Rookie Hyun Woo-seok has grown into a promising star in Chungmuro this year. He has steadily expanded his acting skills by appearing in various genres and independent films that have been recognized for their quality, and showing increasingly mature performances. Let‘s take a look at the foundations that Hyun Woo-seok has calmly built.

First, Hyun Woo-seok built his foundation with the movie ‘Dolphin’, which was released last March. In the movie ‘Dolphin’, Hyun Woo-seok plays the role of Seong-woon, a high school senior with many worries who wants to run away to Seoul. He portrays a high school senior who wants to try something new, unlike his older sister Na-young (played by Kwon Yu-ri), between reality and ideals, and gives the audience time to catch their breath and think, giving the film a high level of perfection.

In May, the movie ‘Time to Cheer Up’, which conveyed strength to everyone as its title suggests, won three awards at the 25th Jeonju International Film Festival, making waves in the hearts of movie fans even before its official release. Hyun Woo-seok took on the role of retired idol Tae-hee and conveyed the emotional line that was built up layer by layer to the audience, leaving a deep aftertaste.

Through this film, Hyun Woo-seok was officially invited to the Asian Feature Film Competition section of the 35th Singapore International Film Festival, drawing attention and interest from Singaporean film officials.

Next, Hyun Woo-seok has taken on another film festival with the film ‘My 5 Minutes with You’, which is scheduled to be released next year. Hyun Woo-seok took on the role of Jae-min, the class president who hides a secret that he cannot tell anyone, and gave a delicate performance wearing a school uniform once again, earning the honor of winning the Korean Competition Feature Film Award at the 20th Jecheon International Music & Film Festival.

Hyun Woo-seok, who is expanding his position through films of various genres, will be seen on the screen again in 2025. In the movie ‘Regular Restaurant’, in which Ma Dong-seok participated as the general planner, Hyun Woo-seok plays the role of Kim Woo-bin, a part-time worker at a Chinese restaurant. He seems to live without big dreams using his youth as his weapon, but he is expected to show his presence as a person with more loyalty and affection than anyone else.

The movie ‘Time to Cheer Up’, which Hyun Woo-seok stars in and was selected by a number of prestigious film festivals, is being released in theaters nationwide starting Wednesday the 18th.

Jeon Hyo-jin, Donga.com reporter jhj@donga.com