From melodramas to historical comedy, Jung Hae-in is a chameleon actor who boldly explores different genres and roles to expand his acting career. To help you get to know more about the dreamy yet dauntless actor, we’ve put together 10 Jung Hae-in facts, including his family, ancestry, and near-death experience in the army.
Image credit: @holyhaein
Fans of Jung Hae-in won’t have to go through two years of heartbreak while he serves in the military – the prolific actor did his military service when he was 21 years old. He enlisted in 2008 and was discharged in 2010.
Jung Hae-in shared that filming for D.P. felt as though he was back in the army. Additionally, according to an interview with the Korea Economic Daily, a Korean business daily newspaper, Jung Hae-in said that he did not put on makeup in D.P. This was because he wanted to portray a realistic image of a soldier.
Image credit: @holyhaein
The street casting happened when Jung Hae-in was 18 years old. He was in the midst of eating ice cream when a casting agent spotted him.
Street castings usually take place when a casting agent sees celebrity potential in someone based on their looks.
In fact, a casting director in New York wanted to cast Jung Hae-in after chancing upon the actor in New York. This happened during the filming of Jung Hae-in’s Travel Log in 2019, and the casting director said that Jung Hae-in had caught his eye.
You can watch his street casting here:
Video credit: KBS Entertain
Image credit: @holyhaein
Jung Hae-in originally aspired to become a researcher. He wanted to major in biotechnology, but his application wasn’t successful. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise as he decided to major in broadcast media instead.
At first, his parents were not receptive to his decision. However, they eventually gave in, and they are now his biggest supporters.
Jung Hae-in on a date with his mother
Image credit: @holyhaein
Jung Hae-in was interested in biotechnology because he was greatly influenced by his parents, who are both doctors.
His mother is a doctor in the pathology department, while his father is an ophthalmologist at a hospital in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.
Jung Hae-in has a brother who is seven years younger than him. They even made a special appearance on MBC’s Hangout With Yoo during their trip to Jeju Island in 2019.
Image credit: @holyhaein
During V Live’s Actor and Chatter in 2019, Jung Hae-in shared a personal story about how he almost died in the army.
While serving in the military, his role was to drive. One rainy day, he was driving from Daejeon to Seoul. The car broke down in the middle of the highway, and he tried to park the car on the side of the road for safety reasons.
As he started the car and began to turn the wheel, he saw huge vehicles driving towards him. If his car had collided with the vehicles, he might have gotten into a critical car accident. Jung Hae-in added that he thought he was going to die then, and it was the first time he experienced his life flashing before his eyes.
After he returned to the military base, he was reminded of his late grandfather. He believes that his grandfather was the one who protected him from danger that rainy day.
Image credit: @holyhaein
During an interview with The Sports Chosun, a sports and entertainment Korean newspaper, Jung Hae-in shared that the smoking scenes for the film Start-Up (2019) was challenging as he is a non-smoker.
He also said that there was a time when he had to work on Start-Up right after filming One Spring Night overnight. As he had to film a smoking scene on a rooftop without getting any sleep, this caused him to feel dizzy.
Image credit: @holyhaein
Jung Hae-in’s third great-grandfather is Jung Yak-yong, a Joseon Dynasty poet who wrote books on science and philosophy. Considering that Jung Hae-in’s parents are doctors, and his third great-grandfather was adept at science, we can surmise that science runs in his family’s blood.
Image credit: @holyhaein
Fans of Jung Hae-in know that he is not just beautiful on the outside, but also on the inside. He is known to have participated in various charity campaigns, such as the Fruit of Love campaign in 2020.
Despite his busy schedule, Jung Hae-in carved out time to narrate the Fruit of Love campaign video, which tells five different stories ranging from the mental health of the elderly to education on plastic waste. Also, he donated his entire appearance fee to the Fruit of Love campaign.
His acts of service extends to his personal life – he once gifted a car to his manager, who has worked by his side for six years.
You can watch the campaign video narrated by Jung Hae-in here:
Video credit: JTBC Entertainment
Jung Hae-in with singer Paul Kim
Image credit: @holyhaein
Jung Hae-in is truly a jack of all trades as he is not just good at acting, but singing as well. Thanks to his soothing voice, Jung Hae-in has had the opportunity to collaborate with famous singers such as Paul Kim and AKMU’s Lee Su-hyun.
You can watch him sing with AKMU’s Lee Su-hyun in Begin Again here:
Video credit: DJ티비씨
Image credit: @holyhaein
Although the actor maintains a lean figure with solid abs, Jung Hae-in is actually known to be a huge foodie who loves bingeing on bread and meat. During the filming of Jung Hae-in’s Travel Log in 2019, he visited Shake Shack and ate three burgers in one sitting!
You can watch his burger mukbang here.
These 10 facts are insufficient to make a judgement of who Jung Hae-in is, but it’s a great start to get to know more about the actor on a more personal level. Besides the military drama D.P., he has also played key roles in Something in the Rain, Prison Playbook, Tune in for Love, and The King’s Case Note – go give them a watch when you have time!
Also check out:
Cover image adapted from: @holyhaein and @holyhaein
Besides Incheon International Airport, the area is now brimming with cafes to visit that promise…
Famous for beautiful sunsets and sea views, Yangyang is brimming with trendy cafes that are…
Known for Apsan Park and 83 Tower, Daegu is slowly but surely becoming a tourist…
The world is your oyster, and quality time with yourself is important. Here are the…
While Gamcheon Culture Village and fresh seafood play a huge part in shaping Busan as…
Apgujeong guideIf you've had enough of Nami Island and N Seoul Tower, this Apgujeong guide…