Byeon Woo-Seok Once Failed 100 Auditions! 9 Facts About The 'Perfect Crown' Actor

One of the buzziest K-dramas right now is Perfect Crown. And it’s no surprise given that the rom-com, which started airing in April, stars IU (Lee Ji-eun), as well as Byeon Woo-seok. While IU has always been popular, whether as a singer or actress, it’s Byeon Woo-seok who has been on a steady trajectory to fame.

Perfect Crown is set in an alternate modern-day Korea ruled by a constitutional monarchy. IU stars as chaebol heiress Seong Hui-ju, who has everything except royal status, while Byeon Woo-seok plays Grand Prince Yi An, a royal with no real claim or power. The two enter a contract marriage and discover they’re more alike than they expected.

Here are nine things to know about Byeon Woo-seok.

Byeon Woo-seok’s age, birthday and height

Byeon Woo-seok was born in Bucheon, South Korea, on 31 Oct, 1991, and will turn 35 this year (2026).

Standing at a towering height of about 190cm, he unsurprisingly boasts impressively long legs, earning him the nickname "walking clothes hanger." In a humorous post shared on Instagram, he showed off his long legs, easily stepping over three steps at a time.

In the drama Lovely Runner, his striking 30cm height difference with co-star Kim Hye-Yoon, who stands at 160cm, became a detail that quickly drew attention online. Fans may also recall the viral scenes where the two appeared in the same frame, with their noticeable height gap becoming a hot topic among viewers.

Speaking about it, Kim Hye-Yoon jokingly shared that her neck would hurt from constantly looking up at him, and revealed that she often wore high heels on set to help narrow the height difference.

His breakthrough role was in Lovely Runner

Despite being in the industry for a long time, it was only with Lovely Runner that Byeon Woo-seok gained widespread fame.

The romantic fantasy drama tells the story of a popular male celebrity, Ryu Seon-jae (played by Byeon Woo-seok), who tragically takes his life, and a passionate fan, Im Sol (played by Kim Hye-yoon), who goes back in time to save him. As the male lead of Lovely Runner, Byeon Woo-seok quickly rose to popularity.

With a massive following of over 15.7 million at the time of writing, it might come as a surprise that Byeon Woo-seok has not always been this popular. This breakthrough only came ten years after his debut, making his journey to stardom all the more intriguing to fans.

He wanted to be a flight attendant

He first debuted in 2014 as a model alongside actors Nam Joo-hyuk and Jang Ki-yong, who also started out as models. While Nam Joo-hyuk and Jang Ki-yong were quickly able to land leading roles, Woo-seok continued playing minor roles.

Prior to this, he actually wanted to follow in his sister's footsteps and become a flight attendant. However, he gave up it when his friends encouraged him to become a model because of his tall stature. Over time, he grew to like acting more, eventually deciding to study drama and film in college. In 2016, he officially made his onscreen debut with the Korean drama Dear My Friends.

Byeon Woo-seok failed more than 100 auditions

Even then, his journey was not a smooth one. Despite his good looks, he was unable to land any lead roles after his debut and was stuck with minor ones. After failing 100 auditions, he doubted his decision to pursue acting as a career. Luckily for him, his perseverance paid off, and he finally managed to snag his first leading role in Lovely Runner. Since then, his career has taken off and his popularity has skyrocketed as well.

He embodies the ideal image of a first love

He appeared in many popular Korean dramas like Record of Youth, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo, Search: WWW and Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency. He also starred in the movie 20th Century Girl alongside co-star Kim Yoo-Jung, which depicts the bittersweet nature of first love.

He can play a devilishly handsome villain as well

Byeon Woo-seok's years of playing minor roles have prepared him well for his breakthrough role. Through all the different works in which he has acted, he has continuously honed and improved his acting skills, allowing him to act out the intricacies of each character.

His skills were particularly evident when he took on the role of a villain in the drama Strong Girl Nam-Soon. Changing everyone's impression of him as a 'first love' kind of character, he took on the role of a psychotic, cold-hearted villain perfectly, making viewers fall for him all over again.

He is a huge fan of actor Lee Byung-Hun

While he is known for his calm and charismatic image, Woo-seok actually has a secret fanboy side. He is a huge fan of South Korean actor Lee Byung-hun (Squid Game, Mr Sunshine) and has expressed his desire to work with him. "I hope to work with Lee Byung-Hun one day. It doesn't matter what role I play, as long as I able to collaborate with him. I would like to try playing the role of his assistant before moving on to movies".

He is a romantic at heart

As the 'maknae' or youngest member of his family, he has a very close relationship with his family. However, in order to pursue his career and become an actor he moved to Seoul alone. This shift in environment caused him to feel lonely and he decided to raise a dog named "Mochi" to keep him company.

While most male stars tend to shy away from topics about love, Byeon Woo-Seok has always been vocal about his opinions on the subject. He revealed in interviews that he has a love-hate relationship with love as he tends to be completely smitten by his girlfriend when in a relationship. "I want to continue acting and earn lots of money. But I cannot be single forever. My ideal type is a woman who is both smart and dedicated to her work"

Does Byeon Woo-seok have a girlfriend?

Byeon Woo-seok is not publicly known to be dating anyone. However, there were rumours that linked him to aKorean influencer and freelance model Stephanie in 2024 after fans believed they spotted her in photos from a trip he took with friends. Soon after, Stephanie made her Instagram account private, though neither party has publicly addressed the speculation.

This article was originally published on Nuyou and first appeared here on June 12, 2024. Updated on May 9, 2026.Translation: Nikki Low. Additional text: Michelle Lee