Oh was born and raised in
Mokpo,
South Jeolla Province. but critics initially dismissed him as just another model-turned-actor with attractive looks but little talent. In 2004, Oh established his acting credentials in
A Second Proposal, about a divorcee getting another chance at love; he won Best Supporting Actor at the
KBS Drama Awards. He next starred in
Couple or Trouble (2006), a
Hong sisters-penned romantic comedy series inspired by
Overboard about a handyman who gets his petty revenge on an amnesiac heiress by lying to her that she's his live-in girlfriend so that she'll help take care of his three nephews.
Couple or Trouble received high ratings and praise for its stars' acting, and Oh took home two popularity prizes at the
MBC Drama Awards. This was followed by more leading roles in
Autumn Shower (2005) as a man who falls for the best friend of his comatose wife,
Get Karl! Oh Soo-jung (2007) as a pro-golfer who wants to get back at the ex-girlfriend who dumped him when he was overweight and unsuccessful, and
Single Dad in Love (2008) as a
mixed martial arts fighter whose young son has been diagnosed with a brain tumor; but these series drew lackluster ratings. In 2009, he played a smart yet socially inept underperformer whose wife will do anything to help him climb the corporate ladder in
Queen of Housewives; despite being outshined by his other costars, Oh proved his willingness to look foolish in the service of comedy (similar to his turn in the 2005 series
Super Rookie). Oh then reunited with
Single Dad in Love television director Kwak Jung-hwan in his most high-profile, critically acclaimed series yet:
historical drama The Slave Hunters (2010). Using his physicality to great effect, Oh portrayed a
Joseon military general who becomes a runaway slave and his performance garnered him an Excellence Award at the
2010 KBS Drama Awards. In 2011, Oh was cast in a supporting role in
Sector 7, a
3D action film about a creature lurking on an oil rig, then appeared in the Korea-China-Japan co-production
Strangers 6 and
medical drama The Third Hospital (both in 2012). He also played ousted guard
Baek Dong-soo in
The Grand Heist, a Joseon-set comedy
heist film about the theft of ice blocks from the royal storage. Oh next starred in
The Queen of Office (2013), a workplace dramedy adapted from
Japanese television drama Haken no Hinkaku that addresses the plight of
temps, followed by
paranormal police procedural Cheo Yong (2014) as the titular ghost-seeing detective, and period drama
More Than a Maid (2015) where he played a mysterious slave on an undercover assignment. He then played an obstetrician/gynecologist with
impotence problems in the adult
romantic comedy film
Love Clinic (2015). == Personal life ==