Having completed his military service at the age of 21, and preparing himself quickly enough to make a debut as an actor in the Korean entertainment industry at the age of 22, Park Seo Joon (born Park Yong Kyu) has broken his own records, gaining popularity thanks to his duality in every single role he portrays, whether is a new Korean drama, films or commercials, and even some short appearances on music videos. 

Versatility At Best

His first drama, yet not his first role on a production, was "Dream High 2", back in 2012, the sequel of the iconic and extravagant "Dream High," both dramas focused on teenagers searching for their dreams and achieving their goals in the artistic environment. In this drama, he portrayed a lazy yet funny guy, Lee Si Woo, from the boyband "Eden," being his mate Jay B (previously JB) from GOT7. In the same year, he appeared in the sitcom "Shut Up Family!", full of romance and strange but enjoyable situations. In this period, he met actor Choi Woo Shik, who has helped him a lot since those days in improving his acting skills, both of them creating a strong friendship that keeps living until these days. Park Seo Joon shows us his very carefree personality in "Pots of Gold," a young man with dreams and painful moments as his experiences in "One Warm Word," where not only he plays the role of a protective step-brother, but also someone who is learning to forgive the people around him, and even forgive himself, being this drama perhaps his very first one where he explicitly shows his versatility by screaming at a minute, crying in a second and laughing at the end. 

In "A Witch's Love," Seo Joon gives life to Yoon Dong Ha, a young man with no hopes in love due to his girlfriend's death. Two dramas in a row were made in 2015, "Kill Me, Heal Me" and "She Was Pretty," being the second one where he finally gets the first main role on a television free-aired series. In both dramas, he shared the screen with actress Hwang Jung Eum, who played first as his young twin sister, and later on, as his once-beautiful, now-ugly best friend who finally becomes his wife. A young warrior is given the spotlight while filming "Hwarang," a drama which has given him not only the best of friends but also a lot more recognition worldwide. As a handsome vice-chairman, Park Seo Joon is willing to shine bright his arrogancy through Lee Young Joon, a smart but extremely narcissistic person in "What's Wrong With Secretary Kim?". 

In his latest drama, the Netflix production "Itaewon Class," he portrays a hardworking man, humble until the end with a very strict morality Park Saeroyi, who does the impossible to achieve his dream of being the owner of a famous and well known Korean restaurant. The same kind of personality, but a lot lighter and more dreamy, is presented in the 2017 drama, "Fight For My Way," where Seo Joon is Ko Dong Man, a star in the Taekwondo field. Even in his cameos, he has an incredible presence that makes the viewer believe he is going to probably, take the role in the middle of the movie or drama. His golden cameo was in the 2019 movie "Parasite," the first non-English language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. 

The Road On Films 

Long before appearing on dramas, Park Seo Joon debuted as an actor in "Perfect Game," back in 2011, a movie based on a true story featuring two baseball players. It wasn't until 2015 that he worked again for a film making, this time even harder than any other year in his career: two dramas recording plus two movies, "The Chronicles of Evil" and "The Beauty Inside," the last one as the main character, Woo Jin, who is a male constantly changing his appearance due to a condition. It is under Park Seo Joon's body that Woo Jin finally tells his feelings to his crush, a furniture retailer named Yi Soo. 

If seeing Seo Joon acting like a fool kid, a dreamy teenager, a funny guy, or an arrogant businessman doesn't convince you of his talent, "Midnight Runners" will surely do. Giving life to Park Ki Joon, he becomes a brave man who is a student from the Korean National Police University and is a total risk-taker who acts first and, if he is lucky enough, thinks later. Not being done with showing off his extreme side B, Seo Joon turns into a martial arts champion in the horror film "The Divine Fury," which combines religious topics between demons and the legend of those who are stigmatists. Ahead of his works, "Dream" and "Concrete Utopia" are two upcoming films with him as the main character, reuniting for the first movie once again with Lee Ji Eun after a decade since "Dream High 2". 

Heading to Marvel Cinematic Universe

 On June 16, the international media published rumors about Park Seo Joon's incorporation into Marvel Studios, a company recognized worldwide for its blockbusters, due to the compelling stories of superheroes, the creation of parallel universes, and, of course, its success is also due to the A-list actors known in Western culture, adding the special effects of each film, taking the viewer to another world out of reality. When these rumors became news, details were given that the film in which Park Seo Joon would make his debut for the American entertainment industry would be "The Marvels," a sequel to "Captain Marvel," released in 2019 and the first film to show the storyline of a female hero, starring Brie Larson. 

Various fan rumors suggest that the character destined for Seo Joon will be of the Korean-American mathematician, Amadeus Cho, a superhero with supreme intelligence abilities, related to celestial powers and a close friend of Bruce Banner "The Hulk," having appeared multiple times by his side in comic series. The character first met the light in 2005 and was created by American writer Greg Pak and Japanese artist Takeshi Miyazawa. In the comic books, Amadeus is the son of Philip Cho, a scientist, and Helen Cho, a dedicated wife, and mother. However, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the character of Helen Cho has a totally different story: Philip Cho is not even mentioned, and she is a doctor who helps to build Ultron, appearing in the 2015 movie "Avengers: Age of Ultron." She is in her mid-30s and is portrayed by South Korean actress Claudia Kim. Since this version of Helen Cho exists, it is unlikely that Park Seo Joon will portray her son, and if so, the continuity of the timeline will be fractured, a fairly common situation in the MCU. 

The release of official details, such as the exact date of the movie and, of course, Park Seo Joon's role in it, is yet to be confirmed by Marvel Studios. 

With a long history, Park Seo Joon has become an A-list actor not only in his country but also in Asia. The fact of being called to appear in Hollywood, a pop-cultural entity of America and the world, simply shows how prepared he is for all types of projects, giving his soul to his work and doing everything in his power to go even further. There is still so much more to see from this artist. Meanwhile, it is worth seeing his old projects again, and he enjoys them the most.