# Song Kang

Song Kang (Korean: 송강; born April 23, 1994) is a South Korean actor. His notable lead roles in television series include Love Alarm (2019–2021), Sweet Home (2020–2024), Navillera (2021), Nevertheless (2021), Forecasting Love and Weather (2022), and My Demon (2023–2024). He is well-known as the "Son of Netflix" due to most of his series being aired on the platform.

## Career
### 2017–18: Beginnings

Song made his acting debut with a supporting role in the 2017 romantic comedy television series The Liar and His Lover. The same year, he was cast in the family drama Man in the Kitchen. He also appeared in two music videos: "Sweet Summer Night" by acoustic duo The Ade and "Love Story" by Suran. On July 8, 2017, his agency Namoo Actors organised a fan meeting – "Introduction to Rookies" for Song alongside Oh Seung-hoon and Lee Yoo-jin.
Song hosted the SBS music program Inkigayo from February to October 2018 along with Seventeen member Mingyu and DIA member Jung Chae-yeon. He also joined as a fixed cast member on the variety show Village Survival, the Eight. For the two works, he was nominated for the "Rookie Award" at the 2018 SBS Entertainment Awards. In July 2018, Song marked his big-screen debut with the fantasy film Beautiful Vampire.

### 2019–present: Rise in popularity and lead roles

In 2019, Song played the supporting role of Jung Kyung-ho's assistant in tvN fantasy melodrama When the Devil Calls Your Name. He next starred in the Netflix original romantic series Love Alarm, based on the popular webtoon of the same name. Song was cast in his first main role through auditions out of 900 people; he played the role of a handsome high-school student who falls in love with a girl (Kim So-hyun) who was his best friend's secret crush. Love Alarm was ranked as one of Netflix's top releases of the year and was renewed for a second season. His final appearance that year was in the music video of Vibe's "Call Me Back".
Song was propelled to stardom in 2020 when he starred in apocalyptic horror Netflix original Sweet Home, based on the eponymous webtoon. He was auditioned for the cast on the recommendation of Love Alarm's director to the director of Sweet Home, Lee Eung-bok. His role was Cha Hyun-su, a suicidal high school boy who, along with a group of fellow apartment residents, tries to survive a "monsterization" apocalypse. Critical responses of the series were mixed, but gathered a wide international audience. One month after the release of the series, Variety revealed that it had been viewed by 22 million member households of Netflix. At the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards Song received a nomination for Best New Actor – Television.
In 2021, Song reprised his role as Hwang Sun-oh in the second season of Love Alarm which was released on Netflix on March 12. He also appeared in the TVN series Navillera, adapted from the eponymous webtoon. He played a ballet student who struggles due to unresolved issues about his father and tries to support himself by working as a part-timer. Song took ballet lessons for six months in order to portray his character. Later the same year, Song starred in another webtoon adaption Nevertheless, JTBC's romance drama, alongside Han So-hee.
In terms of viewership record, 2021 was considered a success for Song as Sweet Home, Love Alarm, and Nevertheless respectively ranked as fifth, sixth, and eighth most watched K-dramas in Netflix worldwide, respectively.
In 2022, Song starred in another JTBC drama, Forecasting Love and Weather, alongside Park Min-young. On March 4, 2022, Song held a fan meeting to communicate with fans around the world in real time via 'The Swoon', a YouTube channel dedicated to South Korea. In May, it was reported that Song will hold a fan meeting on June 12, 2022, at the YES24 Live Hall. in November Song has confirmed that the "2023 Song Kang Asia Fan Meeting Tour" will take place in six countries, starting with Seoul, followed by Tokyo, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok, which will take place sometime in 2023.
In 2023, Song took on a role in the Netflix series My Demon, where he played the lead character alongside Kim Yoo-jung.

## Personal life
### Military service

On February 29, 2024, Namoo Actors announced that Song will enlist to fulfill his mandatory military service as an active duty soldier on April 2.

## Endorsements

In 2020, Song was selected as brand ambassador for South Korean cosmetics brand Banila Co.. In 2021, Italian luxury fashion house Prada announced that Song was selected as a brand ambassador. In 2022, he was also selected as the brand ambassador for Bobbi Brown Cosmetics in the Asia-Pacific region. In February 2022, Song was named as Penshoppe's global ambassador.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
| 2018 | Beautiful Vampire | Lee So-nyeon | Web film | |
| 2024 | Escape | Seon Woo-min | Special appearance | |

### Television series

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2017 | The Liar and His Lover | Baek Jin-woo | |
| 2017–2018 | Man in the Kitchen | Kim Woo-joo | |
| 2019 | Touch Your Heart | Deliveryman | Cameo (Ep. 13) |
| 2019 | When the Devil Calls Your Name | Luka | |
| 2021 | Navillera | Lee Chae-rok | |
| 2021 | Nevertheless | Park Jae-eon | |
| 2022 | Forecasting Love and Weather | Lee Shi-woo | |
| 2023–2024 | My Demon | Jeong Gu-won | |

### Web series

| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
| 2019–2021 | Love Alarm | Hwang Sun-oh | Season 1–2 | |
| 2020–2024 | Sweet Home | Cha Hyun-soo | Season 1–3 | |

### Television shows

| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
| 2018 | Inkigayo | Host | Ep. 945–979 |
| 2018–2019 | Village Survival, the Eight | Cast member | |
| 2024 | I-Land 2 | Storyteller | |

### Web shows

| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes | Ref(s) |
| 2018 | I Oppa Don't Know | Cast Member | Studio Lulu Lala | |

### Music video appearances

| Year | Title | Artist(s) |
| 2017 | "Sweet Summer Night" (달콤한 여름밤) | The Ade |
| 2017 | "Love Story" (러브스토리) | Suran |
| 2019 | "Call Me Back" (이 번호로 전화해줘) | Vibe |

## Accolades
### Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee(s) of the award, and the result of the nomination :
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee(s)/work(s) | Result |
| Asia Contents Awards | 2021 | Newcomer Actor | Navillera | Nominated |
| Asia Contents Awards | 2021 | ACA Excellence Award | Sweet Home | Won |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2021 | Best New Actor – Television | Sweet Home | Nominated |
| Brand Customer Loyalty Award | 2021 | Male actor – Rising Star | Song Kang | Won |
| Brand of the Year Awards | 2021 | Rising Star Actor | Song Kang | Nominated |
| SBS Drama Awards | 2023 | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Romance/Comedy Drama | My Demon | Won |
| SBS Drama Awards | 2023 | Best Couple Award | My Demon (with Kim Yoo-jung) | Won |
| SBS Entertainment Awards | 2018 | Male Rookie Award | Village Survival, the Eight, Inkigayo | Nominated |
| Seoul International Drama Awards | 2021 | Outstanding Korean Actor | Sweet Home | Nominated |
| Seoul International Drama Awards | 2021 | Character of the Year | Sweet Home | Won |

### Honors

Name of country or organization, year given, and name of honor or award :
| Country or Organization | Year | Honor or Award | Ref. |
| Newsis K-Expo Cultural Awards | 2024 | Seoul Tourism Foundation CEO Award | |

### Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement :
| Publisher | Year | Listicle | Placement | Ref. |
| Cine21 | 2020 | 10 Stars and Rising Stars | Placed | |
| Cine21 | 2021 | New Actors that will lead Korean Video Content Industry in 2022 | 5th | |