Zo In-sung, the Man Blue Dragon Called Twice: Lead for Hope, Supporting for Netflix’s Possible Love

Featured photo: Zo In-sung at the Hope photocall, Cannes Film Festival, May 18, 2026. Photo: Gabriel Hutchinson / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Zo In-sung’s charm is that wherever you put him, the whole frame leans his way. On the nominee list for the 47th Blue Dragon Film Awards, announced October 28, his name appears in two categories: Best Actor for Hope and Best Supporting Actor for Possible Love (Good Morning Economy). Lead or the man at the lead’s side, what directors hand him is the same thing: a face audiences can’t look away from until the very end.

I’ll be honest: when I found Zo In-sung’s name on that list twice, I was so happy as a fan. And that second name arrives on Netflix worldwide on November 6.

November 6, 2026: Sang-woo in Possible Love

Possible Love follows two couples: Ho-seok (Sul Kyung-gu) and Mi-ok (Jeon Do-yeon), a husband and wife laid off from their jobs, and Ye-ji (Cho Yeo-jeong) and Sang-woo (Zo In-sung), the documentary filmmakers who set out to film them. As the documentary takes shape, each couple comes face to face with the other’s life and with the desires they’ve kept hidden. It’s Lee Chang-dong’s first film in eight years, and in September it became the first Korean film to win the Grand Jury Prize (Silver Lion) at the Venice Film Festival (Hankook Ilbo). Seol Notes’ three-part Korean Culture series on Lee Chang-dong and Possible Love runs November 4 to 6.

• The face of inherited wealth. Sang-woo is Ye-ji’s husband, a man standing in exactly the opposite place from Ho-seok, who has been pushed out of his workplace. Beneath the easy, relaxed face he wears while talking with Ho-seok at a country villa, goodwill and a quiet chill run side by side (Topstar News).
• One line from the director. “With Zo In-sung, just watching him live in front of the camera as that character was itself fascinating,” Lee Chang-dong said (iMBC Entertainment).
• Three masters in one year. Ryoo Seung-wan’s Humint in February, Na Hong-jin’s Hope in July, Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love in September: this year alone, he met audiences in new films from three great directors (Tenasia). Hope was invited to the Cannes competition (Maeil Business) and drew 4,536,360 moviegoers by October 19, the third-biggest Korean film of the year at the box office (Wikitree).
• A reunion 24 years in the making. Jeon Do-yeon, who plays Mi-ok, was his co-star in SBS’s Shoot for the Stars, the 2002 drama that gave him his first leading role (Wikipedia).

Where to watch: Possible Love premieres worldwide on Netflix on Friday, November 6, 2026 (US and Korea, checked October 29, 2026). The Blue Dragon Film Awards ceremony takes place November 25 at the KBS Hall in Yeouido, Seoul.

Filmography: from Ziozia model to Sang-woo

• 1998–2002, from model to Shoot for the Stars. He debuted in 1998 as a model for the clothing brand Ziozia, built a following in sitcoms and supporting TV roles, and in 2002 played his first lead opposite Jeon Do-yeon in Shoot for the Stars (Wikipedia).

The drama is too old to have an official trailer online, so this scene from SBS’s official channel stands in for it.

• 2004, What Happened in Bali. His drama with Ha Ji-won and So Ji-sub peaked at a 39.7% rating, and he won acting awards at both the Baeksang Arts Awards and the SBS Drama Awards (Wikipedia).
• 2006, A Dirty Carnival. As Byung-doo, a small-time gangster dreaming of a better life in Yoo Ha’s film, he earned his first Blue Dragon nomination for Best Actor (Wikipedia).

• 2009–2011, the years we waited. He enlisted in the Air Force in April 2009, served 25 months in the military band, and was discharged in May 2011 (Wikipedia).
• 2013–2014, twice with Noh Hee-kyung. He starred opposite Song Hye-kyo in That Winter, the Wind Blows and opposite Gong Hyo-jin in It’s Okay, That’s Love, and won the Grand Prize at the 2014 APAN Star Awards (Wikipedia).

Both clips come from SBS’s official channels.

• 2021–2023, never too proud for a supporting role. He played Counselor Kang Dae-jin in Escape from Mogadishu, Sergeant Kwon in Smugglers and Kim Doo-shik in Disney+’s Moving, and Smugglers won him Best Supporting Actor at the 2023 Blue Dragon Film Awards (Wikipedia).

Then came the official Disney+ trailer for Moving.

Three years ago he lifted a Blue Dragon trophy for a supporting role. This year his name stands on two lines at once, lead and supporting. I’m waiting to meet Sang-woo’s face on Netflix on November 6, and for the moment that name is called on November 25.

Sources

• Good Morning Economy: 47th Blue Dragon Film Awards nominees
• Hankook Ilbo, Topstar News, iMBC Entertainment
• Tenasia, Maeil Business, Wikitree: Hope box office
• Wikipedia: Zo In-sung
• Netflix: Possible Love