(Photo : Via Getty Images)

Earlier last month, the Korean Business Research Institute released its November boy group member brand reputation rankings, which indicate which boy group members have the most public recognition in South Korea. While the top two boy group members were BTS's Jimin and V, usual suspects due to their overwhelming international exposure, I was pleasantly surprised by who scored third place: SF9's Rowoon.

Potentially less well-known to American audiences, Rowoon is, in my mind, a star who should be spotlighted. In celebration of Netflix releasing the finale of his K-drama "The King's Affection," now is the perfect time to get to know Rowoon, the K-pop idol who's commonly called the "most handsome South Korean male idol" and "man who jumped right out of a comic book." 

Who Is Rowoon?

Born Kim Seok-woo on August 7, 1996 in Seoul, South Korea, Rowoon is a member of SF9, a nine-member K-pop group signed to FNC Entertainment. With an impressive height of 6'3", or 190.5 cm, Rowoon is often referred to as the tallest idol in the industry and is known for his polite "manner legs" when interacting with staff members or other actors.

Additionally, the Korean public also knows Rowoon for his perfect, unrealistically handsome face and his sweet and talkative personality. A hard worker, Rowoon often promotes with his band members and performs SF9's complicated dance routines, despite suffering from a back injury or filming long days for K-dramas.

Rowoon's Rise

Rowoon first came to the Korean public's attention after competing in two reality shows held by FNC Entertainment, where he competed alongside other FNC trainees for an opportunity to debut. After training for six years at FNC, Rowoon finally secured his debut as part of SF9 in October 2016 with the single "Fanfare."

From the beginning, Rowoon was known as the face of SF9 and praised for his visual look. However, despite this, in a "Cosmopolitan" interview, Rowoon mentioned he hates being told he's handsome because he strongly feels that being handsome isn't enough to succeed in the industry, and he would like to be known for his talents outside of just his looks.

In addition to his work as a K-pop star, Rowoon also started acting, with his first role being Kang Hyun-il or Issue in the K-drama "School 2017." However, Rowoon received his big break as the male lead in a K-drama with "Extraordinary You," where he starred as Number 13 or Haru, the previously nameless extra who has the power to change the story of the comic book the characters are in. The show aired from October 2 - November 21, 2019, and his acting as Haru netted Rowoon multiple Best New Actor awards at different South Korean award shows.

Rowoon's trajectory continued into the next year when SF9 released their first studio album "First Collection" in January 2020, which came with SF9's breakout single "Good Guy." Despite coming from a relatively successful entertainment company, SF9 had struggled to gain traction with the Korean public, but "Good Guy" put the band on the map, and also marked the first time SF9 was granted significant artistic control over their music.

SF9 and Rowoon then received another boost in popularity in 2021 when they appeared on the reality competition, "Kingdom: Legendary War," where they competed against five other K-pop boy bands in increasingly elaborate stage performances. Further recognition also came in the form of Rowoon's starring role as the royal tutor Jung Ji-woon in romantic period K-drama, "The King's Affection," later that year.

Why We Love Rowoon

While it's easy to dismiss Rowoon as a pretty face, fans of Rowoon come to appreciate the idol for being hardworking and his talents in singing, dancing, and acting. Despite being the face of SF9, Rowoon doesn't try to steal the spotlight from his groupmates, often directing the cameras to focus on the other members. FNC also rarely puts Rowoon at the center of things, which has led some fans to joke that Rowoon is the visual who gets the least amount of push from his company.

But most of all, Rowoon's thoughtfulness and sweetness stick out. On an episode of the South Korean talk show "Happy Together," Rowoon revealed that he often is so talkative during fan-signings because he read that his fans are often so nervous when meeting him that they forget what they wanted to say. To remedy this, Rowoon often seizes the initiative and begins talking, often accidentally robbing his fans of an opportunity to speak in the process.

Similarly, in an episode of blind date show "Cafe Amor," Rowoon spoke about how he traveled across town to bring his first love tea when she was sick. This considerateness paired with his stunning visuals and sweet smile are enough to make a fan out of anyone.

Why Spotlight Rowoon

With the increase of Asian male leads in TV and film ever since the release of "Crazy Rich Asians," I wanted to spotlight Rowoon as a possible new leading man. We don't often get Asian male actors who look like Rowoon in American media due to a difference in American and Asian male beauty standards, with Hollywood often preferring a more rugged look, like Simu Liu in "Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings." Additionally, having an Asian male lead like Rowoon is also rare because Hollywood prefers to cast mixed race Asian male actors in leading roles. (Sorry, Henry Golding!) However, with Rowoon's career heating up, I would love it if he could usher in a new nuance to male beauty standards in the U.S.

And, who knows? With popular South Korean actor Park Seo-joon joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in "Captain Marvel 2," seeing Rowoon in an American film or TV show might not be such a far off dream after all. Hollywood, time to get on this!

Recommended Viewing

Rowoon on "Lipstick Prince" (2016) - Available on YouTube

Rowoon on "Masked Singer" (2018) - Available on YouTube

Rowoon's Focused Cam for "Enough" (2019) - Available on YouTube

"Extraordinary You" (2019) - Available on KOCOWA

Rowoon on Knowingbros (2020) - Available on YouTube

SF9 - "Good Guy" M COUNTDOWN Performance (2020) - Available on YouTube

SF9 - "Summer Breeze" Relay Dance (2020) - Available on YouTube

SF9 - "Trauma" Inkigayo Performance (2021) - Available on YouTube

"She Would Never Know" (2021) - Available on iQiyi

"The King's Affection" (2021) - Available on Netflix

Anyways, I hope you had fun getting to know Rowoon! Who should we profile next? For more entertainment news and commentary, check out Enstarz! We bring you the latest on your favorite celebrities, TV shows, and films.