“I still can’t quite wrap my head around it. When someone recognizes me, I find myself asking, ‘You really know who I am?'” – Choo Young Woo
Actor Choo Young Woo, known for his striking height, sharp looks, and solid acting, is quickly establishing himself as a rising star.
In a media interview, he greeted us with a bashful smile, admitting, “I can definitely feel the rise in my popularity. It’s exciting, but at the same time, it’s still hard to believe.”
He takes on the role of Yang Jae-won, a top medical student at Korea University, in Netflix’s new series The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call.
In the drama, Yang Jae-won unexpectedly assists in an emergency surgery alongside Baek Kang-hyuk (played by Joo Ji-hoon), the trauma center’s new professor. Deeply impressed by his mentor’s extraordinary skills, he decides to become Baek Kang-hyuk’s first disciple.
Choo Young-woo shared, “Jae-won and I have a lot in common. He might come across as a know-it-all, but at his core, he’s a hard worker who constantly pushes himself. That’s something I relate to a lot.”
Reflecting on his journey, he added, “As Jae-won grew, I felt like I was growing with him. There was a scene where Jae-won finally gets recognized for his skills, and I remember getting unexpectedly emotional while filming it.”
‘Trauma Center’ is a medical comedy that follows the eccentric but brilliant Baek Kang-hyuk as he attempts to rebuild a failing trauma unit.
For Choo, stepping into comedy was initially daunting. “I’d never done full-fledged comedy before, so I constantly doubted myself, wondering, ‘Can I really pull this off?'” he admitted.
However, with encouragement from his director and senior actors, he found his rhythm. “They kept telling me, ‘You can push it even further,’ and that gave me confidence,” he said.
As a relatively new actor, Choo Young-woo recalled feeling anxious on set, never quite able to relax. “But the director gave me the freedom to experiment, reassuring me that we could always adjust things later. That support, along with encouragement from my co-stars, helped me break through my own mental barriers.”
Since his debut in 2021, Choo has steadily built an impressive résumé with roles in Once Upon a Small Town, Police University, School 2021, and Oasis.’ He also turned heads in JTBC’s The Tale of Lady Ok, where he plays a dual role with remarkable ease.
“I was really lucky to gain recognition so soon after my debut,” he reflected. “I think it’s because I always try to fully embody the characters I play, and that effort resonates with viewers.”
Choo takes character immersion seriously.
“My personality and demeanor often shift depending on the role I’m playing. When I auditioned for ‘Police Class,’ the director told me I already sounded like my character before even acting—that’s when I realized how crucial it is to internalize a role. Since then, I meticulously study even the smallest gestures and speech patterns.”
This year, Choo Young Woo is set to appear in two highly anticipated projects—the Netflix series The Square and tvN’s The Fairy and the Cowherd. While The Square has already wrapped filming, The Fairy and the Cowherd is currently in production.
Looking ahead, he shared, “I can feel a big shift happening in my career right now. My goal is to give my absolute best in every project and make sure each role leaves a lasting impression.“
Catch up on Choo Young Woo’s comedic and swoony sides by watching The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call and The Tale of Lady Ok.
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