Cover Before he heads into the snow-covered mystery of Snowfall, revisit Koo Kyo-hwan’s most memorable roles across military dramas, zombie thrillers and unsettling horror series (Photo: Colony/IMDb)
Before he heads into the snow-covered mystery of Snowfall, revisit Koo Kyo-hwan’s most memorable roles across military dramas, zombie thrillers and unsettling horror series (Photo: Colony/IMDb)
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From ‘D.P’ to ‘Peninsula’, these Koo Kyo-hwan titles are worth watching before ‘Snowfall,
Before Koo Kyo-hwan appears in the upcoming drama Snowfall, there is already a long list of projects that show how wide his screen work has become across zombie thrillers, military dramas, psychological horror and offbeat character studies. In Snowfall, he stars alongside Kim Yoon-seok and Lee Jung-eun in a mystery drama centred on a remote village cut off by a sudden snowstorm and a series of unexplained disappearances.
Over the past few years, Koo Kyo-hwan has moved between streaming hits and genre-heavy films without settling into one familiar type of role. Some of his most recognisable performances place him in chaotic survival stories, while others focus on quieter characters dealing with frustration, grief or isolation. That range is part of why viewers keep returning to his filmography. From deserter chases in D.P to infected wastelands in Peninsula, several of these titles also helped shape recent Korean genre television and cinema internationally.
If Snowfall has put Koo Kyo-hwan on your watchlist, these dramas and films offer a strong starting point, including his latest 2026 releases and the projects that pushed him into wider global attention.
Read more: 5 Zo In-sung K-dramas to stream before Cannes film ‘Hope’
‘Colony’ (2026)
Above A corporate convention turns into a biohazard lockdown as a mutating virus spreads through a sealed complex, trapping survivors inside shifting danger
Directed by Yeon Sang-ho, Colony returns to the zombie world that previously included Train to Busan and Peninsula. The story begins inside a large corporate complex during a company convention, where a scientist unleashes a bioterror virus that rapidly mutates infected victims into violent creatures. Unlike traditional zombies, the infected in Colony are drawn to light and evolve collectively as the outbreak spreads through the quarantined building.
Koo Kyo-hwan plays Young-cheol, the scientist responsible for engineering the pathogen after turning against his former employer. The film also stars Jun Ji-hyun and Go Soo as survivors trapped inside the collapsing containment zone. Much of the tension comes from shifting alliances among employees and security personnel trying to escape while the infected continue adapting. Colony leans heavily into large-scale action and body horror while keeping the confined survival setting central to the story.
Don’t miss: Cannes Film Festival 2026 sees Japan and South Korea return with some of the year’s biggest films
‘We Are All Trying Here’ (2026)
Above A stalled filmmaker reconnects with former peers while confronting long-held resentment, professional failure and the pressure of unrealised ambition
We Are All Trying Here moves away from action and horror into a workplace drama centred on envy, stalled careers and emotional exhaustion. Koo Kyo-hwan stars as Hwang Dong-man, an aspiring film director who has spent two decades trying to make his debut while the rest of his former film club members become successful producers and directors.
The series follows Dong-man as he struggles with feelings of failure while reconnecting with producer Byeon Eun-ah, played by Go Youn-jung. Eun-ah is known within the industry for her harsh script criticism, but she is also dealing with her own emotional pressure behind the scenes. Oh Jung-se co-stars as Park Kyung-se, a once-successful director facing professional setbacks after a recent box office failure.
Written by Park Hae-young, the drama focuses less on industry glamour and more on insecurity, resentment and stalled ambition within creative careers. Koo Kyo-hwan plays Dong-man with a mix of awkward humour and frustration as the character tries to rebuild his confidence after years of disappointment.
‘Parasyte: The Grey’ (2024)
Above Humanity faces parasitic organisms that take over human hosts, forcing an uneasy coexistence between survivors and an evolving hidden threat
Based on the manga by Hitoshi Iwaaki, Parasyte: The Grey follows a series of violent incidents caused by parasitic organisms that take over human hosts. The story centres on Jung Su-in, played by Jeon So-nee, who survives a failed parasite takeover and ends up sharing her body with the creature instead of losing control completely.
Koo Kyo-hwan plays Seol Kang-woo, a man searching for his missing sister after the outbreak begins spreading across society. As government task forces hunt infected hosts and parasites organise themselves secretly among humans, Kang-woo becomes one of the few people willing to work alongside Su-in despite distrusting the creatures inhabiting people around him.
Directed by Yeon Sang-ho, the series combines creature horror with conspiracy thriller elements. Lee Jung-hyun also appears as the leader of a task force attempting to contain the parasite threat. The show gradually expands from isolated attacks into a wider conflict involving both human survival and parasite evolution.
‘D.P’ (2021-2023)
Above Two soldiers in the Deserter Pursuit unit track fugitives from military service, uncovering stories of abuse, pressure and institutional breakdown
One of the projects most closely associated with Koo Kyo-hwan, D.P follows members of South Korea’s Deserter Pursuit unit, soldiers assigned to track down military deserters before they disappear permanently. The series stars Jung Hae-in as Ahn Jun-ho, a quiet soldier recruited into the unit because of his observational skills.
Koo Kyo-hwan plays Corporal Han Ho-yul, Jun-ho’s partner and guide through the brutal realities of military life. Ho-yul initially appears relaxed and sarcastic, but the series gradually reveals how deeply familiar he is with the violence and abuse occurring inside the system they work for.
Across both seasons, the duo investigates desertion cases linked to bullying, assault, hazing and institutional neglect. Each episode introduces new deserters with different motivations for fleeing military service, while the central characters confront the limits of the system they operate within. Kim Sung-kyun and Son Seok-koo co-star as senior officers overseeing the unit.
D.P balances procedural storytelling with character-driven drama, and Koo Kyo-hwan’s chemistry with Jung Hae-in became one of the series’ defining elements.
‘Monstrous’ (2022)
Above A cursed relic unleashes hallucinations and violence in a small town, pulling an archaeologist and investigator into a spiralling supernatural mystery
Monstrous blends supernatural horror with archaeological mystery. The series begins when researchers uncover a cursed Buddhist statue connected to a series of unexplained deaths and hallucinations in a small town cut off by severe weather.
Koo Kyo-hwan stars as Jung Ki-hoon, a former archaeologist and occult magazine writer investigating paranormal incidents after personal tragedy changes his career path. Shin Hyun-been plays Lee Soo-jin, a gifted archaeologist dealing with her own grief while assisting in the investigation.
As the curse spreads, residents begin losing control under the influence of visions tied to the statue’s history. The series shifts between survival horror and psychological breakdown as Ki-hoon and Soo-jin attempt to understand the origins of the object before the town collapses entirely into chaos. Supporting cast members include Kwak Dong-yeon and Nam Da-reum.
‘Kill Boksoon’ (2023)
Above An elite assassin navigates contract killings and agency politics while balancing motherhood and a fragile attempt at personal autonomy
In Kill Boksoon, Jeon Do-yeon plays Gil Bok-soon, a legendary contract killer working for a professional assassination agency while trying to raise her teenage daughter as a single parent.
Koo Kyo-hwan appears as Han Hee-sung, another assassin connected to Bok-soon through the agency’s internal hierarchy and rivalries. As Bok-soon considers leaving the organisation, conflicts emerge between assassins, management and competing interests inside the company. Sol Kyung-gu co-stars as agency chief Cha Min-kyu, while Esom plays his ambitious younger sister.
The film mixes fast-paced action choreography with workplace politics inside the assassin industry. Rather than treating the contract killers as isolated criminals, the story presents the organisation as a structured corporate system with strict rules, performance expectations and punishments.
‘Kingdom: Ashin of the North’ (2021)
Above A prequel tracing the origins of the resurrection plant through betrayal, border conflict and a descent into revenge
Set within the world of Kingdom, this special episode explores the backstory of Ashin, played by Jun Ji-hyun, and the origins of the resurrection plant linked to the zombie outbreak in the main series.
Koo Kyo-hwan plays Ai Da Gan, a military commander connected to escalating tensions between Joseon forces and northern tribes near the border. The story follows Ashin after the massacre of her village, tracing how betrayal and political manipulation shape her eventual pursuit of revenge.
The episode expands the mythology behind the infected plague while focusing heavily on border conflict, espionage and survival. Much of the narrative revolves around hidden agendas between military factions and the long-term consequences of state violence. Alongside Jun Ji-hyun and Koo Kyo-hwan, the cast also includes Kim Si-a as young Ashin.
‘Peninsula’ (2020)
Above A soldier returns to a zombie-ravaged Korea on a high-risk mission, colliding with rogue militia and a society built on collapse and control
Set four years after the zombie outbreak in Train to Busan, Peninsula follows former soldier Jung-seok, played by Gang Dong-won, as he returns to the Korean peninsula during a dangerous recovery mission involving abandoned cash hidden inside the quarantine zone.
Koo Kyo-hwan plays Captain Seo, the unstable leader of rogue militia group Unit 631. The group survives inside the ruins of Seoul by capturing civilians and forcing them into violent arena-style games for entertainment. As Jung-seok’s team attempts to retrieve the money and escape, they become targets of both infected hordes and Seo’s increasingly erratic militia.
Lee Jung-hyun co-stars as Min-jung, a survivor raising two children inside the wasteland. While Peninsula keeps the infected threat central, much of the conflict comes from the collapse of social order inside the quarantined territory. Koo Kyo-hwan’s performance as Captain Seo adds another layer of unpredictability to the film’s pursuit-driven action sequences.
‘Hope’ (2026)
Above A remote harbour town descends into fear after mysterious extraterrestrial encounters begin triggering chaos, paranoia and violence
Premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, Hope marks director Na Hong-jin’s return to feature filmmaking after The Wailing. The science fiction thriller is set in a remote harbour town where residents begin encountering a mysterious extraterrestrial presence following a series of unexplained incidents. As fear spreads through the isolated community, local authorities, civilians and outside forces struggle to understand what has arrived and whether it poses a direct threat.
Koo Kyo-hwan appears alongside an international cast that includes Hoyeon, Hwang Jung-min, Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander and Taylor Russell. While plot details remain tightly guarded, early reports describe the film as combining science fiction, horror and mystery elements within Na Hong-jin’s typically tense and atmospheric style. Hope has already drawn attention for its large-scale production and international ensemble, making it one of the most closely watched Korean films heading into Cannes.
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Chonx Tibajia is a senior editor at Tatler Asia’s T-Labs team, where she writes widely on lifestyle subjects including beauty, style, entertainment and travel. She has a long career in journalism, including roles as a columnist at The Philippine Star, and is the founder of the creative platform Pineappleversed. Beyond Tatler, her bylines appear in regional lifestyle and business publications, showcasing a broad portfolio that spans beauty trends, travel guides and culture pieces.
