Son Suk-ku

Son was born on February 7, 1983, in Taepyeong-dong, Jung District, Daejeon, South Korea.^[1] He started studying abroad early in middle school and continued his studies in Canada and the United States.^[2] He majored in visual arts and film at the School of Art Institute of Chicago, dreaming of becoming a documentary director.^[3]

In 2005, during his mandatory military service, he volunteered to join the Zaytun Division, a Republic of Korea Army contingent which carried out peacekeeping and reconstruction missions in war-torn Iraq.^[4][5][6]

Son began his acting career, playing a minor role in 2014 film Scarlet Innocence and appeared in Black Stone (2016), Sense8 (2017) and Mother (2018).

His popularity began to rise with his starring role in KBS2 romantic comedy drama Matrimonial Chaos (2018) and his supporting role in the tvN political thriller drama Designated Survivor: 60 Days (2019).^[7]

In 2021, he played Captain Im Ji-seop in the Netflix series D.P.^[8] The same year, he starred in the romance film Nothing Serious which marked his first big-screen leading role. Son made his directorial debut in the Watcha short film Unframed – Rebroadcast.^[9]

In 2022, Son starred in the JTBC slice-of-life drama My Liberation Notes. His portrayal of Mr. Gu, a reclusive alcoholic stranger, earned praise from critics and audiences and he topped the drama performers popularity ranking for five consecutive weeks.^[10][11][12] The same year, he starred as the villain Kang Hae-sung in the crime action blockbuster The Roundup, which became the highest-grossing film of 2022 in South Korea, selling 12 million tickets.^[13] Success of his 2022 projects raised his popularity and recognition.^[14]

In 2025, he had a special appearance in the romantic comedy-drama film Virus directed by Kang Yi-kwan.^[15] He then starred in JTBC's romantic fantasy television series Heavenly Ever After playing a postman who delivers letters of wishes from earth.^[16] This was followed with a starring role in the mystery crime thriller television series Nine Puzzles alongside Kim Da-mi.^[17]