Oh Jung-se Played K-pop’s Eternal Runner-Up. Now He’s Winning Real Trophies

Featured photo: Oh Jung-se at the press conference for Netflix’s “Mr. Plankton,” November 2024. Photo: K-POPIT, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.

Choi Seong-gon, the character Oh Jung-se plays in the film “Wild Sing,” is a star-crossed ballad singer who spent 39 straight weeks at No. 2 on TV music shows. That fake singer’s song climbed a real music chart and built a real fandom, and on November 4 it won Oh Jung-se Best Supporting Actor at the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards. Now he’s waiting to hear his name called as a Best Supporting Actor nominee at the Blue Dragon Film Awards on November 25.

I’ll be honest: as a fan, this news makes me so happy. Oh Jung-se held on for 22 years before the public learned his name, and a supporting actor in a comedy winning a prize picked by the critics themselves almost never happens at Korean awards shows (NewsQ). The Film Critics Awards are given by the Korean Association of Film Critics, and the Blue Dragon Film Awards are one of Korea’s biggest film ceremonies.

Choi Seong-gon, the “ear boyfriend” trapped at No. 2

“Wild Sing” (released June 3, 2026, directed by Son Jae-gon) is a caper about Triangle (Kang Dong-won, Um Tae-goo, Park Ji-hyun), a co-ed dance group that broke up overnight 20 years ago and now goes for a comeback (NewsQ). Choi Seong-gon is the “Prince of Ballads” of that era, forever stuck at No. 2 behind Triangle. Long hair over one eye, a photo time that gets laughs with lip-syncing, soulful eyes (Dispatch): Triangle are the official leads, but Oh Jung-se walked off with the buzz. JoongAng SUNDAY wrote that by “monopolizing the buzz,” Oh had settled “Choi Seong-gon’s grudge.”

Netflix’s official English-subtitled trailer. “Wild Sing” is streaming on Netflix in the U.S. and Korea (Netflix, JustWatch U.S. and Korea, checked November 8, 2026).

Also read: Bong Joon-ho Called Her a 'Diamond Mine.' Now Jo Yeo-jeong Holds Lee Chang-dong's Camera in Netflix's Possible Love

A fake singer landed on a real chart

Choi Seong-gon’s hit “I Like You” (“Niga Joa”) began as a melody music director Lee Jin-hee hummed on a morning walk with her dog, Jenny. Oh Jung-se choreographed the hand moves himself (OhmyNews).

“니가 좋아 니가 예뻐서 좋아 니가 착해서 좋아” (I like you, I like you ’cause you’re pretty, I like you ’cause you’re kind) — Choi Seong-gon, “I Like You,” lyrics by Lee Jin-hee, 2026

The song holds on to a single confession all the way through. The more reasons he lists for liking her, the bigger the love grows, and the moment that earnestness meets Oh Jung-se’s face, the laughter breaks out. People started playing with the short chorus. Trot, heavy metal, yodel and sijo versions poured out, and fan-made covers drew comments like “better than the original” (JoongAng SUNDAY).

Lotte Entertainment’s official music video, 4.41 million views (checked November 8, 2026).

The numbers prove the fever. The virtual singer’s song rose as high as No. 34 on the Melon chart, beating “Love Is” (No. 62) by Triangle, the No. 1 group in the film (JoongAng SUNDAY). Starting with actor Ryu Seung-ryong, aespa’s Winter, MONSTA X’s Kihyun, Kim Seon-ho and Lee Sung-min all joined the “I Like You” challenge (JoongAng SUNDAY, NewsQ). Fans even named themselves “Gondyu,” a playful twist on the word for “princess,” and the “Seong-gon’s Birthday” special screening, where Oh Jung-se made stage greetings dressed as Choi Seong-gon, sold out (JoongAng SUNDAY). The singer who couldn’t reach No. 1 in 39 weeks beat the No. 1 group in real life.

The comment Choi Seong-gon’s account left for the Blue Dragon Awards

On October 28, the day the Blue Dragon nominees were announced, “Choi Seong-gon” commented on the awards’ official post. “I hear rumors that this Oh Jung-se guy is on a roll lately. I’d heard he could act a bit, but I had no idea it’d be this much.” Then: “I’m just leaving my opinion as one ordinary citizen LOVE U~” (Xportsnews). To this adorable self-cheer, a character rooting for the actor who plays him, netizens replied, “Win the award and do a celebration performance,” and “If you sing live, it’s a lock” (same article).

On the night of the Film Critics Awards, Oh Jung-se couldn’t attend because of a shoot. Instead he sent his thanks in a witty video he’d filmed in advance in front of the venue, and the audience answered with laughter and cheers (Sports Seoul). In it he said, “I never imagined that Seong-gon, who was stuck at No. 2 for 39 weeks, would receive such a big award” (JTBC). Film critic Lee Dong-jin dedicated his one-line review of the film to Oh Jung-se outright: “I like Oh Jung-se. I like you ’cause you’re good.” (Dispatch)

Thirty years that started with “Customer 2”

The first role Oh Jung-se ever got, at 20, was “Customer 2.” He played a young man thrown out of a street food tent and was on screen for about ten seconds. Four years later, in a film, he was “Police Officer 1” and said one word: “Ah” (Dispatch). After his 1997 debut, he worked at his parents’ corner store and part-time jobs, went to more than 1,000 auditions, got cut out of films entirely, and made his way through more than 120 projects (same article). It took 22 years for the public to learn his name.

The waiting paid off all at once in 2019. As Ted Chang in the 10-million-viewer hit “Extreme Job,” he was brief but hilarious, and the same year, in the drama “When the Camellia Blooms,” he won over living rooms as No Gyu-tae, full of swagger yet impossible to hate (Dispatch).

CJ ENM’s official trailer. In the U.S., it’s on Rakuten Viki, The Roku Channel and more (JustWatch U.S., checked November 8, 2026).

Netflix’s official English-subtitled trailer, streaming on Netflix in the U.S. (JustWatch, checked November 8, 2026).

The next year, in “It’s Okay to Not Be Okay,” he played Moon Sang-tae, an older brother with autism, and wiped No Gyu-tae right out of people’s heads. Those two shows won him the Baeksang Arts Award for Best Supporting Actor in TV two years in a row, and the speech he gave still gets quoted: “Whatever you do, if you keep doing it, the comfort and reward you never got will find you.” (Dispatch)

Netflix’s official English-subtitled trailer, streaming on Netflix in the U.S. (JustWatch, checked November 8, 2026).

Since then he has never worn the same face twice. In “When Life Gives You Tangerines” he played a stepfather you want to hate but can’t (Dispatch), and this summer he became a long-haired balladeer and put a song on the charts.

Netflix’s official trailer, streaming on Netflix in the U.S. (JustWatch, checked November 8, 2026).

From Customer 2 to a singer stuck at No. 2 for 39 weeks, Oh Jung-se has always stood next to the lead, drawing the biggest laughs and staying the longest. When the Best Supporting Actor winner is announced at KBS Hall on the night of November 25, all the man who only ever came second needs is one call to No. 1. Like every Gondyu out there, I’m waiting for that name, and for the “I Like You” he’ll sing on his next stage.

Sources

• Newsis, October 28, 2026: Blue Dragon Film Awards nominees
• NewsQ, November 7, 2026
• Chosun Ilbo, November 5, 2026: Film Critics Awards, Sports Seoul: Film Critics Awards roundup
• JTBC: Oh Jung-se’s video acceptance speech
• JoongAng SUNDAY: the “Choi Seong-gon syndrome”
• OhmyNews: interview with music director Lee Jin-hee
• Xportsnews, October 28, 2026
• Dispatch: Focus
• Where to watch: JustWatch U.S. and Korea (checked November 8, 2026)