Since his breakthrough as a pretty playboy in Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Song Joong-ki has been a mainstay in Korean dramas. The actor has made a name for himself playing witty, handsome, and sometimes dangerous characters. Coming a long way from his “flower boy” roots, Song has become an international leading man who has captured the hearts of millions.
As known for his personal life as his acting, Song has amassed a body of work ranging from high-profile studio dramas to low-budget indie films. Song cemented his place in Korea’s stacked acting scene as one of the original cast members of the hit variety show Running Man and with his career-defining turn in the massive Descendants of the Sun — and with every new project, his star continues to rise.
Song has an eye for roles with more meat to them than one might expect of someone who made his start playing ridiculously good-looking womanizers, but this leading man has carefully avoided getting type-casted and isn’t afraid of switching it up when it comes to the characters he’s drawn to. From romance to thrillers, Song’s filmography has a little something for everyone whether you’re a long-time fan or new to the Korean film industry. Here are our 10 favorite Song Joong-ki movies and TV shows.
10. Little Women
Song Joong-ki only has a cameo appearance in this drama but don’t let that stop you from watching; there’s a reason this drama made our list. Little Women is a riveting tale of three sisters who become entangled in a wealthy, dangerous game when the death of a friend leaves the eldest sister with an incredibly large sum of money.
Song’s role is a tie-in with his Vincenzo character and although his role is small, he leaves a big impact on the sisters, giving information that sets the eldest on a new path.
9. Arthdal Chronicles
While this drama received mixed to negative reviews, Song admirably gives one of his best performances in Arthdal Chronicles. This Netflix drama is marketed as Korea’s first ancient fantasy drama, loosely based on the legend of god-king Dangun, the founder of the first Korean kingdom, and reunites Song with his former Descendants of the Sun co-star Kim Ji-won.
In the mythical land of Arth, tensions are high as the residents are on the cusp of ushering in a new civilization and power struggles ensue. The political drama and fantasy elements make this a fun watch — that is, if you can get past the copious amounts of tribal makeup and mistreatment allegations from the crew.
8. Reborn Rich
In his most recent drama, Song plays the loyal secretary of one of Korea’s wealthiest business empires. Despite his loyalty to the Sunyang group, he is betrayed by the family, framed for embezzlement, and subsequently murdered. Shortly after his death, he wakes up in 1987 realizing he’s been “reborn” as Do-jun, the youngest member of the influential family and he hatches a plan to destroy the company from the inside out.
It’s a twist on a common K-drama trope; instead of being reincarnated in the future, Song’s character is somehow reborn in the past, giving Do-jun the gift of foresight from his “past” life. The drama, based on the webtoon of the same name, has proven to be a massive hit and showcases Song’s versatility as an actor.
7. The Battleship Island
Based on a true story, this period film is set during World War II on Hashima Island, a forced labor camp created during the height of the Japanese occupation. This grim historical action film paints a picture of suffering and incredible endurance as 400 Korean prisoners attempt a daring escape from their inhuman conditions. In The Battleship Island, Song Joong-ki plays against type as a hardened freedom fighter on a rescue mission who viewers might find difficult to swoon over.
The movie has an ensemble cast with Hwang Jung-min playing a devoted father, So Ji-sub as a street fighter with a hidden heart of gold, and first-generation K-Pop star Lee Jung-hyun as a comfort woman who hasn’t lost her hope for a better reality. Be warned that this is a difficult watch, but Song (and the rest of the star-studded cast) shines in this intense film while bringing attention to a dark time in history.
6. Space Sweepers
Sci-fi film Space Sweepers paints a grim picture of our planet’s future; in the year 2092, Earth is no longer inhabitable and society’s wealthy elite live on a floating habitat created by a powerful corporation while the rest of humanity tries to survive on what’s left of our planet. Song Joong-ki plays Kim Tae-ho, a spaceship pilot who’s obsessed with making as much money as he possibly can.
Things suddenly change for Tae-ho and his crew — made up of a diverse cast including Kim Tae-ri, Richard Armitage, Jin Seon-kyu, and Anupam Tripathi — when they find a dangerous robot resembling a young child and unravel dark secrets related to a mysterious terrorist organization. If Song isn’t enough to spark your interest, the high-budget space film, a first for Korean cinema, also offers commentary on late-stage capitalism and the space race.
5. The Innocent Man
One of the more dramatic entries on this list, Song Joong-ki stars as Maru, a promising medical student with a bright future who’s in love with his slightly older journalist neighbor, Jae-hee. The trajectory of his life changes when Tae-hee betrays him and marries a wealthy CEO in order to escape her life of poverty and enter the world of riches she believes she deserves. Years go by and Maru has become a womanizer after the experience of losing Jae-hee and his future career.
When he meets Eun-gi, a wealthy heiress, he sees an opportunity to get revenge against his former love but when Eun-gi falls for him, will his carefully laid plans go awry? This is one of Song’s earliest projects but his turn as the sweet student turned hardened revenge-seeker foreshadows the range we’d see in his later career. There are a lot of Korean drama tropes in The Innocent Man but that doesn’t make it any less fun to watch.
4. A Werewolf Boy
A Werewolf Boy is an early highlight in Song Joong-ki’s career. The emotional film is told mostly in flashback by Kim Sun-yi, an older woman (the younger Sun-yi is played by Park Bo-young) as she remembers when her family attempted to civilize a feral boy (played by Song). Sun-yi, along with her mother and younger sister, moves from Seoul to the countryside due to her fragile health.
While there, they encounter a wild boy, who Sun-yi’s mother names Chul-soo, assuming him to be of the many children orphaned during the Korean War. The two teenagers grow close as Sun-yi tries to help Chul-soo adjust to civilization but the townspeople turn on the boy when he demonstrates inhuman strength and powerful animal instincts. Song’s transformation as a feral teen is made even more impressive by his ability to emote so clearly with nearly no lines in the film and proved he had what it takes to lead a film.
3. Vincenzo
One of Netflix’s biggest dramas of 2021, Vincenzo might be the project that shows how versatile of an actor Song Joong-ki can be. In this gritty drama, Song stars as the eponymous Vincenzo Cassano, a lawyer who was adopted by Italian parents when he was eight. While in Italy, he becomes a consigliere and the right-hand man of mafia boss Don Fabio, who later adopts him.
When Don Fabio dies, his biological son Paolo becomes the new mafia leader and sets his sights on eliminating Vincenzo. In one of his suave custom-tailored suits, the Korean-Italian mafia lawyer returns to Seoul to retrieve a stash of gold but finds himself defending the eccentric residents of a building in Seoul from losing their home to a shady conglomerate. Come for the gritty drama but stay for the unexpected comedy.
2. Sungkyunkwan Scandal
It’s only fair we include Song’s breakout drama, Sungkyunkwan Scandal in our list. The historical drama, about a young girl who breaks social convention and attends a prestigious school disguised as her brother, launched the careers of several young Korean actors including Park Min-young and Yoo Ah-in.
As the main protagonist tries to keep her true identity a secret, she has to interact with her attractive peers, including Song as the flirty Gu Yong-ha. His role as a Joseon-era playboy helped the drama gain a cult following and led to Song becoming a household name.
1. Descendants of the Sun
Descendants of the Sun was an international sensation and is still one of the most popular Korean dramas of all time. After completing his mandatory military enlistment, Song Joong-ki returned to the small screen to play Captain Yoo Si-jin, a military man and leader of an elite counter-terrorism unit. One meet-cute later, he falls for a hardworking doctor Kang Mo-yeon, played by Song Hye-kyo, and the two fight their growing attraction until fate forces them to work together in the fictional war-torn nation of Uruk.
The show’s popularity was bolstered when the two leads ended up marrying in real-life amid rampant public speculation a year after the drama aired. The Song couple would end up separating in 2019 but the drama continues to be an international sensation.