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. inCultural Studies)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2011–present
Agent	Fable Company[1]
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]; born March 26, 1990) is a Canadian actor based in South Korea. He first gained recognition for starring in the filmSet Me Free (2014) and thetelevision seriesHogu's Love (2015) before coming to international prominence for his roles in the filmsTrain to Busan (2016) andParasite (2019) both of which were critical and commercial successes with the latter winning thePalme d'Or at Cannes and theAcademy Award for Best Picture. He has since starred in the television seriesOur Beloved Summer (2021–2022) andA Killer Paradox (2024), as well as the filmsThe Policeman's Lineage (2022) andWonderland (2024).

Choi was born in Seoul, South Korea, the younger of two sons. He migrated toVancouver, Canada with his family when he was ten years old where he spent the next ten years of his life.^[2] He attended high school atPinetree Secondary School.^[3] His English name is Edward Choi and he goes by the nickname Eddie. He is fluent in English and Korean.^[4]

In 2010, while attendingSimon 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 atChung-Ang University, where he majored in cultural studies,^[3] aiming to learn more about Korean culture as he felt he had become somewhat estranged from his heritage having grown up in Canada.^[4]

Choi made his acting debut in theperiod dramaThe Duo in 2011.^[5] Supporting roles followed, and Choi was cast in crime dramaSpecial Affairs Team TEN as detective Park Min-ho.^[6] Choi reprised his role when the series was renewed for a second season in 2013.^[7] He made his big screen debut that same year, starring as a supporting character in the filmFlu andSecretly, Greatly. In the interim, Choi played several characters ontelevision series such asRooftop Prince,You Are My Destiny andPride and Prejudice.

In 2014, Choi took on his first leading role in thecoming-of-ageindependent filmSet Me Free.^[8] 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.^[9] He won several awards for his acting, includingActor of the Year at theBusan International Film Festival.^[10][11] Later that year, Choi also starred in the action comedy filmBig Match, playing the role of genius hacker Guru.

Choi starred as the titular character in the romantic comedy cable seriesHogu's Love. The series began airing on February 9, 2015.^[12] Choi also took part in the R-rated Hong Kong-Singaporean filmIn the Room later that year. The film featured an anthology of characters, set in a single-room brothel at a hotel in Singapore.^[13]

Choi first gained international recognition with the blockbusterzombiethriller filmTrain to Busan, where he played the role of high school baseball player, Yong-guk. Premiering at the2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 13, the film was a critical and commercial success, going on to gross over $93.1 million worldwide.^[14] He followed this up with a short, but memorable role as a truck driver in action-adventure filmOkja.^[15] This marked his first collaboration with directorBong Joon-ho and featured an international cast, includingTilda Swinton andPaul Dano.Okja was screened in several independent theatres domestically, and released on streaming platformNetflix worldwide.

Choi continued starring in several other films after this, includingThe Princess and the Matchmaker andMonstrum. In 2018, Choi was cast as a mysterious assassin called the "Nobleman" in the action filmThe Witch: Part 1. The Subversion.^[16] The dark persona of the Nobleman was a shift from the characters Choi usually played. In a press interview, co-starPark Hee-soon remarked that Nobleman could be Choi's once-in-a-lifetime character.^[17]

In 2019, Choi reunited with directorBong Joon-ho for the black comedy thriller filmParasite.^[18][19] 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 withOkja in 2016, who told the actor to "stay skinny" to play the character.^[20]Parasite premiered at the2019 Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2019, where it became the first South Korean film to win thePalme d'Or, and was the first film to win with a unanimous vote sinceBlue Is the Warmest Colour at the 2013 Festival. Among other numerous accolades,Parasite won a leading four awards at the92nd 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 winBest Picture.^[21] The cast also won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the26th Screen Actors Guild Awards.^[22] In addition to his role as Ki-woo inParasite, Choi performed the end credits song "Soju One Glass," which made the shortlist for theAcademy Award for Best Original Song.

In December 2021, Choi starred in theSBS dramaOur Beloved Summer^[23] which was also released on Netflix. It marked his return to the small screen after four years.^[24][16] In 2022, Choi returned to the big screen with the filmThe Policeman's Lineage which premiered on January 12, 2022.^[25]

In April 2023, it was announced that Choi's contract withManagement SOOP has expired and signed with Fable Company.^[26][27] He starred in Netflix's crime thriller seriesA Killer Paradox in 2024 which was based on the popularwebtoon of the same name.^[28] He then starred in the Netflix seriesMelo Movie in 2025.^[29][30]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toChoi Woosik.

• Choi Woo-shik at theKorean Movie Database
• Choi Woo-shik atIMDb

• Best New Actor for Blue Dragon Film Award winners
• 1990 births
• Living people
• 21st-century South Korean male actors
• JYP Entertainment artists
• Chung-Ang University alumni
• Male actors from Seoul
• South Korean male film actors
• South Korean male television actors
• South Korean emigrants to Canada
• Naturalized citizens of Canada
• Canadian male actors of Korean descent
• Canadian male film actors
• Canadian male television actors
• Canadian male voice actors
• Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
• Canadian expatriates in South Korea
• Canadian people of South Korean descent
• Male actors from Vancouver

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