After he finished his military service, PARK Jong-hwan, born in 1982, entered the Seoul Institute of the Arts to study filmmaking but eventually dropped before the end of his freshman year, feeling overwhelmed by the responsibilities that film directing implies and not talented enough to break through. This didn’t mean he wasn’t still looking for a career in films, however. As he remembered how much he enjoyed playing bit roles in the movies of his classmates, he decided ...More

After he finished his military service, PARK Jong-hwan, born in 1982, entered the Seoul Institute of the Arts to study filmmaking but eventually dropped before the end of his freshman year, feeling overwhelmed by the responsibilities that film directing implies and not talented enough to break through. This didn’t mean he wasn’t still looking for a career in films, however. As he remembered how much he enjoyed playing bit roles in the movies of his classmates, he decided to give acting a try, and the more he played, the more he took pleasure in overcoming his shyness and low self-esteem. His first screen appearance was as one the main characters in <The Coldest Winter> (2009). He then played in several movies from YOON Seong-ho, such as <Read My Lips> (2010) and <Now Playing> (2014). After a short appearance in hit crime action <Veteran> (2015), his first in a mainstream film, he landed supporting parts in <A Violent Prosecutor> (2015) and <VANISHING TIME: A BOY WHO RETURNED> (2016). In 2017, he won Best Actor at the Wildflower Film Awards for his lead role in <The Boys Who Cried Wolf>, and Actor of the Year at the Busan International Film Festival for the indie favorite <Hit the Night> (2017) from JEONG Ga-young. Less