Hwang In-youp, also known as In-youp, was born on 19 January, 1991, in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi-do in South Korea. He is the eldest of two sons in his family. His brother, who is three years younger than him, is a producer, singer and songwriter.
During his school and college days, In-youp lived in Davao City in the Philippines under the English name Ryan Leon. He completed his school education at Philippine Nikkei Jin Kai International School and graduated in fashion design from the Philippine Women’s College of Davao.
Hwang In-youp, who has amassed a big fan base worldwide as a result of his notable roles in movies, started a career in the entertainment industry soon after finishing his schooling and mandatory military service. In 2017, he started his career as a runway model prior to his acting debut. Based on reports, In-youp was under YG KPlus, a model management company run by YG Entertainment.
In-youp made his debut as an actor after about a year of working as a model. He started his film career with the web series ‘Why’ in 2018, as Gi Jae-yeong in the lead role. He joined Keyeast, an entertainment company, which is a subsidiary of SM Entertainment, later that year.
In 2019, he played the lead role of Seo Kyo-woon in the breezy and very light-to-watch web series ‘Fisherman’. Hwang made his television debut in a historical South Korean television series, ‘The Tale of Nokdu’. He played the role of a character named Park Dan-ho in a supporting role along with Jang Dong-yoon, Kim So-hyun, Kang Tae-oh, and Jung Joon-ho, who were in the lead roles.
Hwang In-youp became more popular after his television series, ’18 Again’ in 2020, which is based on an American film ’17 Again’ by Jason Filardi in 2009. The character ‘Goo Ja-sung’, a supporting role in the series, gave him much-deserved popularity.
In 2020, Hwang appeared in the lead role of a short film ‘Swimming Bird’ as a character called In-guk alongside Lee Ji-ah. The film won its first Gwang Myeong Film Festival later.
In 2021, In-youp rose to international prominence, considering his breakthrough role in a South Korean romantic-comedy television series, ‘True Beauty’. He played the secondary lead character Han Seo-jun in the series along with Moon Ga-young, Cha Eun-woo and Park Yoo-na in other prominent roles.
Keyeast, an entertainment company in which Hwang In-youp has been working, announced his new contract with Japan’s agency, Stream Media Corporation on 23 April 2021.
Hwang In-youp, one of the popular Korean actors, has acted in the South Korean television series ‘The Sound of Magic’, released globally on Netflix in 2022. He also contributed to the soundtrack of the series with the song ‘I Mean It’.
In-youp held his first fan meeting tour in five countries, starting in South Korea and then in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines in 2022.
He played a pivotal role with Huh Joon-ho in Park Soo-jin’s South Korean television series ‘Why Her’ in 2022. It marked his first lead role on a terrestrial TV station. Seo Hyun-jin was in the titular role in the series. South Korean actor Bae In-hyuk also appeared in the series.
In-youp was a cast member of a South Korean entertainment programme ‘Young Actors’ Retreat’ in 2022, featuring the cast members of South Korean director Kim Seong-yoon’s previously directed television series. Seong-yoon’s drama team members from his series, ‘Love in the Moonlight’ in 2016, ‘Itaewon Class’ in 2020 and ‘The Sound of Magic’ in 2022 were on the programme. The aim of the programme was to mix the casts from his different series together and to play games, travel, build friendships and create pleasant memories.
Hwang In-youp completed his mandatory military service, prior to his career in the entertainment industry as a model. He joined the military service soon after his schooling. Actor Hwang is also trained in martial arts. He is a 3rd dan black belt holder in Taekwondo and also trained in Hapkido and Kendo, popularly known as Kumdo in South Korea.
