Actor You Need to Know: Wi Ha-joon

The whole nine yards of Wi Ha-joon’s acting aside, for me, what he did in Midnight (2021) is conspicuous. I despised him as much as I was awed by his unnervingly malicious Do-shik—a deranged serial killer. The raved psychological thriller film is a fatal hide-and-seek between him and a deaf Kyeong-mi (Jin Ki-joo) after she sees him stabbing a woman, becoming his next quarry. Wi carved a real creep out of Do-shik, eliciting the ultimate embodiment of fear lurking in the shadows. And while Korean content is already well-versed in portraying such characters and narratives, through casting Wi as Do-shik, the industry secured another savvy performer whose hegemony shows on screen, perhaps more as “the bad guy.”

Wi, 32, a theater and film major, made his debut in 2012 with a short film, followed by stints in a string of movies until landing a breakout role in the ghoulish horror Gonjijam: Haunted Asylum (2018). It’s a found footage film—unveiling freakish happenings within a derelict, forsaken asylum—when the team of a horror web series led by Ha-joon (Wi) attempts a live stream there. With his veracity amid stellar work from the rest, he made a statement, thanks to the edge and temperament Wi gives his characters each time.

He is sublime, specifically in dramatic acts that represent deeper issues, revealing inner emotional truths as well as the varying moods of various men. So, he consistently makes his scenes and characterizations laudable, and thus, even in supporting parts, he has this way of catching the eye. After Gonjijam, Wi had roles in prominent K-dramas including Something in the Rain (2018), Romance Is a Bonus Book (2019), and 18 Again (2020), getting praise and a nod for Best New Actor—Television at the 55th Baeksang Arts Awards for the role of Ji Seo-joon in Romance Is a Bonus Book.

The Midnight actor experienced a career uprush in 2021. Following Midnight’s success, Wi had the megahit magnum opus survival drama Squid Game and the mystery-thriller comedy drama Bad and Crazy. He plays Hwang Jun-ho, a cop who infiltrates the lethal game while masquerading as a guard to locate his lost brother. Even though Jun-ho’s backstory doesn’t come out much in the first season, we see him and get a sense of his lived experiences. The character catapulted Wi to international fame. I’m pinning hopes on getting more of his and his brother’s story in the much-awaited Squid Game Season 2, where Wi is reprising his role.

Bad and Crazy gave him another starring role, a memorable one, together with Lee Dong-wook, who portrays an able but unethical detective in the drama; his existence is immediately tossed into upheaval by an elusive, justice-seeking, rowdy crazy K played by Wi. In 2022, Wi returned with the noted mystery family drama Little Women (2022), centered on three closely-knit sisters who lived out of squalor. They get mired in intrigue through an incident, contesting the richest family in Korea. Here Wi cut an impressive Choi Do-il involved with Oh In-ju (Kim Go-eun, the eldest sister)—a mystery man whose loyalties for much of the show remain obscure.

Wi is back with The Worst of Evil next to Ji Chang-wook in a nerve-racking image of transgression and supremacy as Jung Gi-chul, the chief of a hefty criminal network active in the illicit drug trade between Korea, China, and Japan. The frantic action is abuzz with hazards and volatile with plot twists, stating a singular crime tale. It’s a mind-bender of intricacy and nuanced feelings ranging from the stupendous start to the darker binding section shown in the teaser, wherein Gi-chul is entirely awful and exudes seasoned villainy—a voracious adversary waiting to detonate the screen. The Worst of Evil comes on Disney+ on September 27. Gyeongseong Creature, the forthcoming period horror thriller starring Han So-hee and Park Seo-joon, will also include Wi in a pivotal role as soldier Kwon Jun-tae, Park’s Jang Tae-sang’s trusted companion.