Kim Seon-ho: 7 things to know about your fave 2nd male lead and Shin Min-ah's latest drama beau

Fans of the Netflix K-drama Start-Up would be familiar with Kim Seon-ho, the cute second male lead who played the rags-to-riches good guy Han Ji-pyeong. 

Nicknamed Prince Dimple, the 35-year-old actor sent so many women swooning that he became an overnight star (more on that below) and is now helming his new series as the first male lead.

There's more to Seon-ho besides his boyish good looks — all the males in his mother's side of the family have dimples by the way — so here are seven things to know about him. 

1. Poster boy for 'Second Lead Syndrome Club' 

After starring as Han Ji-pyeong in Start-Up, Seon-ho's popularity hit the roof and he quickly gained attention for his good looks, especially his charming dimpled smile.

Many fans of the show began gunning for his character to win the girl's heart — instead of the first male lead played by Nam Joo-hyuk — thus turning him into the poster boy for the 'Second Lead Syndrome Club'. 

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His acting skills and newfound stardom bagged him countless awards such as Best Emotive Award (Asian Artist Awards), Model Star Award (Asia Model Awards 2020), and TikTok Popularity Award (57th Baeksang Arts Awards). 

2. Number of Instagram followers exploded

According to Elle, Seon-ho's Instagram following grew seven-fold from 400,000 to 3 million during the airing of Start-Up's 16 episodes. 

He currently has a whopping 5.4 million followers on Instagram at the time of writing. 

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3. Shin Min-ah's new on-screen love 

For those of us still recovering from Han Ji-pyeong's heart-wrenching ending in Start-Up, take heart! Seon-ho is now the first lead in Netflix's upcoming rom-com drama Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, a remake of the 2004 drama Mr Hong, which means he'll (most likely) get the girl in the end.

He plays the altruistic and handsome village handyman Hong Doo-shik who knows everything and is willing to do anything. 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z66fazyp3-M&ab_channel=TheSwoon[/embed]

He stars alongside rom-com queen Shin Min-ah, who plays Yoon Hye-jin, a dentist who moves from Seoul to Doo-shik's village and opens her own dental clinic.

Even though the drama hasn't premiered, fans have already come up with cute nicknames for the couple: "Shik-Hye" (a play on their names and also the name of a traditional Korean rice beverage) and "Dimple Couple". 

During a recent press conference for Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, Seon-ho spoke about the new role and his hopes for the character. 

He said: "I wish a lot of females who are watching the drama will think, 'Oh, I would like to have a boyfriend like Doo-shik'. I think that would be something really nice."  

His wish sounds pretty easy to fulfil, right folks? 

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He also said: "It's a drama that can really help people heal and I'm having fun working on this project. You get a lot of good small stories, and a lot of beautiful scenery." 

READ ALSO: Who is Han So-hee? 5 things to know about The World of the Married actress who is now in Netflix’s Nevertheless

4. Debuted as a theatrical actor 

It's not unheard of for Korean actors to first debut as a model or K-pop idol.

But before Seon-ho made his television debut, he acted in numerous stage plays after graduating from the Seoul Institute of the Arts in 2009. 

According to Soompi, he compared his popularity in theatre to an 'idol', to the point where audiences would queue onto the streets to watch his plays. 

Later in his career, he transitioned to the small screen, making his television debut with a supporting role in the drama Good Manager in 2017. 

Since then, he has been in over ten dramas such as Start-Up and Eulachacha Waikiki 2. 

READ ALSO: Who's Jang Ki-yong? 7 things to know about this handsome actor who's Song Hye-kyo's new leading man

5. Flourishing variety show rookie 

Seon-ho has been a fixed cast member of the fourth season of the Korean variety show 2 Days & 1 Night since December 2019. 

Because he was new to the world of variety shows, he gained much love from viewers for his clueless and dorky personality.

However, his mischievousness quickly shone through in later episodes as he grew closer to the cast and better understood the workings of variety show programmes. 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfFwMOl2dBE&t=1068s[/embed]

According to Forbes, he shared that the popular show helped him "heal and relax". 

He said: "At the travel destinations, I'm able to see beautiful scenery, eat delicious food, and — more than anything — relax while making lasting memories with the other members. I also think being on the show helps me to clear my thoughts. I feel like the members are always by my side." 

6. Can sing pretty well 

Seon-ho released his first single titled Reason in May. 

It was a collaboration with Epitone Project, where he co-wrote the song and performed it. He also starred in the music video. 

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He appeared in another music video by Epitone Project titled Sleepless. While he's also tried his hand, or rather feet, at dancing, it was more for laughs. 

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7. Has a kissing scene with over 13 million views on YouTube

Yes, you read that right, 13 million views on YouTube. 

In an episode of 2 Days & 1 Night, the cast members browsed through photos depicting the highlights of their careers and had to guess the chronological order of events.

At one point, Seon-ho pulled a self-portrait from his 2018 drama You Drive Me Crazy. 

One of the cast members DinDin said: "Isn't that the one with the hot kissing scene?" 

Flustered by the sudden question, Seon-ho shyly revealed that the video had — at that time — over 10 million views online. 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ciy3rV75tCU&ab_channel=MBCdrama[/embed]

Seon-ho has proven himself to not only be a versatile actor but also a talented and charming man. 

It seems pretty clear that his career has only just begun to blossom and fans can expect much more in the years to come. 

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha premieres on Netflix on Aug 28, with new episodes released every Saturday and Sunday. You can also catch Seon-ho in Start-Up on Netflix.

estherlam@asiaone.com