2008–2010: Career beginnings After graduating, Park worked in the theater company Route 21. He was also doing odd jobs to make a living. He spent about 8–9 months in the theater company, and while he enjoyed the stage work, he found it frustrating. He had to work part-time until late at night, sleep in the theater, and couldn't secure a role due to teachers and senior actors receiving priority. He also only earned 50,000 won in total for those 9 months. Following his departure from the theater company, Park secured minor roles in the films
A Frozen Flower (2008) and
Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard (2009). Even after his film debut in 2008, Park endured a three-and-a-half-year period without any acting opportunities. After joining an agency, Park's opportunities remained limited. In the span of a year and a half, he only auditioned three times, which left him feeling disheartened about his career prospects. In 2009, he applied for the
KBS voice actor recruitment test but failing in the final interview. To survive, he took on part-time employment at a concert hall, assuming the roles of both an announcer and a merchandise vendor; first in the musical concert "Pump Boyz," "Hedwig Show," and
Yoon Do-hyun's Band Concert. Park's job at the concert hall allowed him to observe senior artists' performances. He frequently received business cards by chance, which led to many meetings. Fortunately, Park crossed paths with the Shownote team leader, who connected him with people in the theater industry. In the first six months of 2013, Park had a busy schedule. Park played the role of Lockwood in Korean premiere of
Alan Bennett's play
The History Boys. Simultaneously, he met the audience in the role of Seo Min-yeong, a model student with a shrewd paranoia, in the play
Model Students. Juggling two different projects simultaneously and switching between such contrasting characters was undoubtedly challenging. Nevertheless, Park found enjoyment in the process. In 2014, Park appeared as a communications team leader in
SBS drama
Three Days and gained great experience by working with talented seniors. Then Park joined performance delivery service Ganda's play
Judo Boy, as Min-wook, a boxer. In the end of that same year, Park and Jo Kang-hyeon both portrayed the character Park Jae-hyun in the play
Melodrama directed by Jang Yu-jeon. Park Jae-hyun, who underwent a heart transplant after a car accident in his youth, falls deeply in love with Seo-kyung.
Melodrama premiered in 2007 and received positive reviews for its artistic value and exploration of adultery, conveying a message about the true essence of love. It was performed at the Jayu Theater in Seoul Arts Center from December 31, 2014, to February 15, 2015. In autumn, Park and Jeong Dong-hwa were both cast as Oliver in a revival of the play
The Pride directed by
Kim Dong-yeon. The central theme of the play focused on the social struggles faced by marginalized groups, particularly sexual minorities: Philip, Oliver, Peter, and Sylvia, who lived in two different time periods—1958 and the present day. The production took place at the Daehakro Soohyun Theatre and ran from August 6 onwards.
The Pride is a play by
Alexi Kaye Campbell, a Greek-British playwright. It originally premiered at the
Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in November 2008 and received prestigious awards such as
The Critics' Circle Prize for Most Promising Playwright and the
John Whiting Award for Best New Play. The production, under the direction of Jamie Lloyd, also received a Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an affiliate theatre. The South Korean adaptation of the play was written by Ji Yi-seon, translated by Kim Soo-bin, and made its debut at The 5th Best Plays Festival at the Art One Theater in 2014. In October of that same year, in historical drama
Six Flying Dragons, Park played Gil-yu, the son of Gil Tae-mi (
Park Hyuk-kwon) and a delinquent Confucian student in
Sungkyunkwan. He won Best New Actor Award from Korean Culture Entertainment Awards for the role. In the end of the year, Park joined
Koki Mitani's play
University of Laughs directed by Taeyoung Jeong, featuring actors Seo Hyun-cheol, Nam Seong-jin, Park Seong-hoon, and Lee Si-hoon. In the press call, Park mentioned that compared to his previous play, this play was even more challenging as it was a
two-hander performance. Park expressed that after working on heavy projects consecutively, he wanted to do a comedy, and
University of Laughs provided him with that opportunity. He also mentioned that memorizing the repeated and similar but different lines in the performance was the most difficult part. It was staged at Daehakro Arts Plaza Hall 1 until January 24 of the following year. Park gained recognition for his performances in diverse works including the popular play
The History Boys,
Model Students,
Judo Boys, and
Melodrama. He also fearlessly embraced roles pertaining to homosexuality in productions like
The Pride and
Two Weddings and a Funeral. His dedication to immersing himself in any role he took on earned him acclaim as an actor. As a result, he earned the nickname "theater idol," with fans eagerly lining up to see him after performances. However, despite his popularity within the
Daehangno theater community, he had yet to attain widespread recognition from the general public. In the end 2016, he became scene stealer with his role as Secretary Cha in
SBS drama ''
Don't Dare to Dream''. In 2017, Park reprised his role as Oliver in the play
The Pride directed by
Kim Dong-yeon. The performance ran from March 21 to July 2, 2017, at the Daehakro Art One Theater Hall 2. Additionally, Park took on the role of reporter Na Sung-shik from the Splash Team in the drama
Distorted. He also made a special appearance in
Mad Dog as the insurance fraudster Go Jin-cheol. Furthermore, Park portrayed the supporting role of Park Gon in
Black Knight: The Man Who Guards Me. In the same year, Park starred in the
KBS2 weekend drama
My Only One, which ended with an impressive viewership rating of around 49%. His portrayal of dentist Jang Go-rae was adored by many, earning him the endearing title of 'the nation's son-in-law'. At the end of that year, he was honored with the Best New Actor Award at the
2018 KBS Drama Awards. In 2019, Park also received a nomination in the Best New Actor category
55th Baeksang Arts Awards. In 2019, Park donated his talent as a narrator for a barrier-free version of Song Won-geun's documentary film Kim Bok-dong. The documentary was about the story of Kim Bok-dong, a comfort woman who traveled around the world demanding an apology from Japan and had fought until the end despite being over 90 years old. She had done this from 1992 until her death in January 2019. The film was released in Korea in August and had garnered significant attention from the public. It is based on the
web novel Justice, written by Jang Ho and illustrated by Elja. The series aired on
KBS2's Wednesdays and Thursdays at 22:00 (
KST) from July 17 to September 5, 2019. In
Psychopath Diary, Park acted as Seo In-woo, the real psychopathic serial killer who is also the director of Daehan Securities where Yook Dong-sik (
Yoon Shi-yoon) works. It aired on
tvN from November 20, 2019 to January 9, 2020. Park also appeared in a Korean
historical drama film
Forbidden Dream released on December 26, 2019. The film was directed by
Hur Jin-ho and written by Jung Bum-shik and Lee Ji-min, with the screenplay written by Choi Gun-ho. Based on a true story, the film delves into the life of
Sejong the Great (
Han Suk-kyu), the king of the
Joseon dynasty in Korea, and his relationship with his most brilliant scientist,
Jang Yeong-sil (
Choi Min-sik). In the film, Park acted in a supporting role
Crown Prince Yi Hyang. The film made its international debut at the 2020
New York Asian Film Festival in August of that year. In 2020, Park landed his first leading role in the
KBS2 Wednesday-Thursday drama series
Memorials. It is based on the screenplay written by Moon Hyun-kyung, which won the grand prize in Broadcasting Content Promotion Foundation (BCPF)'s "10th Find the Desert's Shooting Star Screenplay Competition," held in 2018. Park reunited with
Nana and acted as love interest of her character. The series also starred
Yoo Da-in,
Han Joon-woo and
Ahn Nae-sang, aired on
KBS2 every Wednesday and Thursday at 21:30 (
KST) from July 1 to August 20, 2020. Park's portrayal of Seo Gong-myung in the show received praise for his on-screen chemistry with Nana, leading to them being referred to as the 'La Cong Couple.' Additionally, Park showcased his singing abilities by releasing his first soundtrack, "Our Memories in Summer" (), which featured Nana as well. Their on-screen chemistry led to them winning the Best Couple award at the
2020 KBS Drama Awards. Additionally, Park himself received the Excellence Award for Actor in a Miniseries at the same event.
2022–present: Wider recognition, recent screen works and theater comeback In 2022, Park took on the supporting role of Jeon Jae-joon in the highly anticipated
Netflix original series called
The Glory. The series, written by
Kim Eun-sook and directed by Ahn Gil-ho, was a revenge psychological thriller. Park starred alongside
Song Hye-kyo,
Lee Do-hyun,
Lim Ji-yeon,
Yeom Hye-ran, and
Jung Sung-il. Park's character, Jeon Jae-joon, was a color-blind heir of a country club and was involved in the mistreatment of Dong-Eun (
Song Hye-kyo). The series was released in two parts, with Part 1 premiering on December 30, 2022, and Part 2 on March 10, 2023. The series received critical acclaim and achieved high viewership. It was nominated for eight awards at the
59th Baeksang Arts Awards, winning three, including Best Drama, Best Actress for
Song Hye-kyo, and Best Supporting Actress for
Lim Ji-yeon. Park was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Award. He also earned a nomination for the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 2nd Blue Dragon Series Awards. Park also took on role in the film ''
, which tackles the issue of digital sexual crimes. In the film, he portrayed the character Han Myeong-ho, an unscrupulous villain with a distinct contrast to Jeon Jae-jun. It premiered at the 27th Busan International Film Festival. The drama is based on a webtoon of the same Korean title, which was serialized on Kakao Webtoon from 2019 to 2022. It is an original production by Genie TV, and is available for streaming on its platform, as well as on TVING in South Korea, and on Viki in selected regions. It also broadcast on ENA from July 17 to August 22, 2023 every Monday and Tuesday at 22:00 (KST). The drama is set to return for a second season, scheduled to be released in 2025. In the mystery series The Kidnapping Day,'''''''' Park acted as Park Sang-yoon, a violent crime detective. The drama also starred
Yoon Kye-sang,
Jeon Yu-na, and
Kim Shin-rok. It is based on a mystery novel of the same title by writer Jung Hae-yeon. It broadcast on
ENA from September 13 to October 25, 2023, every Wednesday and Thursday at 21:00 (
KST). It is also available for streaming on
Amazon Prime Video in selected regions. In January 2024, Park had made a special appearance in episodes 1-2 of the Netflix series
The Bequeathed, which had been created and written by director
Yeon Sang-ho. Director Min Hong-nam, who had worked as an assistant director on
Train to Busan, directed the series. The series exclusively released on Netflix on January 19, 2024. In the series, Park had portrayed the character Yang Jae-seok, who was the husband of Yoon Seo-ha (played by
Kim Hyun-joo). Additionally, in the same month, Park started shooting in
Thailand for Kim Pan-soo's action film
Tropical Night. Queen of Tears reached a nationwide rating of 24.850% for its final episode and became the
highest-rated tvN series, surpassing
Crash Landing on You. It also became the
third highest-rated series in Korean cable television history for viewership ratings and the
second highest by number of viewers. His performance as Yoon Eun-sung was well received by viewers. As a result, he was invited to popular television show hosted by
Yoo Jae-suk and
Jo Se-ho You Quiz on the Block. Park is scheduled to go on stage for the first time in 7 years with the play Bread. Directed by Kim Tae-hyung, it will be performed at Yes24 Art One Hall 1 from June 18 to September 8. In 2024, Park starred as the transgender female character
Cho Hyun-ju in
the second season of
Squid Game. His casting choice was controversial due to some wanting a trans person to authentically portray their experiences. Criticism fell on both the casting of a cisgender person for the role instead of a transgender person, as well as for casting a man in particular as opposed to a woman. Some argued in response to this criticism that South Korea is conservative with regards to
LGBTQ rights, and that trying to find a transgender actress willing to put herself in the spotlight was not reasonable. People also opined that having a trans character in a South Korean series at all is an important step in representation. Though Hwang wanted to cast a transgender actor for the role, it was difficult to find such an actor in Korea due to the above issues, and believed that Park's prior roles in
The Glory and
Queen of Tears made him capable of portraying the role. Of all the cast members of the second season, Park's portrayal of Hyun-ju won significant praise from many critics. Many viewers regarded Park's character as one of the most compelling characters in the second season, due to the character development and background of Hyun-ju and Park's dedication and depth in portraying Hyun-ju. In 2026, Park starred in
JTBC's romantic comedy
The Practical Guide to Love opposite
Han Ji-min. He played Song Tae-seop, the CEO of a woodworking studio. == Personal life ==