# Dex (YouTuber)

Kim Jin-young (Korean: 김진영; born June 9, 1995), also known as Dex (Korean: 덱스), is a South Korean entertainer, actor, and YouTuber. He has appeared on Netflix's dating show Single's Inferno Season 2 and zombie apocalypse survival show Zombieverse, and MBC's game survival show Bloody Game.

## Career
### 2016–2020: Military service

In 2016, Kim Jin-young entered the military as a non-commissioned officer in the 251st Class, Republic of Korea Navy and part of ROKN UDT (South Korean counterpart of the U.S Navy Seal), Class 62-2. He served for 4 years.
During his active duty, He was assigned in the Special Mission Battalion of the Naval Special Warfare Flotilla, a counter-terrorism unit. In 2018, He was also assigned to the 13th Akh Unit, a dispatched unit of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces to the United Arab Emirates.
After being discharged from the military in 2020, he appeared in Fake Men 2, a military web entertainment. In the same year, he appeared in MBC's game survival show, Bloody Game.

### 2022–2023: Rising popularity

In 2022, Kim Jin-young rose to fame when he participated in the Netflix dating show, Single's Inferno Season 2. He was known as the "Catfish Man" (Korean: 메기남), who was brought in later to make the existing cast members stay together first and make the contestants nervous.
In 2023, he returned as a participant in the second season of Bloody Game from which he won the Rookie Male Entertainer Award at the 2nd Blue Dragon Series Awards. He joined as a regular member on the second and third seasons of the travel variety show Adventure by Accident with Kian84, Pani Bottle, and Lee Si-eon. The show won several awards at the 2023 MBC Entertainment Awards, including his Rookie Award and Best Couple Award.
Dex is also the sole host for the YouTube show Dex's Fridge Interview by Channel 117. He hosted the 2023 MBC Entertainment Awards with Jun Hyun-moo and Lee Se-young. He also joined as one of the panels in the third and fourth seasons of Single's Inferno.

### 2024–present: Acting and motorcycle racing debut

Dex appeared in several variety shows in 2024, such as MBC's University Sports Festival: Boys' Athletes' Village, where he served as a coach to college sports athletes; Disney+'s The Zone: Survival Mission 3 with Yoo Jae-suk, SNSD's Kwon Yu-ri, and Dong Hyun Kim; and JTBC's My Name is Gabriel, where he experienced the life of Rati, a wine jar maker, for 72 hours.
He also showed sibling-like chemistry on tvN's Fresh off the Sea with Yum Jung-ah, Park Jun-myun, and Ahn Eun-jin. The show became a trending topic every week of its broadcast and Dex was dubbed as the "Nation's Younger Brother".
Dex debuted as an actor in Tarot: The Seven Chapter Story, a horror-thriller drama series. The 1st episode of the film, "Santa's visit", starring Cho Yeo-jeong is the South Korean entry invited to participate at the 2024 Cannes International Series Festival's short form category competition. He used his real name, Kim Jin-young, as an actor, instead of his stage name, Dex, wanting to separate entertainment and acting.
He appeared on the second season of Netflix's Zombieverse, which premiered on November 19, 2024.

## Impact

On December 2, 2023, Dex was placed first on the Wavve Year-end Settlement as the "contributor that attracted new paid subscriptions" for the platform. On December 7, he became part of the "fastest growing creator" by YouTube Korea.

## Filmography
### Films

| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
| 2024 | Tarot (Theatrical release) | Yoon Dong-In | |

### Dramas

| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
| 2024 | Tarot | Yoon Dong-In | |
| TBA | I-Shopping | Jeong-hyun | |

### Variety shows

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2020 | Toy Soldiers: Fake Men 2 | Instructor |
| 2021–2022 | Bloody Game | Contestant |
| 2022–2023 | Single's Inferno Season 2 | Contestant |
| 2023 | Bloody Game 2 | Contestant |
| 2023 | Masked Singer | Contestant |
| 2023 | Adventure by Accident 2 | Cast member |
| 2023 | Smiling Boss | Cast member |
| 2023 | Radio Star | Special MC |
| 2023 | Zombieverse | Cast member |
| 2023 | I am Angry Now | MC |
| 2023 | Muksuldan | MC |
| 2023–2024 | Adventure by Accident 3 | Cast member |
| 2023–2024 | Single's Inferno Season 3 | MC |
| 2024 | University Sports Festival: Boys' Athletes' Village | Coach |
| 2024 | Fresh off the Sea | Cast member |
| 2024 | The Zone: Survival Mission 3 | Cast member |
| 2024 | My Name is Gabriel | Cast member |
| 2024 | Zombieverse 2 | Cast member |
| 2025 | Single's Inferno Season 4 | MC |

### Web shows

| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
| 2023 | Matcaron | MC | |
| 2023–2025 | Dex's Fridge Interview | MC | |

## Accolades
### Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination :
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result |
| Blue Dragon Series Awards | 2023 | Best New Male Entertainer | Bloody Game | Won |
| Blue Dragon Series Awards | 2024 | TIRTIR Popular Star Award | Dex | Won |
| Donga.com's Pick | 2023 | I can survive without Dex | Dex | Won |
| Fundex Awards | 2023 | Best OTT Non-Drama Performer | Dex | Won |
| Korea Culture and Entertainment Awards | 2023 | Entertainment Star Award | Dex | Won |
| Korea First Brand Awards | 2024 | Multitainer (Male) | Dex | Won |
| Korea First Brand Awards | 2025 | Multitainer (Male) | Dex | Won |
| MBC Entertainment Awards | 2023 | Male Rookie Award – Variety | Adventure by Accident | Won |
| MBC Entertainment Awards | 2023 | Best Couple Award | Adventure by Accident (with Kian84 and Pani Bottle) | Won |
| Youth Day Creator Awards | 2023 | Young Creator Award | Dex | Won |

### State and cultural honors

Name of country or organization, name of award ceremony, year given, and name of honor :
| Country or organization | Ceremony | Year | Honor | Ref. |
| South Korea | Korean Youth Hope Awards | 2023 | National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee's Commendation | |

### Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement :
| Publisher | Year | Listicle | Placement | Ref. |
| Forbes | 2024 | Korea Power Celebrity 40 | 14th | |