Ji Chang-wook

This is a Korean name; the family name is Ji.
Ji Chang-wook

In May 2015
Born (1987-07-05) July 5, 1987[1]
Alma mater Dankook University
(Performing Arts)[1]
Occupation Actor
Years active 2006–present
Agent Glorious Entertainment
Korean name
Hangul 지창욱
Hanja 池昌旭
Revised Romanization Ji Chang-uk
McCune–Reischauer Chi Ch'anguk

Ji Chang-wook (born on July 5, 1987) is a South Korean actor. He rose to fame playing the leading role of Dong-hae in daily drama series Smile Again (2010-2011), and has since starred in Warrior Baek Dong-soo (2011), Empress Ki (2013-2014), Healer (2014-2015) and The K2 (2016).

Life and career

2006-2009: Beginnings

Ji began his career as a struggling actor in musical theatre. He made his onscreen debut in the 2006 film Days... and had a minor role in the 2008 television drama You Stole My Heart. However, he only official debuted in the 2008 film Sleeping Beauty.[2] In 2009, he appeared in My Too Perfect Sons, playing the timid, sissy youngest brother who ends up raising his best friend's daughter while just turning 20 years old. The family drama received 40% ratings, and shot Ji to stardom out of obscurity.[3] He followed that with a supporting role in in the action comedy Hero.

2010-2012: Rising popularity

In 2010, Ji was cast in his first starring role in the 159-episode daily drama Smile Again. Playing the role of a Korean-American short track speed skater, Ji trained under a former national speed skater in order to lend those scenes as much realism as possible, spending four to five hours daily at the ice rink.[4] Smile Again topped the ratings chart for 15 consecutive weeks, and Ji was awarded Best Actor in a Daily Drama at the KBS Drama Awards.[5][6]

He then played the titular character in 2011 action historical drama Warrior Baek Dong-soo. Adapted from Lee Jae-heon's manhwa Honorable Baek Dong-soo, it is an origin story about Joseon-era swordsman Baek Dong-soo, showing his growing years until political intrigue creates a rivalry with his childhood best friend-turned-enemy.[7][8] The series was number one in its timeslot for 13 weeks, and Ji received a New Star Award from the SBS Drama Awards.[9][10] Later that year, he again played the lead role in cable drama Bachelor's Vegetable Store, based on the true success story of Lee Young-seok, a young man who turned a tiny 350-square-feet vegetable store in 1998 into a nationwide franchise with 33 stores.[11]

In his first villain role, Ji played a pianist who envies his older brother's genius and natural gift for music in 2012 melodrama Five Fingers.[12][13][14]

Ji returned to the stage in 2013 with The Days, playing a presidential bodyguard who went missing 20 years ago along with a mysterious female companion. The Days was a jukebox musical using the folk rock songs of Kim Kwang-seok.[15]

2013-present: Breakthrough

Ji's breakthrough came when he played Toghon Temür (also known as Huizong), the 16th emperor of the Yuan Dynasty in the historical drama, Empress Ki, which aired from late 2013 to 2014. The drama drew solid viewership ratings nationwide throughout its run with an average rating of 25.12%, further raising Ji's popularity and making him a household name in Korea. Ji's portrayal of the young king left a strong impression on both critics and the audience, earning him critical acclaim.[16][17][18][19]

Ji then starred in Song Ji-na-penned action thriller Healer from December 2014 to February 2015. He took martial arts lessons for his role as a mysterious errand guy in the series.[20][21] After the drama aired, Ji's popularity started to soar in China.[22] He began expanding his career into China, starring in domestic dramas like Tornado Girl and My Male God.

In 2015, Ji was cast in action thriller film Fabricated City, playing the role of a framed murderer. This will be Ji's first leading role on the big screen. He is also set to star as a reckless rookie constable alongside Sol Kyung-gu's apathetic veteran officer in the period-comedy film Two Constables, the fourth installment in the Two Cops franchise directed by Kang Woo-suk.[23]

In 2016, Ji was cast in tvN's action thriller The K2, as the titular bodyguard who gets betrayed by his fellow countrymen. Upon his casting, Ji became the highest-paid actor for a tvN drama.[24] The drama received favorable reviews, topping cable channel viewership ratings throughout its 8-week broadcast.[25]

On November 2, 2016 it was announced that Ji will star in a web drama titled First Seven Kisses for Lotte Duty Free alongside Lee Min-ho, Lee Joon-gi, Lee Jong-suk, Park Hae-jin, Kai of EXO, and Ok Taec-yeon of 2PM.[26]

Filmography

Television series

Year Title Role Network Notes
2008 You Stole My Heart Lee Phillip KBS2
2009 My Too Perfect Sons Song Mi-poong KBS2
2009-2010 Hero Park Jun-hyeong MBC
2010-2011 Smile Again Carl Laker/Dong-hae KBS1
2011 Warrior Baek Dong-soo Baek Dong-soo SBS
2011-2012 Bachelor's Vegetable Store Han Tae-yang Channel A
2012 Five Fingers Yoo In-ha SBS
2013-2014 Empress Ki Emperor Huizong MBC
2014-2015 Healer Seo Jung-hoo/Park Bong-soo/Healer KBS2
2016 The Whirlwind Girl 2 Chang An Hunan TV
The K2 Kim Je-ha tvN
TBA Mr Right Wang Weian HBS

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Days...
2008 Sleeping Beauty Jin-seo
2010 Death Bell 2: Bloody Camp Soo-il
2013 How to Use Guys with Secret Tips Hong-jun's brother Guest role
2015 The Long Way Home Nation's armed forces conscription military police Guest role
2016 Fabricated City Kwon Yoo
2017 Two Constables

Web series

Year Title Role Notes
2014 KARA: Secret Love[27] Angel No. 2013 (Ep. 9 and 10)
2016 First Seven Kisses Naver TV Cast

Variety show

Year Title Network Notes
2013 Radio Star MBC Guest, episode 322
2014 Running Man SBS Guest, episodes 211-212
2015 Happy Camp HBS Guest

Music video appearances

Year Song Title Artist
2007 "Are You Ready" Lena Park feat. Dynamic Duo
2009 "We Broke Up Today" Younha
2009 "Falling You" T-ara
2010 "I Have to Let You Go" Young Gun
2011 "Cry Cry" T-ara
2012 "Lovey-Dovey"[28][29]
"I Need You" K.Will
2013 "That's My Fault" Speed
"It's Over"
"Runaway" Kara

Musical theater

Year
Title Role Notes
2007 Fire and Ice
  • Composed of three short plays: Moon Story, Sandglass, That's Right!
2011 Thrill Me Richard Loeb
2013 The Days Mu-young
  • Jukebox musical featuring songs by late folk-rock singer Kim Kwang-seok.
  • Starred in the musical's first run from April to September 2013.
Jack the Ripper Daniel
Brothers Were Brave Lee Joo-bong
2014 The Days Mu-young
  • Reprised his role for the musical's second run from October 2014 to May 2015, December 2015.

Discography

Year Title Notes
2011 "Meet Again" track from Warrior Baek Dong-soo OST
"Oh Sing Sing Men"
(with Lee Kwang-soo, Kim Young-kwang, Shin Won-ho, Sung-je, and Ji-hyuk) 		tracks from Bachelor's Vegetable Store OST
Japanese release
"Your Warmth"
2012 "Fill Up" track from Five Fingers OST
2014 "To the Butterfly" track from Empress Ki OST
2015 "I Will Protect You" track from Healer OST

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2011 4th Korea Drama Awards Best New Actor Smile Again Nominated
KBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Daily Drama Won
SBS Drama Awards New Star Award Warrior Baek Dong-soo Won
2012 SBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Weekend/Daily Drama Five Fingers Nominated
2013 7th The Musical Awards Best New Actor The Days Won
MBC Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Project Drama Empress Ki Won
2014 9th Seoul International Drama Awards Outstanding Korean Actor Nominated
7th Korea Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor Nominated
3rd APAN Star Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama Nominated
KBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Mid-length Drama Healer Nominated
Popularity Award, Actor Won
Best Couple Award with Park Min-young Won
2015 4th APAN Star Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Nominated
TV Drama Awards Made In China Most Popular Actor (Overseas)[30] Won
2016 1st Asia Artist Awards Populariry Award[31] N/A Nominated

References

  1. 1 2 His profile on Glorious Entertainment official website
  2. ↑ "Ji Chang-wook's profile". Glorious Entertainment (in Korean). Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  3. ↑ Yoon, Hee-seong (8 February 2012). "My Name Is: Ji Chang-wook". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  4. ↑ Yoon, Seo-hyun (24 September 2011). "Trace the steps of your favorite drama stars". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  5. ↑ Kim, Heidi (16 May 2011). "Smile Again wraps up after commanding TV charts for 15 weeks". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  6. ↑ Hong, Lucia (2 January 2012). "Shin Ha-kyun scores top prize at 2011 KBS Drama Awards". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  7. ↑ Kim, Hee-ju (20 June 2011). "On the set of SBS TV series The Warrior, Baek Dong-soo". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  8. ↑ Han, Yeo-wool (6 September 2011). "SBS series The Warrior, Baek Dong-soo extended by 6 episodes". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  9. ↑ Hong, Lucia (12 October 2011). "The Warrior Baek Dong-soo bows out atop Mon-Tues lineup for 13th win". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  10. ↑ Kim, Jessica (2 January 2012). "Han Suk-kyu reclaims glory at SBS Drama Awards". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  11. ↑ Choi, Eun-hwa (15 December 2011). "Ji Chang Wook On Always Being the Good Guy". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  12. ↑ Choi, Eun-hwa (4 July 2012). "Five Fingers Confirms Cast with Joo Ji Hoon and T-ara's Ham Eun Jung". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  13. ↑ Hong, Lucia (24 July 2012). "Poster of Ju Ji-hoon, T-ara Hahm Eunjung's TV series unveiled". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  14. ↑ Oh, Jean (17 August 2012). "T-ara's Eun-jung, first public outing". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  15. ↑ Kwon, Mee-yoo (21 February 2013). "Emptying nostalgia's vault". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
  16. ↑ Lee, Hye-ji (10 September 2013). "Ji Chang-wook Cast in Ha Ji-won's New Historic Series". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
  17. ↑ Chung, Joo-won (2 May 2014). "Ji Chang-wook benchmarks Kim Soo-hyun, Lee Min-ho over Asia". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
  18. ↑ Baek, Byung-yeul (18 May 2014). "Leaping toward stardom: Empress Ki actor outshines Ha Ji-won with breakthrough role". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
  19. ↑ Lee, Min-ji (24 May 2014). "Interview: Ji Chang Wook Was Shocked During His First Conversation with Ha Ji Won". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  20. ↑ "Ji Chang-wook wanted to 'shoot to fame'". K-pop Herald. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  21. ↑ Yoon, Sarah (5 March 2015). "Ji Chang-wook initially nervous of Park Min-young". K-pop Herald. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  22. ↑ http://www.kdramastars.com/articles/76257/20150227/ji-chang-wook-continues-to-rise-as-china-s-favorite-new-hallyu-star.htm
  23. ↑ Song, Soon-jin (27 January 2014). "JI Chang-wook Joins SEOL Kyung-gu in DU POJOL". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
  24. ↑ "지창욱 측 "tvN 역대 최고 출연료? 해외 인기 고려된 것"". DongA Ilbo. July 27, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  25. ↑ Rumy Doo (November 13, 2016). "'K2' wraps up with top ratings". The Korea Herald. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  26. ↑ "[단독]이종석·이준기·지창욱·박해진 뭉쳤다…'첫키스만 여섯번째' 출연". Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  27. ↑ https://www.dramafever.com/drama/4486/KARA%253A_Secret_Love/
  28. ↑ Hong, Lucia (29 November 2011). "T-ara to unveil teaser video for new song Lovey-Dovey". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  29. ↑ Lee, Nancy (2 January 2012). "T-ara's Lovey Dovey MV Isn't So Lovey-Dovey". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  30. ↑ "国剧盛典拉下帷幕 胡歌范冰冰分获视帝视后_网易娱乐". ent.163.com. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  31. ↑ http://www.asiaartistawards.com/vote/result_3/9/#v3nd

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