What Happened To Kim Woo Bin? How His Cancer Diagnoses Changed His Life

Actor Kim Woo Bin is one of the most recognizable Korean actors in the entertainment industry. He rose to fame by playing many memorable characters from popular kdrama such as “The Heirs” and “Uncontrollably Fond” to name a few, but his career came into a surprising halt with the unfortunate diagnosis he received in the summer of 2017.

Today, we’re here to talk about what happened to Kim Woo Bin.

2016 was a very busy year for the young actor, he starred in the blockbuster movie “Master” and in the drama “Uncontrollably Fond” which also marked his first-ever first male lead role and his comeback to the small screen following the huge success of “The Heirs” three years prior.

2017

In May of 2017, Kim Woo Bin’s agency announced that he was set to being filming for the upcoming movie “Wiretap,” however; everything came into a grinding halt when fans were shocked to learn that Kim Woo Bin was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer.

Fans were deeply concerned after finding out Kim Woo Bin was sick; it’s very rare for someone his age to be diagnosed with such a life threatening disease. The actor had noticed something abnormal about his body and visited the doctor. After running tests, it was revealed that he was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer.

Nasopharyngeal cancer has a five-year survival rate of about 70 to 90 percent in its first stage.

He immediately halted his activities to receive treatment and started radiation therapy. Filming for “Wiretap” was halted indefinitely as the actor focused on his health.

Actress Shin Min Ah followed with a statement assuring fans that she’s helping him undergo treatment.

In the following months, Korean news outlets reported on various occasions times when Shin Min Ah was seen accompanying Kim Woo Bin to the hospital for his therapy. She was praised for sticking by her boyfriend helping him get through such a difficult treatment.

In July of 2017, SidusHQ confirmed to news outlets that the first round of his chemotherapy was done; he didn’t lose much hair but lost roughly 10 kilograms (approximately 22 pounds) of weight.

In late December of 2017, and for the first time since Kim Woo Bin cancer diagnosis, he wrote to his fan café updating fans on his progress,

“Thanks for your support and prayers, I have successfully completed chemotherapy three times and radiation therapy 35 times. I was able to gain strength and fight with the help of your supportive comments on the fan café and social media. I wanted to sincerely thank you for that.”

2018

Due to the fact that Kim Woo Bin’s health wasn’t that good, he was exempt from serving in the military. In a statement to the press, his agency in late January of 2018 the actor received his military enlistment draft notice from the Military Manpower Administration not long after he finished his chemotherapy treatments.

However, when he had gone for another physical examination, it was determined he was unfit to serve due to his cancer diagnosis.

In July of 2018, his agency explained in a short statement that the actor can’t return to activities even if his treatment is complete citing that it takes a long time for the full recovery. A month later, the actor was spotted with his BFF Lee Jong Suk vacationing in Hawaii.

2019

In January of 2019, the actor’s agency responded to reports about his possible return to the industry, they shut down the rumors stating that he has no plans for a return yet.

And finally, on November 21, 2019, it was revealed that Kim Woo Bin was well enough to resume activities appearing as a presenter at the Blue Dragon Film Awards that day. Fans were over the moon to see the actor on screen after two and a half years since his hiatus.

On November 27 of 2019, it was announced that Kim Woo Bin will be holding his “2019 Kim Woo Bin ‘Thank You’” fan meeting on December 8 at the SMTOWN Theatre, the actor wanted to express his gratitude to his fans for waiting for him.

And in December of 2019, he returned to TV through MBC’s special documentary “Humanimal,” he acted as the narrator who relays the stories in the documentary.

2020

Kim Woo Bin 2020 was in full swing, things truly picked up for the actor this year.

In February of 2020, Kim Woo Bin left his agency of 8 years to join Shin Min Ah’s agency, AM Entertainment.

This was followed by great news of the actor’s casting in the upcoming movie “Alien,” he joined Ryu Jun Yeol, Kim Tae Ri, Jo Woo Jin, Honey Lee, and So Ji Sub. The movie is a crime science-fiction film about aliens living in Korea. Not much information about the movie has been released to the public.

Kim Woo Bin has fully returned to his activities in 2020, he even did a pictorial photoshoot and is busy carrying out his activities.

Despite the difficult times he’s been through in 2017, he was able to overcome them and rise again. Fans can’t wait to see his face on screen again whether it be on TV or on the silver screen.

If you’re curious about regular updates about Kim Woo Bin’s activities, you can keep up with his news from this link.

So this is what happened to actor Kim Woo Bin, are you a fan of him? What is your favorite project of the actor?