Happy Cha Seung Won Day: Looking at the versatile actor’s thriving career featuring ‘Our Blues’ & more

The following summer, the runaway success of Kim Sang Jin’s comedy ‘Kick the Moon’ (over 4.3 million tickets sold) secured his place in the industry as a leading actor with strong star appeal. Since then, he has become one of the few surefire box office draws in the country. In a 2005 survey of influential movie producers, he was ranked among the top ten most bankable stars.

Cha Seung Won is a South Korean actor, who began his career as an in-demand fashion model in the 1990s. Although his debut film ‘Holiday In Seoul’ (1997) and many of his subsequent roles did not establish him as a major star, he attracted attention in 2000 for his performance as an arsonist in the firefighting film ‘Libera Me’.

In early 2003, Cha Seung Won took on a slightly more serious role as a corrupt schoolteacher who is transferred to a country school in the film ‘My Teacher, Mr. Kim’. The film grossed over 2.4 million admissions and drew Cha Seung Won additional praise for his acting abilities. Cha starred in his first melodrama ‘Over the Border’ (2006), about a North Korean defector. He then reunited with Jang Jin in ‘My Son’ (2007), and he said his experience as a father helped a lot in learning the character. 

In 2014, he signed with the talent agency YG Entertainment, then starred in the police series ‘You’re All Surrounded’. He took on the role of Seo Pan Seok, a short-tempered captain of the Violent Crimes Unit. A legend at the precinct, Pan Seok is known for his tireless commitment to hunting down the most notorious criminals and his success rate in closing difficult cases, as well as his vocal disdain for higher-ups who abuse their authority. He initially despises being assigned rookies to mentor but, after a rough start, becomes fond of them as they prove themselves. 

This was followed by his third team-up with director Jang Jin in the comedy noir film ‘Man on High Heels’, which subverted his macho image by having him play a transgender homicide detective. In 2017, Cha Seung Won was cast in tvN’s fantasy romantic comedy drama ‘A Korean Odyssey’ by the Hong sisters. He took on the role of Woo Hwi / Woo Mawang, the CEO of Lucifer Entertainment. A gentle and charismatic businessman, he is the object of others’ envy due to his popularity. He has a bad history with Son Oh Gong (Lee Seung Gi) in the past, and now seeks chances to become a deity through ‘collecting’ points in order to change the fate of the woman he loves. He has supernatural powers that can affect Son Oh Gong. 

In 2021, he starred alongside Kim Soo Hyun in ‘One Ordinary Day’ which is based on the British television series ‘Criminal Justice’ written by Peter Moffat. He played the role of Shin Joong Han, a lawyer who barely passed the bar exam and the only person who reaches out to help Kim Hyun Soo (Kim Soo Hyun). 

His latest role is in ‘Our Blues’, a series that revolves around the sweet and bitter life of people standing at the end, climax, or beginning of life, and depicts their stories in an omnibus format against the backdrop of Jeju Island. He played Choi Han Soo, a successful man who returns to his hometown of Jeju as a perfect urban man and Jeong Eun Hee’s (Lee Jung Eun) first love. 

Seeing his successful career over the years, let’s hope to see him in more lead roles in the future!