Dex (entertainer)

Dex (entertainer)

Kim Jin-young (Korean: 김진영; born June 9, 1995), also known as Dex (Korean: 덱스), is a South Korean entertainer, actor, YouTuber and former ROKN UDT soldier. He is best known for appearing in Toy Soldiers: Fake Men 2 (2020), Single's Inferno Season 2 (2022-2023), Bloody Game 2 (2023), Adventure by Accident (2023-2025), Zombieverse (2023-2024), and Fresh off the Sea (2024).

Career

2016–2020: Military service

In 2016, Dex entered the military as a non-commissioned officer in the 251st Class, Republic of Korea Navy and part of ROKN UDT (South Korean counterpart of the U.S Navy Seal), Class 62-2. He served for 4 years. During his active duty, he was assigned in the Special Mission Battalion of the Naval Special Warfare Flotilla, a counter-terrorism unit. In 2018, he was also assigned to the 13th Akh Unit, a dispatched unit of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces to the United Arab Emirates.

After being discharged from the military in 2020, he appeared in Fake Men 2, a military web entertainment show. In the same year, he appeared in MBC's game survival show Bloody Game.

2022–2023: Rising popularity

Dex at the 2023 FW Seoul Fashion Week on March 15, 2023

In 2022, Dex rose to fame when he participated in the second season of the Netflix dating show Single's Inferno. He was known as the "Catfish Man" (Korean: 메기남), who was brought in later to make the existing cast members stay together first and make the contestants nervous.

In 2023, he returned as a participant in the second season of Bloody Game for which he won the Rookie Male Entertainer Award at the 2nd Blue Dragon Series Awards. He joined the second and third seasons of the travel variety show Adventure by Accident as a regular member with Kian84, Pani Bottle, and Lee Si-eon. The show won several awards at the 2023 MBC Entertainment Awards, and Dex received the Rookie Award and the Best Couple Award.

Dex is also the sole host for the YouTube show Dex's Fridge Interview by Channel 117. He hosted the 2023 MBC Entertainment Awards with Jun Hyun-moo and Lee Se-young, and also joined the third, fourth, and fifth seasons of Single's Inferno as a panel member.

2024–present: Acting and motorcycle racing debut

Dex appeared in several variety shows in 2024, such as MBC's University Sports Festival: Boys' Athletes' Village, where he served as a coach to college sports athletes; Disney+'s The Zone: Survival Mission 3 with Yoo Jae-suk, SNSD's Kwon Yu-ri, and Dong Hyun Kim; and JTBC's My Name is Gabriel, where he experienced the life of Rati, a wine jar maker, for 72 hours. He also showed sibling-like chemistry on tvN's Fresh off the Sea with Yum Jung-ah, Park Jun-myun, and Ahn Eun-jin. The show became a trending topic every week of its broadcast and Dex was dubbed as the "Nation's Younger Brother".

Dex debuted as an actor in the third episode of Tarot: The Seven Chapter Story, a horror-thriller drama series. He used his real name, Kim Jin-young, as an actor, instead of his stage name, Dex, wanting to separate entertainment and acting. He then appeared in the second season of Netflix's Zombieverse, which premiered on November 19, 2024.

In 2025, Dex appeared in the action thriller The Defects as a main villain, and filmed special appeances for Bloodhounds: Season 2. On September 5th, 2025, it was confirmed that Dex will play the lead role in the upcoming fantasy romance, The Haunted House, a Korea-Japan joint global film project. The film is based on the short-story House of Ghosts from the book Dead-End Memories by the renowned Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto.

Impact

Dex (entertainer)

On December 2, 2023, Dex was placed first on the Wavve Year-end Settlement as the "contributor that attracted new paid subscriptions" for the platform. On December 7, he became part of the "fastest growing creator" by YouTube Korea.

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2024	Tarot	Yoon Dong-in	Theatrical release
2026	The Haunted House	Yoon-seong

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2024	Tarot	Yoon Dong-in
2025	The Defects	Jeong-hyun
TBA	Bloodhounds	TBA	Season 2; Special appearance

Television shows

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Title</th><th>Role</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2020</td><td>Toy Soldiers: Fake Men 2</td><td>Instructor</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2021–2022</td><td>Bloody Game</td><td>Contestant</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2022–2023</td><td>Single's Inferno Season 2</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2023</td><td>Bloody Game 2</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Masked Singer</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Adventure by Accident 2</td><td>Cast member</td></tr><tr><td>Smiling Boss</td></tr><tr><td>Radio Star</td><td>Special MC</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Zombieverse</td><td>Cast member</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>I am Angry Now</td><td>MC</td></tr><tr><td>Muksuldan</td></tr><tr><td>2023–2024</td><td>Adventure by Accident 3</td><td>Cast member</td></tr><tr><td>Single's Inferno Season 3</td><td>MC</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2024</td><td>University Sports Festival: Boys' Athletes' Village</td><td>Coach</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Fresh off the Sea</td><td>Cast member</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Zone: Survival Mission 3</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>My Name is Gabriel</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Zombieverse 2</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2025</td><td>Single's Inferno Season 4</td><td>MC</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Adventure by Accident 4</td><td>Cast member</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Be My Boyz</td><td>MC</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2025–2026</td><td>I Am Boxer</td><td>MC</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2026</td><td>The Secret Friends Club</td><td>Cast member</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Web shows

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Title</th><th>Role</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2023</td><td>Matcaron</td><td>MC</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2023–2025</td><td>Dex's Fridge Interview</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Accolades

Dex (entertainer)

Dex at First Brand Awards on January 7, 2025.

Awards and nominations

<table><thead><tr><th>Award ceremony</th><th>Year</th><th>Category</th><th>Nominee / Work</th><th>Result</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>MBC Entertainment Awards</td><td>2023</td><td>Male Rookie Award – Variety</td><td>Adventure by Accident 2</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Best Couple Award</td><td>Dex (with Kian84 and Pani Bottle) Adventure by Accident 2</td><td>Won</td></tr><tr><td>2025</td><td>Excellence Award (Male)</td><td>Adventure by Accident 4</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Best Couple Award</td><td>Dex (with Kian84, Lee Sieon and Pani Bottle) Adventure by Accident 4</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Baeksang Arts Awards</td><td>2025</td><td>Best Male Variety Performer</td><td>Dex</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Blue Dragon Series Awards</td><td>2023</td><td>Best New Male Entertainer</td><td>Bloody Game 2</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2024</td><td>TIRTIR Popular Star Award</td><td>Dex</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Donga.com's Pick</td><td>2023</td><td>I can survive without Dex</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Fundex Awards</td><td>2023</td><td>Best OTT Non-Drama Performer</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Korea Culture and Entertainment Awards</td><td>2023</td><td>Entertainment Star Award</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Korea First Brand Awards</td><td>2024</td><td>Multitainer (Male)</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2025</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2026</td><td>Actor – Rookie</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Youth Day Creator Awards</td><td>2023</td><td>Young Creator Award</td><td>Dex</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

State and cultural honors

<table><thead><tr><th>Country or organization</th><th>Ceremony</th><th>Year</th><th>Honor</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>South Korea</td><td>Korean Youth Hope Awards</td><td>2023</td><td>National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee's Commendation</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Listicles

Publisher	Year	Listicle	Placement	Ref.
Forbes	2024	Korea Power Celebrity 40	14th