Seung-won Cha mini-bio: Cha Seung-won (Born June 7, 1971 in Seoul) is a South Korean actor. He received an engineering degree from Mokwon University before embarking on a successful career as a model in 1988. This led, in 1997, to a role in the SBS sitcom New York Story.
Although his debut film Holiday in Seoul (1997) and many of his subsequent roles did not establish him as a major star, he attracted attention in 2000 for his performance as an arsonist in the firefighting film Libera Me. The following summer, the runaway success of Kim Sang-jin's comedy Kick the Moon (over 4.3 million tickets sold) secured his place in the industry as a leading actor with strong star appeal. All of his films since then have been box-office successes.
In early 2003, Cha took on a slightly more serious role as a corrupt schoolteacher who is transferred to a country school in the film My Teacher, Mr. Kim. The film grossed over 2.4 million admissions and drew Cha additional praise for his acting abilities. His next role, in Ghost House, reunited him with director Kim Sang-jin in a successful comedy about a man who buys a dream home, only to discover it is haunted by a young female ghost.
In 2005 Cha put aside the comic roles he had become known for and appeared in the grisly period thriller Blood Rain. The film's unexpectedly robust commercial success confirmed Cha's popularity among Korean audiences.
