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Pierce Conran

Singer-turned-actor Seo In-guk is currently starring in Netflix’s high-concept workplace romantic comedy Boyfriend on Demand. The 38-year-old shares the screen with another performer who has recently traded the concert stage for sound stages: Blackpink’s Jisoo.
Born in Ulsan in southeast South Korea, Seo grew up in a working-class household; his mother worked at a recycling centre and his father was a welder.
Seo was athletic as a child, taking part in ssireum (traditional Korean wrestling), boxing, mixed martial arts and hapkido.
Inspired by Korean rock musician Kim Jung-min, Seo decided at age 10 that he wanted to become a singer – a goal his family initially did not support. Despite his father’s objections, he moved to Seoul at 20 to pursue a music career.

His persistence paid off quickly. In 2009, aged 21, he competed in the first season of the singing competition series Superstar K and won.
A few months later, he released his first EP, Calling, featuring a title track composed by Bang Si-hyuk, now globally known as the mastermind behind BTS and the chairman of BTS’ agency Hybe.
Seo pivoted to acting a few years later, making his on-screen debut in the 2012 KBS drama Love Rain. That same year, his breakout role in the smash hit Reply 1997 cemented his status as a leading screen actor.
Why we love him
Seo’s latest role in Boyfriend on Demand perfectly encapsulates what makes him a magnetic and distinctive K-drama actor.
While Jisoo plays Seo Mi-rae, an exhausted webtoon producer, Seo plays Park Kyeong-nam, her seemingly cold colleague and rival producer. Talented yet socially awkward and a bit of a closed book, Kyeong-nam initially leaves a negative impression on Mi-rae. It is only through his later actions that his personality starts to shine through.

Among today’s crop of K-drama leading men, Seo is ideally suited to this kind of nuanced role. He is undeniably handsome, but his stand-out quality is versatility. He has a mercurial screen presence that lets him inhabit a wide spectrum of characters, from charming heroes to complex anti-heroes.
When Seo first appears in a new series, audiences never quite know what to expect – a refreshing departure from many of his peers often tethered to specific K-drama stereotypes.
The star-making roles
In Reply 1997, the first instalment of the hugely successful anthology series that later spawned Reply 1994 and Reply 1988, Seo plays high-schooler Yoon Yoon-jae. He is the quiet, loyal best friend to Jung Eun-ji’s Sung Shi-won, who is a huge fan of an idol group.
Charming viewers with its nostalgic, colourful Busan setting and a cast full of idols in small roles, Reply 1997 became an early hit during the nascent days of cable K-dramas.

Seo’s next major turn was as ex-soldier Kang Woo in the 2013 romantic comedy Master’s Sun, penned by the celebrated Hong Sisters. Starring alongside Gong Hyo-jin and So Ji-sub, Seo proved his breakout success was no fluke.
He continued to show his range in the 2016 crime comedy Squad 38, a record-breaking hit for the OCN cable network. He played the suave con man Yang Jeong-do, sharing the screen with Ma Dong-seok (aka Don Lee) and Girls’ Generation member Choi Soo-young, who starred as tax collectors.

The iconic parts
After a brief hiatus, Seo returned in the hit fantasy romcom Doom at Your Service (2021) alongside Park Bo-young, playing Myeolmang, an immortal messenger between gods and humans. Stylish and emotionally resonant, the show was particularly successful with international audiences.
He followed with Cafe Minamdang, a mystery-comedy in which he played Nam Han-joon, a charismatic swindler posing as a shaman. Han-joon possesses no actual supernatural abilities, but when mysterious events unfold around him, his fake gig suddenly becomes dangerously real.
Staying in the fantasy lane, Seo took his boldest swing yet in the action-packed series Death’s Game (2023-2024). He starred as suicidal jobseeker Choi Yee-jae, who is intercepted by Death and forced to reincarnate through 12 spectacular, grisly demises before moving on.

The unheralded performance
Though a domestic box office disappointment, the action thriller Project Wolf Hunting (2022) was a hit on the festival circuit and featured Seo in his most unhinged role to date.
In this uber-violent, maritime spin on Con Air, a group of vicious criminals being transported from the Philippines breaks out and turns on their captors and each other.
Seo will return to the corporate world in his next series, the romantic comedy See You at Work Tomorrow!, co-starring rising actress Park Ji-hyun. He will play Kang Si-woo, a meticulous and notoriously blunt department manager.


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Korean singer-turned-actor Seo In-guk recently starred in the K-drama series Boyfriend on Demand. Photo: Ji Sang Chung/Netflix

Seo In-guk in a still from Cafe Minamdang (2022).

Seo In-guk as Park Kyeong-nam in a still from Boyfriend on Demand. Photo: Kim Jeong-won/Netflix

Seo In-guk in a still from Reply 1997 (2012).

Seo In-guk (left) and Park Bo-young in a still from Doom at Your Service (2021).

Seo In-guk in a still from Death’s Game (2023). Photo: TVing

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Jisoo as Seo Mi-rae in a still from Boyfriend on Demand, one of eight of the best new dramas to look forward to in March 2026. Photo: Kim Jeong-won/Netflix

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Jisoo as Seo Mi-rae, a publishing house producer who gets swept off her feet on a dating platform offering AI-generated partners, in a still from Boyfriend on Demand. Photo: Netflix

Seo In-guk as the handsome, aloof Naemo publishing house producer Park Kyeong-nam in a still from Boyfriend on Demand. Photo: Netflix

Seo Kang-joon (left) as AI-generated ideal male partner Seo Eun-ho, and Jisoo as Seo Mi-rae, in a still from Boyfriend on Demand. Photo: Netflix

Jisoo as Seo Mi-rae in a still from Boyfriend on Demand. Photo: Netflix

Lee Soo-hyuk (left) as AI-generated ideal partnerer Choi Si-woo, and Jisoo as Seo Mi-rae, in a still from Boyfriend on Demand. Photo: Netflix

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Seo In-guk in a still from “Death’s Game”, in which his character, Choi Yae-jee, having taken his own life, is ordered back to Earth by Death, where he must live the last moments of 12 people about to die. Save one and he can live out their life.

Lee Do-hyun as model Jang Geon-u in a still from “Death’s Game”.

Oh Jung-se as Ahn Ji-hyung in a still from “Death’s Game”.

Kim Jae-wook in a still from “Death’s Game”.

Park So-dam as Death in a still from “Death’s Game”.

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Kim Tae-ri (left) and Nam Joo-hyuk in a still from “Twenty-Five, Twenty-One”, one of many popular Korean drama series set in high schools. Photo: Netflix

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From his musical beginnings to his breakout role in Reply 1997 to his turn in Boyfriend on Demand, Seo In-guk stands out for his versatility


From his musical beginnings to his breakout role in Reply 1997 to his turn in Boyfriend on Demand, Seo In-guk stands out for his versatility.


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From his musical beginnings to his breakout role in Reply 1997 to his turn in Boyfriend on Demand, Seo In-guk stands out for his versatility

From his musical beginnings to his breakout role in Reply 1997 to his turn in Boyfriend on Demand, Seo In-guk stands out for his versatility