The year he turned 23, he made his debut in the film A Frozen Flower. In 2009, he played a national short track speed skater in MBC’s Triple and also hosted KBS2’s Music Bank.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 25, he became known as Gu Yong-ha in KBS2’s Sungkyunkwan Scandal. The Kyunghyang Shinmun wrote that it was likely the first work in which his acting caught the public’s eye.
In 2011, he appeared in SBS’s Deep Rooted Tree as the young King Sejong. In 2012, he appeared in KBS2’s The Innocent Man, and the film A Werewolf Boy was seen by 7,069,353 people.
In 2013, he enlisted as an active-duty soldier in the army. He was discharged in 2015. In 2016, he starred in Descendants of the Sun and shared the KBS Drama Awards grand prize with Song Hye-kyo. In 2017, he married Song Hye-kyo.
In 2019, he appeared in tvN’s Arthdal Chronicles and finished divorce mediation with Song Hye-kyo, 1 year 9 months after the marriage. In 2021, Netflix released the film Space Sweepers and tvN’s Vincenzo began.
In 2022, JTBC’s Reborn Rich ended, and its final episode drew 26.94%. In 2023, he announced his marriage and a pregnancy and attended the Cannes Film Festival for Hopeless.
The year he turned 39, Netflix’s My Name Is Loh Kiwan was released, and Bogota: City of the Lost opened in theaters. In 2025, he appeared in JTBC’s My Youth. In 2026, the organizing committee said he would attend the 35th Seoul Music Awards as a presenter, his first Seoul Music Awards stage since his 2008 debut.
Song Joong-ki (born Sep 19, 1985) debuted on Dec 30, 2008, the year he turned 23, in the film A Frozen Flower, and became known in 2010, the year he turned 25, as Gu Yong-ha in KBS2’s Sungkyunkwan Scandal. Descendants of the Sun began in 2016, the year he turned 31.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Played No-tak, a bodyguard in the Geonryongwi, a guard unit of 36 young men. He also appeared that year in KBS2’s My Precious You.
Source 01 · Newsen (Korean) · New Year hanbok greeting · opens in a new tabSource 02 · News1 (Korean) · His 41st birthday · opens in a new tab The first broadcast date of My Precious You could not be confirmed.Played Poong-ho, a national short track speed skater, in the Wednesday-Thursday drama.
Source 33 · Asia Economy (Korean) · Triple love line · opens in a new tab The broadcast year is from the date of the article. The first broadcast date could not be confirmed.Took over hosting with Seo Hyo-rim after Yoo Se-yoon and Park Eun-young.
Source 34 · Gangwon Ilbo (Korean) · New Music Bank hosts · opens in a new tabPlayed the Confucian scholar Gu Yong-ha. The Kyunghyang Shinmun wrote that the drama was likely the first work in which his acting caught the public’s eye.
MyDaily wrote that Yoo Ah-in and Song Joong-ki had gained explosive popularity and were emerging as the biggest stars the drama had produced.
Source 04 · MyDaily (Korean) · Sungkyunkwan Scandal’s top stars · opens in a new tabAppeared as the young King Sejong in a guest role, on the drama’s first broadcast date.
Source 07 · Star News (Korean) · Deep Rooted Tree ratings · opens in a new tabThe scene voted No. 1 by viewers was the young Sejong (Song Joong-ki) standing up to his father, King Taejong.
Source 35 · Xports News (Korean) · Deep Rooted Tree best scenes · opens in a new tabPlayed Kang Ma-ru.
Source 31 · Wikipedia (Korean) · Song Joong-ki · opens in a new tabSource 06 · Top Star News (Korean) · Recent news · opens in a new tab The broadcast period follows Wikipedia’s account of the second half of 2012 and could not be confirmed in news reports. The role of Kang Ma-ru is in Top Star News.Starred with Park Bo-young. It passed one million admissions in five days, and 7,069,353 people saw it, according to the Korean Film Council.
Source 08 · Etoday (Korean) · A Werewolf Boy passes one million · opens in a new tabSource 09 · Joongboo Ilbo (Korean) · A Werewolf Boy · opens in a new tabEntered the 102nd Replacement Battalion in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, and began 21 months of service.
Source 10 · MyDaily (Korean) · Enlists as an active-duty soldier · opens in a new tabFinished 21 months of military service.
Source 11 · YTN (Korean) · Discharge · opens in a new tabPlayed Yoo Si-jin, the leader of a special forces team deployed overseas. The drama reached a peak viewership rating of 38.8%.
Source 12 · MBN Star (Korean) · Descendants of the Sun premiere confirmed · opens in a new tabSource 13 · Nocut News (Korean) · 2016 KBS Drama Awards · opens in a new tabReceived a presidential commendation for Descendants of the Sun, together with Song Hye-kyo and others, at the ceremony at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul.
Source 14 · Xports News (Korean) · Popular Culture and Arts Awards · opens in a new tabWon the grand prize for Descendants of the Sun at the ceremony at KBS Hall in Yeouido, Seoul.
Source 13 · Nocut News (Korean) · 2016 KBS Drama Awards · opens in a new tabMarried the actress Song Hye-kyo, his co-star in Descendants of the Sun.
Source 15 · Star News (Korean) · The couple’s first Christmas · opens in a new tabAired as a Saturday-Sunday drama; episode 2 drew a rating of 7.3% and episode 1 drew 6.7%.
Source 18 · YTN (Korean) · Arthdal Chronicles episode 2 ratings · opens in a new tab The article does not give the date of the first episode. It says episode 2 aired on June 2.His side said that the divorce mediation petition had been filed with the Seoul Family Court on June 26. Mediation concluded on July 22, 1 year 9 months after the marriage.
Source 16 · Chosun Ilbo (Korean) · Divorce mediation filed · opens in a new tabSource 17 · Geumgang Ilbo (Korean) · After the divorce · opens in a new tabThe science fiction film directed by Jo Sung-hee was released on Netflix. He said he saw articles that it ranked No. 1 in several countries after its release.
Source 19 · The Fact (Korean) · Space Sweepers released · opens in a new tabSource 20 · News1 (Korean) · Space Sweepers interview · opens in a new tabPlayed Vincenzo Cassano, an Italian mafia lawyer. Ratings began in the 7% range and rose to a peak of 12.8%.
Source 21 · Newsen (Korean) · Vincenzo first broadcast · opens in a new tabSource 22 · TechM (Korean) · Vincenzo in Netflix’s top 10 · opens in a new tabPlayed the two lives of Yoon Hyun-woo and Jin Do-joon. The final episode drew 26.94% in non-terrestrial pay households.
Source 23 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Reborn Rich finale · opens in a new tabSource 24 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · Song Joong-ki in Reborn Rich · opens in a new tabSaid in a fan cafe post that he had registered his marriage and that his wife was expecting.
Source 25 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · Marriage and pregnancy announced · opens in a new tabSource 02 · News1 (Korean) · His 41st birthday · opens in a new tabThe film was shown as an official selection in the Un Certain Regard section of the 76th Cannes Film Festival. He played Chi-gun and attended Cannes for the first time. It opened in Korean theaters in October.
Source 26 · Woman Chosun (Korean) · Hopeless interview · opens in a new tabSource 27 · Money Today Broadcasting (Korean) · Hopeless on OTT · opens in a new tab The articles do not give the dates of the opening and screening, so only the month is given.Started at No. 3 globally among non-English films in its first week and rose to No. 1.
Source 28 · Shin Dong-a (Korean) · My Name Is Loh Kiwan interview · opens in a new tabThe film, which began shooting in 2019, was released five years later. He played Guk-hee.
Source 29 · Newsen (Korean) · Bogota heads to Netflix · opens in a new tabPlayed Sunwoo Hae. The first episode drew 2.9%, and the final episode, aired on Oct. 17, drew 2.1%.
Source 30 · Jeonguk Maeil Shinmun (Korean) · My Youth finale · opens in a new tabThe Seoul Music Awards organizing committee said he would attend as a presenter. It is his first Seoul Music Awards stage since his 2008 debut.
Source 05 · Tenasia (Korean) · Presenters at the Seoul Music Awards · opens in a new tab The date of the ceremony could not be confirmed, so the date of the announcement is given.END OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2008–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
What did they do, and at what age?
AgeTrail lines up the key moments of a life by age.
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Film & TV · South Korea
Sep 19, 1985 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1985: the year of the event minus 1985, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.10.02 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.