Yumi’s Cells 3: Kim Jae-won blows up in popularity! 5 things to know about the charm of this puppy-like younger guy, whose views on love are actually the same as Reindeer PD?

The hit K-drama “Yumi’s Cells” 3 recently brought the series to a close. If you’ve followed it faithfully to the end, chances are that, like Yumi, your heart was quietly captured at some point by the final season’s male lead, “Reindeer PD.” His calm, restrained, nuanced performance has won him plenty of fans, and in recent interviews, he thanked everyone for their support and shared that he is actually very similar to his character. Since he’s already stirred your love cells in the drama, this rising young actor is certainly worth getting to know in real life, too.

• Related reading: The three male leads of “Yumi’s Cells”: Goo Woong, Yoo Babi, and Shin Soonrok. Yumi’s eventual romance with a younger man is really about finally being willing to love herself.

A promising young talent you can’t ignore

Born in 2001, Kim Jae-won turns 25 this year. He first entered the fashion world as a model before officially transitioning to acting in 2021. At 187 cm tall, with proportions and features worthy of a “manhwa prince,” he looks as if he stepped out of a girls’ comic, drawing attention from the fashion and entertainment industries from the start of his career. His clean-cut, sharp, adaptable image has also often placed him alongside fellow actors born after 2000, such as Lee Chae-min and Moon Sang-min, as a promising newcomer with looks and acting ability.

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A sunshine guy with a built-in logical mind

Kim Jae-won’s MBTI type is ENTJ, like “Reindeer PD” in “Yumi’s Cells 3”; both are rational, planner types. At work, he likes to plan out every step in advance and get things done with precision and efficiency. In everyday life, though, he shifts into a different mode. He enjoys traveling, loves sports, and likes connecting with people, with an energy that is lively and upbeat.

 

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He’s a lovable big puppy with an unexpected side, too

In “Yumi’s Cells 3,” Shin Soonrok is an elite editor who is so rational he’s almost restrained, yet off the clock, he’s an introverted homebody who stays in on his days off. Kim Jae-won portrays this striking contrast with nuance and appeal. In real life, he is also an adorably dorky big puppy full of unexpected charm. He may look cool and reserved, yet his disarming dimples and crescent-shaped smiling eyes appear when he smiles. He’s undeniably a dog person and loves to be affectionate in private; even his friends say he is very similar to his character in the drama.

Speaking of Kim Jae-won’s unexpected charm, it’s impossible not to mention the dorky appeal he showed after becoming the host of a music program earlier this year. Not particularly skilled at dancing, he looked a little stiff during the dance challenge segments, yet he still worked hard to keep up. His earnest, slightly awkward expression was real and adorable, winning him plenty of fans.

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The perfect younger-guy charm

Kim Jae-won made countless viewers’ hearts flutter in his role as a younger man this time around, and his real-life dating style is just as direct. Once he has his heart set on someone, he doesn’t tend to weigh the pros and cons; he simply wants to do his best for that person and be honest with the one he loves. Much like Shin Soonrok, who breaks every rule for Yumi and even tears down the “tower of principles” he built over 29 years. As for the type everyone is curious about, he has openly said, “As long as we get along, age isn’t a problem.”

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With a solid foundation in place, may the road ahead be filled with success!

Just five years into his career, Kim Jae-won first saw his profile soar after playing the younger version of Cha Seung-won’s character Han-su in “Our Blues,” and he has since built up an impressive body of work. From the gentle, handsome flight attendant Lee Ro-woon in “King the Land,” to chaebol heir Kim Ri-an in “Hierarchy,” to Kang Ji-hwan, a male escort at a hotel who goes from calculating to sincerely falling in love in “Sera’s True Life,” his memorable performances have made him impossible to overlook.

After sparking another wave of discussion with “Yumi’s Cells 3,” Kim Jae-won is set to make his official move to the big screen in his first leading film, “My First Graduation Ceremony,” where he will take on the role of a high school student with antisocial personality disorder. He may also join Park Eun-bin in the new historical drama “A Dog Flower in the Palace,” so there are sure to be even more sides of him for audiences to discover.

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