An Ultra Fan Guide to Song Jae Rim

Birthday: February 18, 1985

Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Gwanak District, Seoul, South Korea

Agency: AL Entertainment 

Instagram: @jaelim_song

Occupation: Actor, Model

Song Jae Rim (송재림)

Drama Timeline

A selection of his finest performances in order of release date.

Please be aware of potential spoilers!

2012: Moon Embracing the Sun

Lee Hwon is the crown prince and the throne’s heir. He has an older brother, prince Yang Myung, who’s the son of a concubine and therefore not eligible for the throne. Prince YM has no interest in the throne and so, the two brothers get along although PYM has to live out of the palace. Things get messy when both brothers fall in love with Heo Yeon Woo, the daughter of a high-ranking official who only reciprocates Lee Hwon’s feelings. Soon, she’s declared the Crown Prince’s fiancée and the preparations for the marriage are made. However, the queen dowager with Yoon Bo Kyung (a minister’s daughter) in mind, manages to get Yeon Woo out of the palace by giving her an unknown illness.  She ends up “dying” of it but is soon saved by a shaman.

Eight years later, Yeon Woo who became Wol, is now a shaman but she is unaware of her identity as she forgot everything due to the shock of being buried alive.

Our favourite line: 

 “Woon-ah, are you ready?"

"If my master’s command is there, I’m ready anytime.” 

This line pretty much shows how much respect and loyalty he holds for the King, which is true.

2013: Nail Shop Paris

Yes... we probably know what you're already thinking: "Why include Nail Shop Paris?" Nail Shop Paris, the drama that holds a current overall MDL rating of only 6.3/10. However, one of, if not THE greatest thing about this drama is Song Jae Rim - even people who don't even like Song Jae Rim will admit it! He is easily the standout actor out of all the cast (although the character he plays is a little sketchy at times), and he is really the only one to put believability in his role (sorry, not sorry).

Song Jae Rim plays a hot-headed nail artist who eventually falls in love with the FL (although it is a lot more complicated than what it sounds). His character also considers peoples' feelings, even if he doesn't want to show that caring side of his at times. 

While the drama itself isn't probably going to win you over, scenes that include Song Jae Rim as Kay will. 

2013: Two Weeks

Jang Tae San is a young man who works in a pawn shop. His ex-girlfriend suddenly comes back and informs him that they have a daughter together, who unfortunately suffers from leukemia and that he is the last chance for her to survive. As he is about to start the procedure, Tae San finds himself accused of murder but manages to run away. With the police searching for him and a mysterious killer on his tail, Tae San only has two weeks to prove his innocence and save his daughter, Soo Jin.

Song Jae Rim portrays the character of Mr. Kim, a killer who was sent to take back a digital camera that was pawned by a customer. That camera seems to hold many secrets and Mr. Kim is ready to kill Tae San to get it back. Stern and cold-blooded, the killer chases Tae San until D-day, the day of the intervention for Tae San’s daughter. You could think his only link to the story is this task of killing Tae San, but as the plot unfolds, we discover that he is much more involved and has reasons to pursue this mission.

Again, Song Jae Rim showed his versatility in this drama. If I was in love with his character in Unkind Women, I wanted to make him suffer here, lmao. That’s how you know someone is good at what they do. His strict expression was so on point! He never once smiled which was kinda similar to Moon Embracing the Sun but still colder.

This line is not from him but from a character that’s linked to his story.

“I didn’t give you that fountain pen to use as a knife.”

This sentence is very impactful and kinda explains a lot about Mr. Kim’s story.

2014: Surplus Princess 

In Surplus Princess, Song Jae Rim plays the character Kwon Shi Kyung, who starts off as an arrogant chef suffering from facial blindness, but his heart of ice eventually warms up to the FL, and it's a great drama to see the different sides of his acting capabilities (although this drama did like to zoom in on his ass one too many times). 

What we also like about Song Jae Rim in this drama is that it gave him a chance to flourish with a difficult character. Some actors, when playing a character that has such a deep character development, become unbelievable in their role. They are acting as the same character as before, just with a smile. But not Song Jae Rim, a master of the acting craft. It was honestly like seeing two different people. That's how much of a professional Song Jae Rim was in this drama. It's a rarity when you are watching a drama, to think that there are two different characters played by the same one person. But Song Jae Rim manages to do it here in Surplus Princess. 

Side note: While we absolutely loved Song Jae Rim and this drama - what in the blue hell was that ending?!

2016: Thumping Spike 

The first season of Thumping Spike (just the drama in general) is one of the greatest surprises we've witnessed. It's a sports miniseries drama that focuses on volleyball in a school setting. Song Jae Rim plays a 20-year-old (even though he was 31 when this was filmed - he still easily gets away with playing such a younger character - this man is greater than Pharrell Williams when it comes to this stuff). His character is a little standoffish at times but resilient and he means well. There is also a healthy amount of romance that isn't annoying and Song Jae Rim's chemistry with the FL (Hwang Seung Eon) here is to die for. 

It's clear to see who takes the centre stage with his phenomenal performance as always but this drama looks like one of Song Jae Rim's personal favourites too with the amount of joy you can see on his face when filming some of the more action-packed fun scenes. 

2018: Clean with Passion for Now 

Perhaps his most underappreciated role is in one of his most-known dramas, Clean with Passion for Now, where he plays a simple-on-the-outside yet complex-in-the-middle type character. If you are an Ultra Fan or not of Song Jae Rim, normally this would be the drama you would know him from (if not, Moon Embracing the Sun). 

We loved watching this drama. Especially for the acting. Whilst it was very obvious that he was the SML, that didn't matter as he was an absolute scene stealer with his performance in this. Every time we saw him on our screens, we knew we were in for a ride. We feel that many other actors would have miserably failed trying to portray the character of Choi Ha In/Choi Daniel, but Song Jae Rim made it look effortless. However, not many people talk about his performance in this drama. Who knows why? 

2021: How to be Thirty 

Song Jae Rim's most recent main role is another delight, although we would have liked him to have more screen time (despite having a main role, there were a few episodes where he was unfortunately non-existent). In this, he plays a somewhat mysterious director who is adapting the FL's (who is a webtoon artist) work into a live-action movie. During this time, he notices something isn't quite right with the FL, who is going through a tough time with her love life at this point. He tries to help her feel better, even if she doesn't realise it. 

We love Song Jae Rim in this drama because it just adds another drama to his resume of great performances with a difficult character to portray: someone who doesn't like to show their emotions too much. It's just a type of character he was born to play. He makes nothing look like something, all the time. When he does show his emotions, his smile is very addictive to see. He makes us wait for it! 

Who else agrees that his smile is overwhelmingly addictive?

Future Projects

Song Jae Rim has been announced playing a supporting role in the upcoming drama Bloody Romance, which is also set to star Kim Min Seok as the ML and Nam Gyu Ri as the FL, respectively. The story of the drama, per the MDL synopsis, is to be about “A story of Inter-Korean romance and unification between a South Korean world star who has enlisted in the military and a North Korean female soldier.” - it will be very interesting to see what type of supporting role Song Jae Rim plays, who will be known as the character name of “Song Hae Joon” in this drama. 

Great news, that isn’t all he is confirmed for! Song Jae Rim is also confirmed for two upcoming movies, titled Salmon and I’ll Become Rich! 

Salmon, per the MDL synopsis, “Doo Shik left his hometown a long time ago. He left behind his wife and daughter. After the death of his wife, he decides to go back to his hometown. He faces his daughter Myung Ae and her husband Hae Nam.” The husband Hae Nam will be played by Song Jae Rim in a main role. The other main role in this movie, “Doo Shik”, will be played by actor Gong Hyung Jin, respectively. 

I’ll Become Rich, per the MDL synopsis, is “About a father who wins the lottery but loses his memory, and his son, who goes through various struggles as he tries to find his father’s prize money.” - the son will be played by Song Jae Rim, and the father will be played by actor Choi Min Soo.