Starting out his career as a stage actor, it was only in 2012 when South Korean actor Park Hae-soo got offered his first screen role in the TV series God of War. The actor was struggling to make a name for himself as he had been starring in minor supporting roles in different movies and TV shows here and there. What finally brought him recognition was his role in an extremely popular Korean series, Prison Playbook. This show gave Park the jump-start he needed.
Now, we all know him as Cho Sang-woo in Netflix’s Squid Game and as Berlin in the South Korean remake of Money Heist. That said, Park has recently signed with a U.S. talent agency, so we can definitely expect to hear more from him. In the meantime, here are the actor’s best movies and TV shows so far.
11 Prison Playbook (2017)
Park's first-ever lead role, Prison Playbook is a South Korean drama revolving around the lives of different convicts in correctional facilities. Park plays the character of Kim Je-hyuk, a baseball player who gets a year of jail time after protecting his sister from an assault. The series quickly became a commercial hit and one of the highest-ranked k-dramas in South Korean cable history.
The show definitely needs more credit from public and international viewers, as its comedy and lightheartedness helps you relax after a stressful day. The slice of life concept makes you laugh, cry, and forget about your daily problems.
10 Chimera (2021)
Directed by Kim Do-hoon, Chimera is a k-drama starring Park, Lee Hee-joon, and Claudia Kim in the leading roles. It follows these three leading characters as they dig through different records from the past thirty years to find a culprit nicknamed the Chimera. Park plays the 35-year-old Cha Jae-hwan, who is a perfectionist homicide detective. The use of Greek mythology to walk us through the case makes the story unique, as well as really creative and different. As a viewer, you feel emotionally connected to it to the mystery and crime. It should definitely be more popular than it is now.
9 The Legend of the Blue Sea (2016)
Inspired by a classic Joseon legend, The Legend of the Blue Sea is a South Korean series telling the love story between a con-artist, Heo Joon-jae, and a mermaid, Shim Cheong, who travels across the ocean to find him. Park does very well playing determined detectives, and this k-drama is no different.
We see the actor play a recurring role of Hong Dong-pyo, a modern day detective who is investigating Joon-jae's scams, but later sides with him. Even if you don't particularly enjoy watching series with multiple one-hour-plus-long episodes, this one will change your mind. It makes you feel different types of emotions, from happiness to anger to confusion.
8 Phantom (2023)
Based on Mai Jia's 2007 novel, Feng Sheng, Phantom is a 2023 spy action film set in 1933 during the Japanese colonization of Korea. When an attempt to assassinate a Japanese official fails, the plot focuses on different suspects and their attempts to clear the suspicions shed on them. Park plays one of the Japanese officials named Kaito, who's in charge of the investigation to catch the anti-Japanese spy.
It's easy to love every little bit of the movie, from the cinematography to the soundtrack. Most of its plot revolves around a closed setting despite the large scale resistance movement, which isn't necessarily a bad thing in this case.
7 By Quantum Physics: A Nightlife Venture (2019)
Starring Park, Seo Yea-ji, and Kim Sang-ho in the lead roles, By Quantum Physics A Nightlife Venture is a South Korean crime film. The story follows a club owner Lee Chan-woo, the club manager Seong Eun-yeong and a police reporter Park ki-hum. Park plays the character of Lee, a nightclub promoter, who gets involved in a fight against organized crime and corruption.
Although the story gets a little hard to follow, it's worth checking out if you're a fan of the leading stars. Park gets a chance to showcase his ability to play a more funny nonsense chatter character that's way different from his serious roles.
6 The Pirates (2014)
The Pirates is a South Korean period adventure film that follows a group of pirates and bandits who embark on a journey to catch a big whale that's swallowed their new Joseon Dynasty emperor. Park doesn't play the leading character in this one, but instead plays a supporting character named Hwang Joong-geun.
The pirates versus thieves dynamic combines comedy, action and fantasy and makes it all magically work. The humor works really well and the action sequences are nicely choreographed. All you need to do is allow yourself to enjoy the entertainment.
5 Yaksha: Ruthless Operations (2022)
Directed by Na Hyeon, Yaksha: Ruthless Operations is a spy action film, starring Sol Kyung-gu and Park Hae-soo in leading roles. The plot takes place in Chinese Shenyang, and revolves around a leader of an espionage agency's black ops team and a prosecutor who gets moved to a lower rank in the agency. Park plays the prosecutor Han Ji-hoon, who believes that justice should be served rightfully through law. If you want to spend your time with an action-packed spy thriller, then this is a very good first choice.
4 Narco-Saints (2022)
Based on true events, Narco-Saints also known as Suriname, is a Netflix show about an ordinary entrepreneur who's forced to join a mission to capture drug lords in South America. Park plays the character of Choi Chang-ho, the leader of National Intelligence Service's Branch in the Americas.
The series serves as a "play next" to Narcos and Narcos: Mexico. The cast they picked for the show has done an amazing job at always having you wait what happens next. It can easily be described as a next sensational hit from the South Korean industry.
3 Time to Hunt (2020)
The first South Korean movie having been screened in the Berlinale Special section, Time to Hunt is a dystopian action thriller. Set in a dystopian South Korea, it follows a group of friends who plan a huge heist, but instead find themselves hunted by a mysterious assassin. Park plays one of the friends and one of the main characters called Han.
Despite the movie's long run-time, the story doesn't get boring as the script wasn't meant to be deep and meaningful. Han's character feels very much like a South Korean John Wick and would easily be enjoyable to watch in a standalone movie.
2 Money Heist: Korea: Joint Economic Area (2022)
Despite the mixed reactions this South Korean remake has received, you have to admit that Money Heist: Korea: Joint Economic Area has definitely brought something new to the story. As a second series in the Money Heist franchise, the show follows a group of thieves with different personalities led by an intelligent man nicknamed the Professor, as they overtake the mint of a unified Korea. Park plays the character of Berlin, who is a 41-year-old North Korean former prisoner of the Kaechon concentration camp. Due to his trauma, he's quick to resort to violence and threats.
1 Squid Game (2021)
We can't go without mentioning Squid Game when talking about Park Hae-soo. The survival drama took the world by storm upon its 2021 release on Netflix. It became Netflix's most-watched series, amassing 1.65 billion viewing hours during its first four weeks of launch. In the show, 456 players risk their lives playing children's games to win a huge financial prize. Cho Sang-woo is Park's complex character, who joins the game to escape the police. The extreme violence mixed with humor makes it hard to watch at times, but it shows just how far people are willing to go when they have nothing to lose.