Choi Woo-shik facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Choi Woo-shik
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![]() Choi in December 2021
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Born |
Choi Woo-shik
March 26, 1990 Seoul, South Korea
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Other names | Edward Choi |
Citizenship | Canada |
Education | Chung-Ang University (B.A. in Cultural Studies) |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2011–present |
Agent | Fable Company |
Korean name | |
Hangul |
최우식
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Hanja |
崔宇植
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RR | Choe Usik |
MR | Ch'oe Usik |
Signature | |
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Choi Woo-shik (Korean: 최우식; pronounced [tɕʰø.u.ɕik̚]) is a Canadian actor. He was born on March 26, 1990. He is famous for his roles in movies like Train to Busan (2016) and Parasite (2019). Parasite won many big awards, including the Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best Picture. He has also starred in TV shows such as Our Beloved Summer (2021–2022) and A Killer Paradox (2024).
Contents
Early Life and School
Choi Woo-shik was born in Seoul, South Korea. He is the younger of two sons. When he was ten, his family moved to Vancouver, Canada. He lived there for ten years. He went to high school at Pinetree Secondary School. His English name is Edward Choi, and friends call him Eddie. He speaks both English and Korean very well.
In 2010, when he was 20, Choi was studying at Simon Fraser University. His parents allowed him to try out for an acting role in South Korea. This led to his first acting job. While in Korea, he studied cultural studies at Chung-Ang University. He wanted to learn more about Korean culture. He felt a bit disconnected from his heritage after growing up in Canada.
Acting Career
Starting Out: 2011–2015
Choi Woo-shik began his acting career in 2011. His first role was in the TV show The Duo. After that, he got supporting roles in other shows. He played detective Park Min-ho in the crime drama Special Affairs Team TEN. He continued this role in the second season in 2013.
He also started acting in movies in 2013. He had roles in Flu and Secretly, Greatly. He appeared in several TV series. These included Rooftop Prince and Pride and Prejudice.
In 2014, Choi got his first main role. It was in the independent film Set Me Free. He played Young-jae, a 16-year-old living in a group home. He pretended to want to be a priest to stay longer. Critics liked the movie, and Choi was praised for his acting. He won several awards for this role. One award was Actor of the Year at the Busan International Film Festival. Later that year, he also played a genius hacker named Guru in the action comedy Big Match.
In 2015, Choi starred in the romantic comedy TV series Hogu's Love. He played the main character. He also appeared in the film In the Room that year.
Becoming Famous: 2016–2020
Choi became known around the world with the zombie movie Train to Busan. He played Yong-guk, a high school baseball player. The movie was very popular and earned a lot of money. It was shown at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
He then had a small but memorable role in the adventure film Okja. This was his first time working with director Bong Joon-ho. The movie also featured international actors like Tilda Swinton. Okja was available on Netflix.
Choi continued to act in other movies. These included The Princess and the Matchmaker and Monstrum. In 2018, he played a mysterious assassin in The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion. This dark role was different from his usual characters.
In 2019, Choi worked with director Bong Joon-ho again. This time it was for the black comedy thriller Parasite. Choi played Ki-woo, the son of a poor family. His character plans for his family to get jobs with a rich family. Director Bong told Choi to "stay skinny" for the role.
Parasite premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. It was the first South Korean film to win the Palme d'Or. It also won four awards at the 92nd Academy Awards. This made it the first South Korean film to win an Academy Award. It was also the first non-English film to win Best Picture. The cast won an award for their acting at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards. Choi also sang the end credits song, "Soju One Glass."
Main Roles: 2021–Present
In December 2021, Choi starred in the SBS drama Our Beloved Summer. This show was also released on Netflix. It was his first TV series in four years. In 2022, he returned to movies with The Policeman's Lineage.
In April 2023, Choi signed with a new company, Fable Company. He starred in the Netflix crime thriller series A Killer Paradox in 2024. This show was based on a popular webtoon. He also appeared in the Netflix series Melo Movie in 2025.
Filmography
Movies
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2011 | Etude, Solo | Hwang Kyeong-min | Short film |
2012 | Circle of Crime | ||
2013 | Secretly, Greatly | Yoon Yoo-joon | |
Flu | Jeong-Jin | Cameo appearance | |
2014 | Set Me Free | Young-jae | |
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 |
The Princess and the Matchmaker | Nam Chi-Ho | ||
The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion | Gwi Gong-Ja (Nobleman) | ||
Monstrum | Officer Hur | ||
2019 | Rosebud | Young Soon-cheol | |
Parasite | Kim Ki-woo / Kevin (alias) | ||
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 |
TV Series
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2011 | The Duo | Young Gwi-dong | |
Living in Style | Na Joo-ra | ||
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 | |
Family | Yeol Woo-bong | ||
Culprit Among Friends | Young Do-hyun | Drama special | |
2013 | Who Are You? | Hee-koo | Cameo (Episode 10, 12, 13) |
Principal Investigator: Save Wang Jo-hyun! | Boo Joong-shik | Drama special | |
2014 | You're All Surrounded | Choi Woo-shik | Cameo (Episode 4) |
You Are My Destiny | Lee Yong | ||
Pride and Prejudice | Lee Jang-won | ||
2015 | Hogu's Love | Kang Ho-gu | |
My Fantastic Funeral | Park Dong-soo | Two-part special | |
2017 | Fight for My Way | Park Moo-bin | Cameo (Episode 1–7) |
The Package | Kim Gyung-jae | ||
2021–2022 | Our Beloved Summer | Choi Woong / Go-oh |
Web Series
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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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 |
TV Shows
Year | Title | Role |
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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 |
Jinny's Kitchen Team Building | Cast member | |
2024 | Jinny's Kitchen Season 2 | Cast member |
Music Videos
Year | Song title | Artist |
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2014 | "My Old Story" | IU |
2015 | "Congratulations" | Day6 |
2017 | "That Moment" | Lim Seul-ong |
"You Were Beautiful" | Day6 |
Discography
Title | Year | Album |
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"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
Choi Woo-shik has won many awards for his acting. Here are some of his notable achievements:
- In 2014, he won Best New Actor at the 36th Blue Dragon Film Awards for Set Me Free.
- He also won Actor of the Year at the 19th Busan International Film Festival for the same film.
- In 2015, he received Best New Actor at the Busan Film Critics Awards and the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards for Set Me Free.
- He won the Popular Actor Award at the Korean Film Actors Association Star Award in 2015.
- In 2016, he received the Rising Star Award at the Max Movie Awards.
- In 2019, he won Best Actor (Film) at the Korea First Brand Awards.
- In 2020, the cast of Parasite won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards.
- In 2021, he won the Director's Award at the 2021 SBS Drama Awards for Our Beloved Summer.
- In 2024, he won the TIRTIR Popular Star Award at the 3rd Blue Dragon Series Awards.
See also
In Spanish: Choi Woo-shik para niños