[Edaily Starin Gim Ga Yeong Reporter] Wave’s “The Proposal from the Lab” is gaining popularity both domestically and internationally, bringing lead actor Park Si-woo into the spotlight.

“The Proposal from the Lab” depicts the intertwining stories of investigator Lee Chae-ha (played by Park Si-woo), who carries the scars of his past, and the cool-headed prosecutor Joo Tae-seon (played by Kim Yoon-sik) as they pursue the truth behind a massive case.
Having reached the halfway point with the release of episodes 5 and 6 out of a total of 10, the series is breaking new records day after day on global metrics. Following its ranking as the No. 3 most-watched drama in real-time on Wavve in South Korea, it climbed to No. 1 on the global platform iQIYI and No. 1 on FOD’s Asian drama chart in Japan. It has also achieved significant results on major overseas platforms, including reaching No. 3 on Taiwan’s friDay Drama and No. 3 on Southeast Asia’s GagaOOLala. Notably, with the exception of GagaOOLala, these rankings were achieved in the overall drama category rather than a specific genre category, demonstrating both the show’s artistic merit and its popularity.
Its popularity in China is particularly noteworthy. On “Xiaohongshu,” a major Chinese social media platform, the series simultaneously claimed the top two spots on the real-time entertainment search rankings. Riding this wave of popularity, Park Si-woo opened official Weibo and Xiaohongshu accounts to engage with local fans. According to his agency, Park Si-woo has even received offers for photo shoots and interviews with prominent Chinese fashion magazines.
In the recently released episodes 5 and 6, Park Si-woo drove the drama’s key plot points forward in a thrilling manner with his nuanced character portrayal and eye-catching visuals. In the series, Lee Chae-ha not only played a pivotal role by personally uncovering evidence of O-Song Group’s involvement in methamphetamine trafficking through undercover investigations but also gradually pieced together clues related to the mysterious number “1225” and a hidden past incident, adding to the show’s genre-specific appeal.
Above all, her tense and electrifying chemistry with Prosecutor Ju Tae-seon took center stage. Amid a tense standoff that blurred the lines between professional and personal life, Park Si-woo delivered a multi-dimensional portrayal of a resolute character who endures Ju Tae-seon’s sharp hatred and emotional wounds while getting closer to the truth of the case. In particular, the dramatic finale—where she threw herself in front of a knife to save Joo Tae-seon, who had frozen in fear due to past trauma, at the memorial park—pushed the audience’s immersion to its peak. The complex and nuanced emotional dynamics between a wavering Tae-seon—who tells Chae-ha upon her awakening in the hospital emergency room, “I’m the only one who should ever hurt you”—and Chae-ha ignited the narrative between the two.
Throughout this process, Park Si-woo showcased the quintessential “coming-of-age protagonist” by delivering a steady, nuanced performance that conveyed the pain and loneliness of Lee Chae-ha, who had lived his entire life bearing the harsh stigma of being “the son of a murderer.” He proved not only his eye-catching looks and ability to generate buzz but also his talent for seamlessly embodying the role.
“The Proposal from the Forensic Lab” is released sequentially, with two episodes each Friday at midnight.
Meanwhile, Park Si-woo is a former member of the idol group Blanky and has appeared in the web drama “I:Love:DM” and the variety show “Wow Surprise,” among other projects.