사랑 통역 되나요?' 곽민규, 디테일 살린 연기로 존재감 각인!". m.entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  21. ^ 1theK (원더케이) (March 23, 2015). [MV] PRIMARY(프라이머리), OHHYUK(오혁) _ Gondry(공드리) (Feat. Lim Kim(김예림)). Retrieved March 6, 2026 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ "29초영화제". www.29sfilm.com (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  23. ^ "[포토] 곽민규, '신인 남우상 수상자'". m.entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  24. ^ 기자, 안병길 (April 24, 2025). "곽민규, 전주영화제 레드 카펫 밟는다". 스포츠경향 (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  25. ^ 조재영 (May 5, 2020). "세상을 향한 작은 날갯짓…영화 '슈팅걸스' '파도를 걷는 소년' | 연합뉴스". 연합뉴스 (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  26. ^ "전주국제영화제 아카이브 | JEONJU International Film Festival". JEONJU Intl. Film Festival. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  27. ^ "'이장' 곽민규, 신인남우상 수상 "대사 10마디도 안 되는데…감사해" [제40회 영평상] : 네이트 연예". 네이트 뉴스 (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  28. ^ 남선우 (May 25, 2021). "들꽃영화상 대상 수상". 씨네21 (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2026.

 

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