Extreme Job Cast — The Five Actors Who Made Korea Laugh in 2019
Meet the five leads of Extreme Job (극한직업) — their careers, their surprising backgrounds, and what they've done since the movie that broke Korean box office records.
👉 This is Part 3 of a 3-part series on Extreme Job.
Five actors. One chicken shop. 16 million tickets sold.
But who are these people? Where did they come from — and what have they done since?
👨✈️ Ryu Seung-ryong (류승룡) — Captain Go
Ryu Seung-ryong — veteran actor and box office legend
Who Is He?
Ryu Seung-ryong is one of the most decorated actors in Korean film history. He has appeared in four films that each surpassed 10 million tickets sold — a feat shared by almost no other Korean actor.
But his path to that status was not smooth. After a string of massive hits from 2011 to 2014, he had four consecutive box office failures from 2015 to 2018. Korean audiences started to say he was “믿고 거른다” — “reliably skippable.” Then Extreme Job happened.
The comeback was not gradual. It was immediate and total. Extreme Job broke records. And simultaneously, his Netflix drama Kingdom launched the same month — where he played a terrifying political villain.
Two completely different performances. Both in the same January 2019. Ryu Seung-ryong proved he could do anything.
📋 Profile
| Full Name | 류승룡 (Ryu Seung-ryong) |
| Born | 1970 |
| Trained | Seoul Institute of the Arts (theater major) |
| Specialty | Versatile — comedy, drama, villain, historical |
| Notable Trait | Lost 12kg for the role of Captain Go |
🎬 Key Works
| Title | Year | Type | His Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 광해, 왕이 된 남자 (Masquerade) | 2012 | Movie | Supporting — 12.3M tickets |
| 7번방의 선물 (Miracle in Cell No. 7) | 2013 | Movie | Lead — 12.8M tickets |
| 명량 (Roaring Currents) | 2014 | Movie | Supporting — 17.6M tickets (#1 all-time) |
| 킹덤 (Kingdom) | 2019 | Netflix Drama | Main Villain — global hit |
| 극한직업 (Extreme Job) | 2019 | Movie | Lead — 16.3M tickets |
| 무빙 (Moving) | 2023 | Disney+ Drama | Lead — international hit |
💡 Fun fact: In Moving (2023), Ryu Seung-ryong plays a man who runs a chicken shop — as his actual livelihood this time, not as cover. Korean audiences loved the callback to Extreme Job.
👩 Lee Ha-nee (이하늬) — Detective Jang
Lee Ha-nee — Miss Korea, Seoul National University, action star
Who Is She?
Lee Ha-nee is the definition of someone who surprises you every time.
She won Miss Korea in 2006. She then went back to school — graduating with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Korean Traditional Music from Seoul National University. She is fluent in English. She is a licensed pilot. And in Extreme Job, she fights like a professional martial artist.
Nobody expected the action. That was exactly the point.
Director Lee Byeong-heon cast her specifically to subvert audience expectations. Watching someone known as an elegant beauty queen punch her way through a scene in a chef’s uniform — deadpan, efficient, unsmiling — is one of the funniest and most satisfying reveals in the film.
📋 Profile
| Full Name | 이하늬 (Lee Ha-nee) |
| Born | February 1983 |
| Education | Seoul National University — Korean Traditional Music (B.A. + M.A.) |
| Miss Korea | 2006 (1st runner-up, Miss Universe Korea) |
| Languages | Korean, English |
| Notable Trait | Certified private pilot |
🎬 Key Works
| Title | Year | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 열혈사제 (The Fiery Priest) | 2019 | Drama | Hit SBS comedy-action drama |
| 극한직업 (Extreme Job) | 2019 | Movie | Broke her image entirely |
| 원 더 우먼 (One the Woman) | 2021 | Drama | SBS hit — reunited with Jin Sun-kyu |
| 닥터 슬럼프 (Doctor Slump) | 2024 | Drama | Praised comeback to romance genre |
💡 Fun fact: Lee Ha-nee trained specifically for the fight sequences in Extreme Job. The choreography was designed to contrast her elegant public image — every move is purposefully unglamorous and brutally effective.
🍗 Jin Sun-kyu (진선규) — Detective Ma (마 형사)
Jin Sun-kyu — the scene-stealer who became a star at 40
Who Is He?
If Extreme Job made anyone’s career, it was Jin Sun-kyu’s.
He had been working as a character actor for years — good enough to get cast, not famous enough to be remembered. His breakout moment was actually one year earlier, in The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil (범죄도시, 2017), where he played a scene-stealing villain.
But Extreme Job turned him from a recognizable face into a household name.
His character — the scruffy, gentle Detective Ma with the secret culinary genius — became the emotional and comedic heart of the entire movie. The “galbi chicken” invention scene is entirely carried by Jin Sun-kyu’s quiet, almost childlike delight in discovering he is good at something.
He was 40 years old when Extreme Job opened. He won the Best Supporting Actor award at multiple Korean film awards for this role.
📋 Profile
| Full Name | 진선규 (Jin Sun-kyu) |
| Born | 1979 |
| Background | Trained theater actor, worked small roles for years |
| Breakthrough | Extreme Job (2019), age 40 |
| Awards | Multiple Best Supporting Actor wins for Extreme Job |
🎬 Key Works
| Title | Year | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 범죄도시 (The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil) | 2017 | Movie | First major breakout role |
| 극한직업 (Extreme Job) | 2019 | Movie | Career-defining performance |
| 범죄도시 3 (The Roundup: No Way Out) | 2023 | Movie | Villain in the franchise |
| 아마존 활명수 | 2024 | Movie | Reunited with Ryu Seung-ryong |
💡 Fun fact: Jin Sun-kyu’s distinctive hair in Extreme Job — slightly messy, a little unkempt — was a deliberate character choice. The director wanted Ma to look like someone who does not think about his appearance because he is always thinking about food.
😅 Lee Dong-hwi (이동휘) — Young-ho (영호)
Lee Dong-hwi — comedian, actor, and Reply 1988 breakout star
Who Is He?
Lee Dong-hwi is one of Korea’s most beloved comedic actors — and he arrived fully formed.
His breakout was Reply 1988 (응답하라 1988, 2015–2016), the beloved nostalgia drama set in a Seoul neighborhood in the late 1980s. He played Jeong-bong, a character so warmly written and so perfectly performed that it made him famous overnight.
In Extreme Job, he plays Young-ho — the squad member who is enthusiastic, loud, and consistently one step behind everyone else. His energy is the chaos fuel that keeps scenes moving even when the plot slows down.
📋 Profile
| Full Name | 이동휘 (Lee Dong-hwi) |
| Born | 1986 |
| Background | Comedy-focused actor, stage trained |
| Known For | Physical comedy and natural warmth |
🎬 Key Works
| Title | Year | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 응답하라 1988 (Reply 1988) | 2015 | Drama | Made him famous — Jeong-bong role |
| 극한직업 (Extreme Job) | 2019 | Movie | Part of ensemble hit |
| 부라더 (Because I Love You) | 2018 | Movie | Starred alongside Lee Ha-nee |
| 범죄도시 4 (The Roundup: Punishment) | 2024 | Movie | Expanded role in franchise |
💡 Fun fact: Lee Dong-hwi and Lee Ha-nee had already worked together in the 2018 film Because I Love You — playing mother and son. In Extreme Job, they are colleagues. Korean audiences found the reversal extremely funny.
🐣 Gong Myung (공명) — Jae-hoon (재훈)
Gong Myung — the youngest member of the squad and the most hopeless
Who Is He?
Gong Myung is the youngest of the five leads — and in Extreme Job, he plays exactly that: the youngest, most inexperienced, most out-of-his-depth member of the squad.
He was born in 1994 and had been working steadily in dramas and smaller films since his debut in 2013. Extreme Job was his biggest film role at the time — and he handled it well enough to win the Best New Actor award at the Chunsa Film Art Awards.
He is also, notably, the brother of NCT and SuperM member Doyoung (도영) — a fact that brings an unexpected K-pop crossover to this very K-movie story.
📋 Profile
| Full Name | 공명 (Gong Myung) |
| Born | May 26, 1994 |
| Debut | 2013 (web drama) |
| Famous Sibling | NCT’s Doyoung (도영) — his younger brother |
| Awards | Best New Actor — Chunsa Film Art Awards (for Extreme Job) |
🎬 Key Works
| Title | Year | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 혼술남녀 (Drinking Solo) | 2016 | Drama | Early notable role |
| 극한직업 (Extreme Job) | 2019 | Movie | Biggest film role — award winner |
| 멜로가 체질 (Be Melodramatic) | 2019 | Drama | JTBC hit, worked again with director Lee Byeong-heon |
| 홍천기 (Hong Cheon-gi) | 2021 | Drama | Historical drama, praised performance |
💡 Fun fact: Gong Myung’s younger brother Doyoung is a member of K-pop group NCT — one of SM Entertainment’s biggest acts. The two brothers have very different careers in Korean entertainment, but both have very devoted fan bases.
🎭 How the Chemistry Worked
Five actors who had mostly worked in different worlds — drama stars, character actors, a beauty queen, a comedian — came together and created something that felt like a real team.
| Pair | Dynamic |
|---|---|
| Ryu Seung-ryong + Jin Sun-kyu | The straight man and the secret genius |
| Lee Ha-nee + Lee Dong-hwi | The composed one and the loud one |
| Gong Myung + everyone | The kid who everyone forgets is even there |
The ensemble works because none of them try to dominate. Every actor gives the others room. That generosity — rare in comedy — is what makes the group scenes feel alive rather than competitive.
📊 Where Are They Now? (2026)
| Actor | Status in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Ryu Seung-ryong | Major drama and film star — Moving (Disney+) made him global |
| Lee Ha-nee | Active in drama and film — Doctor Slump (2024) well received |
| Jin Sun-kyu | Steady franchise work — The Roundup series continues |
| Lee Dong-hwi | Active in ensemble films and variety content |
| Gong Myung | Building resume steadily — historical and romance dramas |
👉 More in This Series
Profile data: Naver Movie · Korean Film Council · official agency information.