Song Kang Tops September Rising Actor Rankings, Boosted by Four Hands

Song Kang claimed the top spot in the Korea Business Research Institute's September rising actor brand reputation rankings, released on the 24th, with his recent work in Four Hands cited as the primary driver. It is a result that reflects how closely the index tracks active project cycles: actors with a current release in the public conversation tend to pull ahead of peers whose last notable work is further back.

The institute calculates its monthly brand reputation index by pulling big-data signals across participation, media coverage, social communication, and community activity over the preceding four weeks. The methodology is designed to capture not just name recognition but active consumer engagement, which means a well-timed drama or film can shift rankings quickly.

The top five

Seo Kang-joon placed second, credited to sustained public interest in what the institute described as his increasingly layered performances. Third went to Jang Dong-yoon, whose position was shaped in part by a spike in media attention following his marriage announcement, an off-screen event that nonetheless drove significant online engagement and community discussion around him.

Kim Jae-won ranked fourth, maintaining his presence through a series of global fan meeting appearances. Gong Hyo-jin rounded out the top five by returning to romantic comedy with Married Woman Killer, a genre she built much of her earlier reputation in.

The broader field

Beyond the top five, the upper tier of the rankings included Kim Hye-soo, Lee Joon-young, Han So-hee, Ko Yoon-jung, and Son Ye-jin. Further down, the list extended to Jung Hae-in, Ryu Jun-yeol, Lee Joon-ho, Ha Ji-won, Park Ji-hoon, Suzy, Byun Yo-han, Byun Woo-seok, Ji Chang-wook, and Park Jung-min.

The breadth of the ranking points to something worth noting about how Korean actor visibility works right now: the list spans actors at very different career stages, from those with decades of credits to those still building their first wave of recognition, and the index treats media-driven attention and fan-generated activity as equally valid inputs. That means a marriage announcement and a drama performance can produce similar results in the data, even if they represent entirely different kinds of public interest.