# Choi Woo-shik

Choi Woo-shik (Korean: 최우식; Korean pronunciation:; born March 26, 1990) is a Canadian actor based in South Korea. He first gained recognition for starring in the film Set Me Free (2014) and the television series Hogu’s Love (2015) before coming to international prominence for his roles in the films Train to Busan (2016) and Parasite (2019) both of which were critical and commercial successes with the latter winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes and the Academy Award for Best Picture. He has since starred in the television series Our Beloved Summer (2021–2022), A Killer Paradox (2024), and Melo Movie (2025).

## Early life and education

Choi was born in Seoul, South Korea, the younger of two sons. He migrated to Vancouver, Canada with his family when he was ten years old where he spent the next ten years of his life. He attended high school at Pinetree Secondary School. His English name is Edward Choi and he goes by the nickname Eddie.
In 2010, while attending Simon Fraser University, then-20-year-old Choi was given permission by his parents to attend an acting audition in South Korea, subsequently leading to him making his acting debut. Whilst in Korea, Choi enrolled at Chung-Ang University, where he majored in cultural studies, aiming to learn more about Korean culture as he felt he had become somewhat estranged from his heritage having grown up in Canada.

## Career
### 2011–2015: Beginnings

Choi made his acting debut in the period drama The Duo in 2011. Supporting roles followed, and Choi was cast in crime drama Special Affairs Team TEN as detective Park Min-ho. Choi reprised his role when the series was renewed for a second season in 2013. He made his big screen debut that same year, starring as a supporting character in the film Flu and Secretly, Greatly. In the interim, Choi played several characters on television series such as Rooftop Prince, You Are My Destiny and Pride and Prejudice.
In 2014, Choi took on his first leading role in the coming-of-age independent film Set Me Free. He played the role of Young-jae, a sixteen-year-old student living in a group home, who pretends that he wants to become a priest in order to prolong his stay at the home. The film was well received by critics, and Choi was praised for his portrayal of the protagonist's inner conflict. He won several awards for his acting, including Actor of the Year at the Busan International Film Festival. Later that year, Choi also starred in the action comedy film Big Match, playing the role of genius hacker Guru.
Choi starred as the titular character in the romantic comedy cable series Hogu's Love. The series began airing on February 9, 2015. Choi also took part in the R-rated Hong Kong-Singaporean film In the Room later that year. The film featured an anthology of characters, set in a single-room brothel at a hotel in Singapore.

### 2016–2020: Rising fame and international breakthrough

Choi first gained international recognition with the blockbuster zombie thriller film Train to Busan, where he played the role of high school baseball player, Yong-guk. Premiering at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 13, the film was a critical and commercial success, going on to gross over $93.1 million worldwide. He followed this up with a short, but memorable role as a truck driver in action-adventure film Okja. This marked his first collaboration with director Bong Joon-ho and featured an international cast, including Tilda Swinton and Paul Dano. Okja was screened in several independent theatres domestically, and released on streaming platform Netflix worldwide.
Choi continued starring in several other films after this, including The Princess and the Matchmaker and Monstrum. In 2018, Choi was cast as a mysterious assassin called the "Nobleman" in the action film The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion. The dark persona of the Nobleman was a shift from the characters Choi usually played. In a press interview, co-star Park Hee-soon remarked that Nobleman could be Choi's once-in-a-lifetime character.
In 2019, Choi reunited with director Bong Joon-ho for the black comedy thriller film Parasite. Choi played the main character Ki-woo, the son of a poor family, who schemes to become employed by a wealthy family by infiltrating their household and posing as unrelated, highly qualified individuals. Choi was first approached by Bong after their first collaboration with Okja in 2016, who told the actor to "stay skinny" to play the character. Parasite premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2019, where it became the first South Korean film to win the Palme d'Or, and was the first film to win with a unanimous vote since Blue Is the Warmest Colour at the 2013 Festival. Among other numerous accolades, Parasite won a leading four awards at the 92nd Academy Awards. It became the first South Korean film to receive Academy Award recognition, as well as the first film in a language other than English to win Best Picture. The cast also won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards. In addition to his role as Ki-woo in Parasite, Choi performed the end credits song "Soju One Glass," which made the shortlist for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

### 2021–present: Leading roles

In December 2021, Choi starred in the SBS drama Our Beloved Summer which was also released on Netflix. It marked his return to the small screen after four years. In 2022, Choi returned to the big screen with the film The Policeman's Lineage which premiered on January 12, 2022.
On April 2023, it was announced that Choi's contract with Management SOOP has expired and signed with Fable Company. He starred in Netflix’s crime thriller series A Killer Paradox in 2024 which was based on the popular webtoon of the same name. He then starred in the Netflix series Melo Movie in 2025.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2011 | Etude, Solo | Hwang Kyeong-min | Short film |
| 2012 | Circle of Crime | | |
| 2013 | Secretly, Greatly | Yoon Yoo-joon | |
| 2013 | Flu | Jeong-Jin | Cameo appearance |
| 2014 | Set Me Free | Young-jae | |
| 2014 | Big Match | Guru | |
| 2015 | In the Room | Min-jun | Singaporean film |
| 2016 | Train to Busan | Yong-guk | |
| 2017 | Okja | Kim Woo-shik | |
| 2018 | Golden Slumber | Joo-ho | Cameo appearance |
| 2018 | The Princess and the Matchmaker | Nam Chi-Ho | |
| 2018 | The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion | Gwi Gong-Ja (Nobleman) | |
| 2018 | Monstrum | Officer Hur | |
| 2019 | Rosebud | Young Soon-cheol | |
| 2019 | Parasite | Kim Ki-woo / Kevin (alias) | |
| 2019 | The Divine Fury | Father Choi | Cameo appearance |
| 2020 | Time to Hunt | Ki-hoon | Netflix film |
| 2022 | The Policeman's Lineage | Choi Min-jae | |
| 2024 | Wonderland | Hyeon Soo | |

### Television series

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2011 | The Duo | Young Gwi-dong | |
| 2011 | Living in Style | Na Joo-ra | |
| 2011 | Deep Rooted Tree | Young Jung Gi-joon / Ga Ri-on | |
| 2011–2013 | Special Affairs Team TEN | Park Min-ho | Season 1–2 |
| 2012 | Rooftop Prince | Do Chi-san | |
| 2012 | Family | Yeol Woo-bong | |
| 2012 | Culprit Among Friends | Young Do-hyun | Drama special |
| 2013 | Who Are You? | Hee-koo | Cameo (Episode 10, 12, 13) |
| 2013 | Principal Investigator: Save Wang Jo-hyun! | Boo Joong-shik | Drama special |
| 2014 | You're All Surrounded | Choi Woo-shik | Cameo (Episode 4) |
| 2014 | You Are My Destiny | Lee Yong | |
| 2014 | Pride and Prejudice | Lee Jang-won | |
| 2015 | Hogu's Love | Kang Ho-gu | |
| 2015 | My Fantastic Funeral | Park Dong-soo | Two-part special |
| 2017 | Fight for My Way | Park Moo-bin | Cameo (Episode 1–7) |
| 2017 | The Package | Kim Gyung-jae | |
| 2021–2022 | Our Beloved Summer | Choi Woong / Go-oh | |

### Web series

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2013 | Someday | Chae Man-sik | |
| 2015 | Dream Knight | Past student | Cameo appearance |
| 2017 | The Boy Next Door | Park Gyu-tae | |
| 2024 | A Killer Paradox | Lee Tang | Netflix series |
| 2025 | Melo Movie | Ko Gyeom | Netflix series |

### Television shows

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2012 | I'm Real | Cast member |
| 2013–2014 | Beating Hearts | Cast member |
| 2015 | Law of the Jungle in Nicaragua | Cast member |
| 2020 | Summer Vacation | Cast member |
| 2021 | Youn's Stay | Cast member |
| 2022 | In the Soop: Friendcation | Cast member |
| 2023 | Jinny's Kitchen | Cast member |
| 2023 | Jinny's Kitchen Team Building | Cast member |
| 2024 | Jinny's Kitchen Season 2 | Cast member |

### Music video appearances

| Year | Song title | Artist |
| 2014 | "My Old Story" | IU |
| 2015 | "Congratulations" | Day6 |
| 2017 | "That Moment" | Lim Seul-ong |
| 2017 | "You Were Beautiful" | Day6 |

## Discography

| Title | Year | Album |
| "Some Guys" (with Jang Ki-yong) | 2017 | The Boy Next Door OST |
| "Soju One Glass" | 2019 | Parasite OST |
| "Poom" (with Peakboy) | 2021 | Non-album single |
| "Polaroid" (With Wooga Squad : Park Seo-joon, Park Hyung-sik, Kim Taehyung, Peakboy) | 2022 | In the Soop: Friendcation OST |

## Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination :
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result |
| APAN Star Awards | 2022 | Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Our Beloved Summer | Nominated |
| APAN Star Awards | 2022 | Best Couple | Choi Woo-shik with Kim Da-mi Our Beloved Summer | Nominated |
| Asia Artist Awards | 2020 | Popularity Award (Actor) | Choi Woo-shik | Nominated |
| Asia Artist Awards | 2021 | Popularity Award (Actor) | Choi Woo-shik | Nominated |
| Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards | 2024 | Best Lead Actor | Choi Woo-shik | Nominated |
| Asian Film Awards | 2020 | Best Supporting Actor | Parasite | Nominated |
| Blue Dragon Film Awards | 2014 | Best New Actor | Set Me Free | Won |
| Blue Dragon Series Awards | 2024 | Best Actor | A Killer Paradox | Nominated |
| Blue Dragon Series Awards | 2024 | TIRTIR Popular Star Award | Choi Woo-sik | Won |
| Buil Film Awards | 2015 | Best New Actor | Set Me Free | Nominated |
| Buil Film Awards | 2019 | Best Actor | Parasite | Nominated |
| Brand Customer Loyalty Awards | 2022 | Best Male Actor | Our Beloved Summer | Nominated |
| Busan Film Critics Awards | 2015 | Best New Actor | Set Me Free | Won |
| Busan International Film Festival | 2014 | Actor of the Year | Set Me Free | Won |
| Chunsa Film Art Awards | 2017 | Special Popularity Award | Choi Woo-shik | Won |
| Chunsa Film Art Awards | 2019 | Best Actor | Parasite | Nominated |
| Critics' Choice Awards | 2020 | Best Acting Ensemble | Parasite | Nominated |
| Director's Cut Awards | 2019 | Best Actor | Parasite | Nominated |
| Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | 2015 | Best New Actor | Set Me Free | Won |
| Korea First Brand Awards | 2019 | Best Actor (Film) | Choi Woo-shik | Won |
| Max Movie Awards | 2015 | Best New Actor | Set Me Free | Nominated |
| Max Movie Awards | 2016 | Rising Star Award | Choi Woo-shik | Won |
| SBS Drama Awards | 2021 | Director's Award | Our Beloved Summer | Won |
| SBS Drama Awards | 2021 | Top Excellence Award for an Actor in a Mini-Series (Romance/Comedy) | Our Beloved Summer | Nominated |
| SBS Drama Awards | 2021 | Best Couple Award | Choi Woo-shik with Kim Da-mi Our Beloved Summer | Nominated |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | 2020 | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Parasite | Won |
| Korean Film Actors Association Star Award | 2015 | Popular Actor Award | Choi Woo-shik | Won |
| Wildflower Film Awards | 2015 | Best New Actor | Set Me Free | Won |

### Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement :
| Publisher | Year | Listicle | Placement | Ref. |
| Cine21 | 2021 | Actors that will lead Korean Video Content Industry in 2022 | 6th | |
| The Screen | 2019 | 2009–2019 Top Box Office Powerhouse Actors in Korean Movies | 42nd | |