Kim Young-kwang: Netflix's Villain Is Back Smiling in Take Charge

Part 6 of 6 in The Man Dior Saw First: Kim Young-kwang

Featured photo: Kim Young-kwang in 2018. Photo: Kazoo3131 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped).

In the five years after Hello Me!, almost every role Kim Young-kwang picked was a man with nothing to smile about. He listed them himself: “A serial killer in Somebody, the No. 2 of a gang in Bad Prosecutor’s Rise, an arms broker in Trigger. In Walking on Thin Ice I played an art instructor who’s also a drug dealer.” (MBC Radio Star, via My Daily, Oct. 15, 2025) He was great as a villain, but as a fan, I’d been waiting a long time for him to come back smiling.

2022: The serial killer inside a dating app

In Netflix’s Somebody, released in November 2022, he played Seong Yun-o, an architectural designer who meets people through a social dating app. Behind that kind face was a serial killer (Harper’s Bazaar Korea; Sports Q). As he kept working with the streamer, one fashion magazine dubbed him a “Netflix semi-civil servant” (Harper’s Bazaar Korea).

594,000 views as of Oct. 25, 2026.

In 2023 he stepped back into melodrama for Disney+’s Call It Love, playing Han Dong-jin opposite Lee Sung-kyung (Disney+, Feb. 22 to Apr. 12, 2023). The same year he was a gang’s No. 2 again in Bad Prosecutor’s Rise.

300,000 views as of Oct. 25, 2026.

Also read: The Day His New York Visa Was Denied, the Model Became an Actor

2025: Three hits in a row

2025 was his year. After a special appearance as the serpent Gang-cheol in SBS’s The Haunted Palace, he faced off against Kim Nam-gil in Netflix’s Trigger in July. His character, Moon Baek, was the mastermind behind a string of gun deliveries (Woman Sense). Trigger drew 2.9 million views in its first three days and entered Netflix’s global Top 10 (Edaily), and it topped Good Data Corporation’s drama buzz ranking (Top Star News). Moon Baek’s gray hair wasn’t makeup. It was Kim’s own, naturally full of early grays (The Fact). His two cats at home are named Moon-i and Baek-i, one syllable each from that role (Top Star News, Oct. 19, 2026).

1.07 million views as of Oct. 25, 2026.

That fall, KBS aired Walking on Thin Ice with Lee Young-ae, the star of Dae Jang Geum and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. He said of her: “She looks after me, sends gifts, even packs food for me.” (My Daily, Oct. 15, 2025) The praise ran the other way too. Accepting the best couple award with him at the KBS Drama Awards on December 31, Lee Young-ae said: “Young-kwang was so good to everyone that the set was fun and happy.” (Sports Kyunghyang, Dec. 31, 2025) The same night he won the top excellence award for actors. “I played Lee-kyung in Walking on Thin Ice, and I put my heart into it.” At the end of his speech were his mother and his sister (Xportsnews, Jan. 1, 2026).

28,000 views as of Oct. 25, 2026.

In the film The First Ride, released October 29, 2025, he was Do-jin, the “sunny one” of four friends of 24 years taking their first trip abroad, with Kang Ha-neul, Cha Eun-woo and Kang Young-seok (Digital Chosun, Oct. 22, 2025). Of Cha Eun-woo, his jungle-mate from 2016, he said, “Just having him there gives me strength.” (Kyunghyang Shinmun, Oct. 15, 2025) That night was his first appearance on Radio Star (bnt News, Oct. 15, 2025).

1 million views as of Oct. 25, 2026.

557,000 views as of Oct. 25, 2026.

October 2026: Baek Ho-rang’s smiling eyes

Netflix’s Take Charge of My Heart (written by Song Yu-chae, directed by Park Su-won, 10 episodes) premiered October 9, 2026, based on a web novel of the same name. Baek Ho-rang, a chaebol heir whose artificial heart battery is running down, signs a “charging contract” with Na Bo-bae (Chae Soo-bin), a drama writer whose body runs with electricity (MHN, Oct. 22, 2026). It was his first romantic comedy in five years, since Hello Me! (Sports Q).

940,000 views as of Oct. 25, 2026.

90,000 views as of Oct. 25, 2026.

Coming back to rom-com wasn’t easy. Director Park Su-won said, “He was shy at first, but the further we went, the more he melted into it.” Chae Soo-bin said, “Watching him be shy was half the fun.” (MK Sports, Oct. 1, 2026) The same press event brought out a story about crew members applauding him early in the shoot (same source). He also handed out T-shirts made for the drama to every single crew member on set. Chae Soo-bin told that one on Yoo In-na’s radio channel: “Oppa gave one to every staff member on set.” (Newsen, Oct. 1, 2026)

780,000 views as of Oct. 25, 2026.

The result is the number at the very start of Part 1 of this series. No. 3 among non-English shows within three days, No. 2 in week two with 6.4 million views, Top 10 in 64 countries (Wikitree, Oct. 22, 2026). On FUNdex’s ranking of the most talked-about drama actors, he reached No. 10 (Sports Q, second week of October). In his own words: “Villains really have nothing to smile about. With this show, my eyes turned into smiling eyes.” (Newsis, Oct. 15, 2026)

Kim Young-kwang now

In October his Instagram (@aksakfn12) filled up with the time of this drama. On the 9th he hugged a Take Charge of My Heart package. On the 17th he posted a photo in front of a lit-up carousel with a single word, “hee” (a giggle). On the 19th he stood in front of an airport information kiosk. On the 23rd he posted himself on a yoga mat in a practice room, eyes closed, captioned “yoga boy” (Top Star News, Oct. 9–23, 2026).

What comes next is already set. In Disney+’s Portraits of Delusion, led by Bae Suzy, he makes a special appearance as “K,” a murderer and the father of Song Jeong-hwa, Suzy’s character (Jemin Ilbo). On December 19 he holds the fan meeting “GLORY ON” in Tokyo (Maxmovie, Oct. 20, 2026). In 2027 he leads ENA’s Queen of Taming as Ji-yong. He explained the choice this way: “Once I get older, I don’t think rom-coms will come my way, so I want to do them while I still can.” (Newsis, Oct. 15, 2026)

The man who first walked the Seoul Collection runway at 20 in 2006 is, in the fall of his 20th year, in Netflix’s Top 10 in 64 countries. I hope I get to see that smiling face for a long, long time.

Where to watch Kim Young-kwang (checked Oct. 25, 2026, via JustWatch · availability varies by region)

Title US Korea

Take Charge of My Heart (2026) Netflix Netflix

Trigger (2025) Netflix Netflix

Walking on Thin Ice (2025) OnDemandKorea wavve

Call It Love (2023) Hulu Disney+

Somebody (2022) Netflix Netflix

Mission Possible (2021) Prime Video Netflix

Hello Me! (2021) Netflix Netflix

The Secret Life of My Secretary (2019) Netflix Netflix

On Your Wedding Day (2018) Tubi (free) Netflix

Gogh The Starry Night (2016) Rakuten Viki Watcha

Sweet Stranger and Me (2016) Rakuten Viki wavve

Pinocchio (2014) Netflix Netflix

Plus Nine Boys (2014) Tubi (free) TVING

Hot Young Bloods (2014) Rakuten Viki Netflix

Good Doctor (2013) Rakuten Viki —

After Years of Playing Killers, Kim Young-kwang Came Back Smiling

2022: The serial killer inside a dating app

2025: Three hits in a row

October 2026: Baek Ho-rang’s smiling eyes

Kim Young-kwang now

Sources

Discover more from Seol Notes

Leave a Comment Cancel reply