I don't think I saw one of these anywhere on the internet. Usually, when people speak about " Hello Monster", they mention Seo In Guk or Park Bo Gum, and if they talk about "Doctor Prisoner", they say Nam Gong Min. For some reason, Choi Won Young is not considered a first-tier actor, or usually, he is not the one people stan. It is weird though his acting could rival and maybe even surpass other famous actors. He is not a typical Rom-Com actor, maybe that's why he is not as popular as Nam Gong Min for example.
Anyway, being a fan of this guy and his acting methods, I had to plan an article with my favourite dramas for him. So here is a review of Choi Won Young top dramas.
1. Hello Monster
Starring Seo In Guk, Jang Nara and Park Bo Gum, this drama is a stunning jewel amidst the dramas of its time. 2015 when this drama was produced, it was a genre that was not highly popular amongst international and national viewers, a suspense slow-burn drama with a protagonist who is less than perfect and an antagonist who is worse than you think. Choi Won Young plays the antagonist who terrified the protagonist family as a young criminal, caused a major trauma for the protagonist and even applied his own psychopathic methods to close people to the antagonist.
While watching this drama, I was reminded a bit by Heath Ledger's version of the Joker. The Villian with a philosophy to prove. A Villian who is more dangerous because he plays with the minds, hearts and even souls of the people around him. Park Bo Gum played the role of the brainwashed victim so well in this one. He was pitiful, to say the least, he found no words but those of a psychopathic serial killer to bring him up and keep him somewhat sane if that counts as sane. To complete the DC theory, if there is someone I can compare Park Bo Gum to in this series, it is Redhood. He is more stupid, sad, angry, betrayed, lonely than evil or bloodthirsty. Still, given the way this serious unfolds and the number of crimes committed by the antagonists, I was less than impressed by the ending where no one was seriously punished. If the series had a second season, I would have loved that ending but unfortunately, it just ended there like that.
2. Second 20s
Another series where Won Yong Shi presented a character that is less than perfect, While the story for this drama was interesting, it would have been a typical Rom-Com had it not been for Choi Won Young. They say "in your life; you are bound to meet at least one narcissist one way or another". You don't have to live with one to recognize him/her. Sometimes all you need is a simple project or a meeting with one to recognize them.
Narcissists are people who don't see themselves wrong ever; they have self-value that is more of a selfish demand for attention. They believe they rule the world from a simple achievement, and they tend to look down at people regardless of how successful they really are. Interacting with a narcissist at school or at work is quite an ordeal for many people because they tend to show that you are, in fact, bad. You don't deserve a place where you are, which is not true. Narcissists tend to reflect their own shortcomings on people; they don't say "let's work things out", they say "work things out on your own because it is your fault". This is exactly the character Choi Won Young plays in this drama. If there is a real narcissist I ever saw in a drama, it is this one. Choi Won Young definitely studied the characteristics of a narcissist. As a person who dealt with a narcissist once before watching Choi Won Young in this one was a ray of light for me. It was like looking at a reflection of that stupid person I once knew. However, one question remained on my mind " Can a narcissist really change?"
3. Mystic Pop-up Bar
Netflix latest addition to a collection of stellar Korean dramas, this one has the least evil character for Choi Won Young. Given his general sketch of characters, it seemed like he was stuck in an evil character zone for a while by production companies. The guy who acts evil well! And I agree! Although I still have it on my list, Sky Castle, the popular TV series seemed to have set the bar for this guy as a diverse actor, and that's how he landed the job here. I only watched two episodes of Sky Castle, and it seemed like his character was the only sensible one in the bunch. Anyway, given the diversity of his roles before this drama, upon picking up Mystic Pop-up Bar it was not Sung Jae that I wanted to check out, it was Choi Won Young. His role here is perfect enough that I cried a lot. A 12 episode drama seemed condensed to me, but I wanted to see if it was well made. Chief Gwi is a role that should set the bar high for Choi Won Young from now on. As a male lead, he is more than capable of showing romantic emotions far beyond young actors. His eyes when he asked to take the punishment for his beloved, his contact with Sung Jae even before he agreed to work with them, his eyes while saving Sung Jae and his beloved in the end were more than enough to keep him entranced. The ending was also well made for this one. It was wrapped well, nonsensical romance scenes did not exist, and the wrap-up part was not sad.
4. Come Back Mister
Another evil role for Choi Won Young, I seriously love his acting and I hope Mystic Pop Up Bar will open up more roles for him. I dunno if he is the one who chooses these roles or if he was only offered these roles before. Regardless he did a great job making every single evil character different. In this one he is the bad ex-husband who threatens his ex-wife to take their kid. He is worse than gangsters and his ability to create troubles is amazing. He is the evil guy Oh Yeon Soo wants to fight against.
Supposedly I should speak about his role in " Doctor Prisoner", but given that I reviewed the drama once I believe a look at the previous article will give you an estimate about how enjoyable and suspenseful it is. Also, Choi Won Young was the bad guy again in this one; however; everyone was a scoundrel this time.
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