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Choi Woo-shik
211227 최우식.png
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 Signature.png

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.

(빅매치) 제작보고회 말.말.말 영상 최우식
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 U-shik in 2018
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

Year Title Role Notes
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
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
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
2012 I'm Real Cast member
2013–2014 Beating Hearts [ko] 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
2014 "My Old Story" IU
2015 "Congratulations" Day6
2017 "That Moment" Lim Seul-ong
"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

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

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Choi Woo-shik para niños

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