'Parasite' star Choi Woo-shik dives into romantic hijinks

'Another Miss Oh' director joins Choi Woo-shik and Jung So-min in rom-com 'Would You Marry Me?', built around a luxury-home caper

Choi Woo-shik (left) and Jung So-min pose for a photo during a press conference held in Mok-dong, Seoul, Friday. (Newsis)

Choi Woo-shik, the star of Oscar-winning “Parasite,” is set to return to the small screen in a rom-com that plays with the age-old trope of fake marriage.

In “Would You Marry Me?,” Choi plays Woo-ju, a man who joins Me-ri (Jung So-min) in a scheme to win a luxury newlywed home by pretending to be married.

The series is guided by Song Hyeon-wook, the acclaimed director behind beloved romance dramas like “The King’s Affection” and “Another Miss Oh” — the latter earning the main lead Seo Hyun-jin the top actress award in TV at the 2017 Baeksang Arts Awards.

For Song, the challenge was elevating a premise — fake marriages — that could feel overly familiar to K-drama fans.

“At first glance, the logline may seem very familiar, and it might feel like the story is already laid out. But I think the key point to watch is how the story unfolds within that framework and how the relationships develop. It will be interesting to see how a clear narrative is carried through all 12 episodes.”

Meanwhile, both main leads cited their trust in Song as a decisive factor in signing on.

“I really enjoyed ‘Another Miss Oh,’ so I wanted to collaborate with the director. ... For this project, I approached filming with the mindset of going to a playground,” Choi said during a press conference in Mok-dong on Friday.

Jung echoed the sentiment: “I binge-watched ‘Another Miss Oh.’ I had high expectations and trust in the director, and I thought filming would be fun if I worked together with Woo-sik.”

Meanwhile, the director addressed the brief overlap in airtime with his other KBS 2TV project, “Walking On Thin Ice,” which wraps on Oct. 26. Starring Lee Young-ae and Kim Young-kwang, the series follows Eun-su (Lee) as her discovery of a bag full of drugs triggers a cascade of misfortunes.

Originally slated to air in February and March, “Walking On Thin Ice” ended up sharing a broadcast window with “Would You Marry Me?” after KBS introduced dedicated weekend slots for dramas. Despite the scheduling collision, Song emphasized that each series offers a distinct viewing experience.

“It’s a bit awkward for me too, and I don’t even know which one I should watch. But I feel like ‘Would You Marry Me?’ — which is still being filmed and edited — is the project I can’t let go of. Since the two works are of different genres and feature actors of different age groups, I think viewers will enjoy having the choice between them,” Song said.

“Would You Marry Me?” premieres Friday at 9:50 p.m. on SBS and will also stream on Disney+.