The entertainment world hails the talent of different backgrounds and Sports does not fall behind in this world. The excellent shape and flexible bodies of several actors are proof of their experience. From the water to, ice to land, they excel in many fields. When Entertainment and Sports crossed its path, these actors chose to be in the entertainment world. Unfortunately, all of them had to leave their sports and fully dedicate themselves to their new career. But there are times when certain actors get a chance to showcase their sporting ability in different shows and dramas. Some of these names are pretty common that you all have often heard of.
1. Song Joong-Ki
The famous Captain Yoo Shi-Jin, who rose to fame with his role in dramas like Sungkyunkwan Scandal and international hit Descendants of Sun was a short-track speed skater for 12 years and even represented his home city Daejeon in the Nationals. Unfortunately due to an injury, he was forced to give up on skating during high school but we got lucky to him see him skate in his dramas like Triple and Vincenzo.
2. Nam Joo-Hyuk
Nam Joo-Hyuk, garnered attention with his role in Who Are You: School 2015. He dreamed of becoming a basketball player and his height speaks much. He was also on the basketball team for 3 years before getting injured. Later he went through surgery that put his basketball career to a dead end. He has played the role of star swimmer in both Who Are You: School 2015 and Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo. You can also see him playing basketball in Infinite Challenge.
3. Sung-Hoon
The New Tales of Gisaeng actor was a Swimming Champion with a specialization in butterfly stroke. He was even a physical education student in university. He swam for 14 years before quitting because of spinal cord injury and then look up acting. Even after leaving he went on and became a swimming trainer. Now, he swims because of entertainment purposes only. You can see him swimming in shows such as Cool Kiz on the block and Home Alone.
4. So Ji-Sub
So Ji-Sub was a competitive swimmer trained for 11 years. He started training at the age of 10 because of his introverted personality. He was even on the national team. Unlike others, even after his debut he competed for Korean National Games and bagged the bronze medal in 1997. According to him, he wanted to pose alongside hip-hop artist Kim Sung-Jae, that’s why he tried out modeling. He rose to fame in 2004 for his role in I’m Sorry, I Love You.
5. Yoon Hyun-Min
Yoon Hyun-Min was a baseball player, who played for Hanwha Eagles in 2005 and the Doosan Bears in 2006. He started playing in middle school and played for around 11 years before quitting in 2007. It is said that he fell in love with the stage after watching Finding Kim Jong-Wook. He debuted in the musical Spring Awakening, he then made his debut in the television world in the drama Joseon Mystery Detective Jeong Yak-Yong, his popularity hyped after starring in the crime drama Tunnel in 2017.
6. Seo Ji-Seok
Seo Ji-Seok was an athlete specializing in 100- and 200-meter sprints. He was in sports since high middle school. He even won 4 gold medals in a variety of sports when he was 16. He was also chosen to be a part of the national team. But due to a traffic accident, his career ended in sports. In 1999, he was hit by a vehicle while crossing the street, for which he had to be hospitalized for 6 months. Then, he was street-cast by a talent agent while doing a part-time job. He played many supporting roles before rising to fame for his lead role in Pure in Heart.
7. Shin Seong-Ho
This actor debuted in the web drama A-teen in 2018 and garnered attention with his performance. He had already entered the entertainment world through fashion modelling before his debut in the dramas. He has participated in modelling contests like SBS 2016 Super Model Contest and modelled in 2017 S/S Seoul Fashion Week. He was a soccer player for 11 years but decided to quit soccer when he felt that he no longer felt happy and that wasn’t his path anymore. According to him, he took the advice from people around him and decided to become a fashion model after leaving soccer.
8. Shin Sung-Rok
Shin Sung-Rok is a well-known name in musical theatre. Although he has worked in many films and series, he has garnered more attention as a theatre star all over Asia. He was an amateur basketball player in his school days, but like many others due to an injury, he had to quit sports. He already had an interest in acting, so, after quitting basketball he decided to pursue acting.
9. Ahn Bo-Hyun
Ahn Bo-Hyun is best known for his acting in Itaewon Class. He used to be an amateur boxing competitor during his high school year. He went to a sports high school and he even represented Busan and won a gold medal in the national boxing competitions. But he eventually had to give up on boxing due to frequent injuries and disapproval of his parents. Before his acting debut in 2014, he was a model.
10. Kim Yo-Han
This new actor is best known for finishing in the first position of survival-reality show Produce X 101, the project group disbanded early due to allegations of voting rigging, after that he had participated in several shows and appeared as the lead role in the drama A Love So Beautiful, and even debuted in the boy group Wei. Before his debut, he was a Korean national taekwondo athlete. He had participated and was a two-times champion at the National Youth Sports Festival. He hails from a taekwondo family with his father being a taekwondo trainer. He has practiced it for 13 years before quitting it to become an idol.
