SEOUL — Choi Hyun-wook has quickly moved from memorable supporting roles to one of the more closely watched young actors in Korean television.
For viewers who first discovered him as the charming Moon Ji-woong in Twenty Five Twenty One or the energetic Ha Yi-chan in Twinkling Watermelon, his recent work shows just how dramatically his range has expanded.
His latest Netflix series, Notes from the Last Row, takes that evolution even further, putting him in a psychologically darker role opposite veteran actor Choi Min-sik.
From sports and youth romances to action, workplace comedy and psychological suspense, here are seven K-dramas that trace Choi Hyun-wook’s rise.
1. Racket Boys — Where the Breakthrough Began
Released in 2021, Racket Boys gave Choi Hyun-wook one of his earliest major television roles.
He played Na Woo-chan, a member of a rural school badminton team in Haenam. The series follows the young athletes as they pursue competitive success while dealing with friendship, family and the challenges of adolescence.
The role established one of the qualities that would become central to his career: an ability to make youthful characters feel energetic and naturally charismatic.
His performance also helped put him on the industry’s radar.
That same year, he received the Best New Actor award at the SBS Drama Awards, recognition that marked an early turning point in his career.
2. Twenty Five Twenty One — The Role That Made Fans Notice
If Racket Boys introduced Choi Hyun-wook to more viewers, Twenty Five Twenty One helped turn him into a recognizable young star.
He played Moon Ji-woong, a stylish and cheerful student who becomes part of the close-knit group surrounding the drama’s central characters.
Ji-woong is also the love interest of Go Yu-rim, played by Bona, giving Choi the opportunity to demonstrate his comic timing and romantic appeal.
The drama became a major international hit, and Choi’s performance earned him a nomination for Best New Actor – Television at the 58th Baeksang Arts Awards.
It was an important career step: he was no longer simply part of an ensemble cast.
Audiences were beginning to remember his name.
3. Weak Hero Class 1 — The Performance That Changed His Image
Then came Weak Hero Class 1 in 2022.
Choi played Ahn Su-ho, a confident, physically capable student who uses his fighting skills to protect his friends.
The drama takes a much darker approach to teenage life, exploring school violence, bullying, trauma and the consequences of fractured friendships.
Su-ho became one of the show’s most popular characters because Choi balanced his physicality with warmth and humor.
The actor also trained extensively for the role, including attending an action school and working out regularly to build the character’s physique.
The performance demonstrated that he could move well beyond the lighthearted youth roles that had initially made him popular.
4. Twinkling Watermelon — His First Lead Role
In 2023, Choi Hyun-wook took another major step forward with Twinkling Watermelon.
This time, he was the lead.
He played Ha Yi-chan, an outgoing 1995 high school student who dreams of forming a rock band while pursuing the school’s popular “cello goddess.”
The drama mixes time travel, family, music, romance and coming-of-age themes.
The story becomes particularly emotional when Yi-chan’s future son travels back to 1995 and meets his teenage father, setting off a chain of events that changes the relationship between them.
For Choi, the role demonstrated that he could carry a series rather than simply steal scenes as a supporting actor.
5. D.P. Season 2 — A Much Darker Turn
Choi surprised viewers again in D.P. Season 2.
Rather than playing another charismatic teenager, he portrayed Private First Class Shin A-hwi, a troubled soldier caught up in a disturbing story involving abuse and hazing inside the military.
The role required him to portray someone who is simultaneously involved in violence and deeply affected by trauma.
It represented a significant departure from the youthful romantic image audiences had seen in his earlier dramas.
And it demonstrated something increasingly evident in his filmography:
Choi Hyun-wook does not appear interested in being locked into one type of character.
6. My Dearest Nemesis — From Youth Star to Romantic Lead
Choi returned to romance in 2025 with tvN’s My Dearest Nemesis.
He starred opposite Moon Ga-young as Ban Joo-yeon, a chaebol heir who eventually becomes the boss of a woman who unknowingly happens to be his former online gaming partner.
The series revolves around an enemies-to-lovers setup that begins with an awkward teenage encounter and resumes years later in the workplace.
For Choi, the role was another milestone because it placed him firmly in the romantic leading-man position.
His progression was becoming clear:
supporting player → scene stealer → second lead → leading man.
7. Notes from the Last Row — A Completely Different Choi Hyun-wook
His latest major transformation comes with Netflix’s Notes from the Last Row.
Released in 2026, the six-episode psychological thriller pairs Choi with veteran actor Choi Min-sik.
Choi plays Lee Kang, an engineering student with an extraordinary talent for writing.
His work catches the attention of literature professor and failed novelist Heo Mun-oh, played by Choi Min-sik.
But what initially looks like a mentor-student relationship gradually becomes something far more unsettling.
Lee Kang’s stories draw from the lives of people around him, blurring the line between fiction and reality as the professor becomes increasingly consumed by his student’s writing.
The role is considerably darker than the cheerful young characters that initially made Choi popular.
And audiences have taken notice.
According to Good Data Corporation’s weekly buzzworthiness rankings reported by Soompi, Notes from the Last Row debuted at No. 1 among the most buzzworthy dramas, while Choi Hyun-wook ranked No. 2 among the most buzzworthy drama cast members during the reported week.
That gives the young actor another significant career marker: he is now generating attention not simply because he is a rising star, but because viewers are interested in what he will do next.
What makes Choi Hyun-wook stand out?
Looking across his filmography, the pattern is difficult to miss.
His early roles largely centered on youth, friendship and sports.
Then came romance.
Then action.
Then increasingly complicated dramatic characters.
His official agency filmography confirms that his recent projects include My Dearest Nemesis, Weak Hero Class 1, Twinkling Watermelon, D.P. Season 2 and Notes from the Last Row, alongside other projects including the 2026 titles Perfect Job and Delusion.
There is also evidence that his career is continuing to expand. Choi has been reported as considering a role in the upcoming campus romantic comedy Green Light opposite Jung Chaeyeon, although the casting and schedule were still not finalized when the reports emerged.
The next chapter could be even bigger
Choi Hyun-wook’s career is now moving beyond the image of the charming young actor who first caught attention in youth dramas.
His filmography shows a performer willing to switch between romance, comedy, action and psychological drama—sometimes within just a few years.
And Notes from the Last Row may be particularly important because it puts him opposite one of South Korea’s most respected veteran actors in a demanding psychological role.
For longtime fans, that makes his earlier dramas worth revisiting.
For newcomers, it offers a seven-series roadmap through one of Korean entertainment’s increasingly recognizable young faces.
From a badminton player in Racket Boys to a troubled soldier, romantic lead and psychologically complex student, Choi Hyun-wook’s biggest transformation may not have happened on screen yet.
It may be the transformation of his entire career.
WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.D
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