Choi Woo-shik facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Choi Woo-shik
Choi in December 2021
Born	Choi Woo-shik (1990-03-26) March 26, 1990 (age 35) Seoul, South Korea
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
Hanja	崔宇植
RR	Choe Usik
MR	Ch'oe Usik
Signature

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).

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.

Choi in November 2014

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.

Choi in June 2018

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

TV Series

Web Series

TV Shows

Music Videos

Discography

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