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Ryu Jun-yeol

Ryu Jun-yeol

Actor · Born September 25, 1986 (40) · Suwon, Gyeonggi, South Korea

Ryu Jun-yeol (Hangul: 류준열; born 25 September 1986) is a South Korean actor. He gained popularity through his breakthrough role in the television series Reply 1988 (2015–2016). Known as a prolific Chungmuro actor, since then he has starred in the box-office hit films The King (2017), A Taxi Driver (2017), Believer (2018), Money (2019), The Battle: Roar to Victory (2019). He pursued acting studies at Suwon University and became a prolific performer in short films and independent titles beginning in 2012. His first feature film role was a small part in the Korean Academy of Film Arts title INGtoogi: Battle of Internet Trolls. Following a flurry of shorts in 2014, Ryu next featured in the KAFA film Socialphobia. Following its debut at the Busan International Film Festival, the youth thriller became a smash hit at the box office and earned him numerous accolades, including the KAFA Rising Star Award and similar prizes from the First Brand Awards and the Max Movie Awards. In 2015, Ryu debuted as a TV actor, landing a small part in The Producers and next to a main role in Reply 1988. That role quickly turned him into a star and earned him more prizes, this time from the Paeksang Arts Awards and the Korea Cable TV Awards. He also appeared in the KAFA film The Boys Who Cried Wolf. The following year saw Ryu conquer the film world, scoring roles in diverse titles such as the youth road drama One Way Trip, the sci-fi drama Sori: Voice from the Heart, island thriller No Tomorrow, melodrama Canola and the noir thriller The King, and featured alongside Song Kang-ho in the Gwangju massacre drama A Taxi Driver.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
September 25, 1986 (40)
From
Suwon, Gyeonggi, South Korea
Works as
Actor
Titles
19 on MovieCove · 31 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Up 33% in 30 days

What are Ryu Jun-yeol's films like?

Across their 20 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Genres

Action7 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 69th percentile
: browse their Action movies
Crime3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 50th percentile
: browse their Crime movies
Drama3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 94th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
27%
Bonds
23%
Power
19%
Self
18%
Survival
5%
Society
5%
Ideas
2%
Justice7 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds5 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship3 titles, browse their movies with this themePower3 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose3 titles, browse their movies with this themeRevenge3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this themeGreed2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 14 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 1 · Serious 5 · Dark 8

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 8 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 4

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 4 · Intense 9

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 2 · Shifting 11 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 13 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 3

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 3 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 5

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 3 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 7

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 7 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

17 analyzed roles

Usually the Hero: 9 of 17 analyzed roles.

Hero
9 of 17
Ally
5 of 17
Shapeshifter
1 of 17
Shadow
1 of 17
Trickster
1 of 17
Show the 17 roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
13
Melancholic
11
Warm
5
Thrilling
4
Contemplative
6
Other
13

How their films linger

Thought-provoking10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 8 with a twist

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet10
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous6
  • Cyclical1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Ryu Jun-yeol's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 16 of their 19 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (9).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Ryu Jun-yeol's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

31 credits, 19 with a MovieCove page; 8 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Mousetrap(2026)

    Show 10 episodes · as Je Moon-jae / The Rat

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all shows

  • Revelations(2025)

    as Sung Min-chan

    Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films

  • The 8 Show(2024)

    Show 8 episodes · as Jin-soo / 3F

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all shows

  • Alienoid: The Return to the Future(2024)

    as Muruk

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • A Side of a Relationship (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    as Jae-hyun

  • The Night Owl(2022)

    as Cheon Gyeong-su

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Alienoid(2022)

    as Muruk

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Lost(2021)

    Show 16 episodes · as Kang-jae

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows

  • The Battle: Roar to Victory(2019)

    as Lee Jang-ha

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Money(2019)

    as Jo Il-hyun

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Hit-and-Run Squad(2019)

    as Seo Min-jae

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Believer(2018)

    as Seo Young-rak

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • Little Forest(2018)

    as Jae-ha

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Heart Blackened(2017)

    as Kim Dong-myung

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • A Taxi Driver(2017)

    as Gu Jae-sik

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • The King(2017)

    as Choi Doo-il

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • The Boys Who Cried Wolf (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    as Dong-chul

  • Lucky Romance(2016)

    Show 16 episodes · as Je Soo-ho

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all shows

  • Canola(2016)

    as Cheol-heon

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Glory Day(2015)

    as Ji-gong

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • No Tomorrow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    as Ji-hoon

  • Sori: Voice from the Heart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    as Underground Singer

  • Reply 1988(2015)

    Show 20 episodes · as Kim Jung-hwan

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows

  • The Producers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Show 12 episodes · as Joo Jong-hyun

  • Socialphobia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    as Yang-ge

  • Impetuous People (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Actor

  • One-minded (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    as Club Dude

  • Midnight Sun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    as Yong Hoon

  • Finding My Gundam (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    as Hyun Dong

  • Running Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Show 1 episode · as [Caller]

  • Outback (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show 1 episode · as Han Minhyuk

Career shape

Star power in the 99th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 31 titles, 30 of them dated from 2010 to 2026; peak year 2018.

Biggest box office

A Taxi Driver (2017)

$86M worldwide

Highest rated

A Taxi Driver (2017)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

Reply 1988 (2015)

Film career

20102026

Peak 2018 · steadily prominent in film for years. Top draw in 9 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting31 of 31: 31 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score69th

By decade

2010s22 · acting2020s8 · acting

Billing

usually 2nd · top billed in 40% of 15 roles

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.

How do Ryu Jun-yeol's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 70th percentile, the median of all 14; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 72nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

72ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Approval · how many liked their films

64thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Reach · how many have seen their films

81stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Midcredits score across 19 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up7
  • 50th to 74th10
  • 25th to 49th2

Shape of the crowd

11 of their 19 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Crowd Pleaser11
  • Broadly Agreed3
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · actor

Glory Day (2015)

58th percentile spread · 15% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

A Taxi Driver (2017)

Midcredits 99th · 91% liked

Reviewers score the acting 78/100 in their films, across 13 reviewed titles; fans 82, detractors 54. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Ryu Jun-yeol's work okay for kids?

Across up to 7 MovieCove titles with content scores, 1 of the 5 categories sits near the median of all films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore4 titlesmedian 66 · intenseMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity7 titles3–48 · median 27 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity3 titlesmedian 33 · mildMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 43 · moderateMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 73 · intenseMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Ryu Jun-yeol work with?

People who share at least 2 of Ryu Jun-yeol's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Tae-Kyung Kim shares the most, 5.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles