Actor You Need to Know: Ju Ji-hoon
In addition to being one of the most ingenious and innovative artists, he ranks among the most credible Korean heroes
Ju Ji-hoon plays Kang Hyun-jo, a military academy graduate who earlier attained the rank of captain but later becomes a ranger in 'Jirisan.' Photo courtesy of tvN
I watched Princess Hours (2006) fixated on Lee Shin, the archetypal supercilious crown prince: alluring, well-liked, yet narcissistic. And Ju Ji-hoon, the man breathing life into the hero, held the screen with a face I couldn’t stop looking at throughout the drama. He shone as a genius of emotional transparency as a contemplative lover – a man of royalty, anguish, envy, passion and obligations, whose predicament is palpable. The actor has a method for expressing the intricacy of sentiments in a way that makes you feel for the character right off the bat. He is simply sublime, and needs no introduction. But this post is my homage to the extraordinary acting of this South Korean hero, whom I absolutely love.
Post-Princess Hours Ju won the Best New Actor award at the MBC Drama Awards (along with his co-star Yoon Eun-Hye), rising to fame as a Hallyu star. The romantic comedy served as somewhat of a launching pad for a screen powerhouse exploding with star power and stunning good looks. That might be attributed to his former modeling experience. I mean, the looks were already there for a dashing six-foot-two-inch-tall guy who promoted high-end brands and raked in innumerable modeling accolades. But Princess Hours cemented his ability to be a colossus on screen and set the stage for a multitude of significant acting ventures that enabled him to keep his résumé growing.
The Devil (aka Lucifer), a vengeance drama that premiered in early 2007, starred Ju alongside Uhm Tae-woong and Shin Min-a. For his excellent work in both Princess Hours and The Devil, Ju got honored with the New Asian Star award at the inaugural Astar TV Drama Awards. Next, he made his film debut the ensuing year with the comedy-thriller Antique (2008), which was adapted from the manga Antique Bakery by Fumi Yoshinaga. The movie received a screening invitation for the 59th Berlin International Film Festival. Subsequently, in the romantic comedy-drama The Naked Kitchen, where he portrayed a French-Korean mentor, Jun reconnected with his The Devil co-star Shin Min-a. And in each role, he made his acting look easy on the eyes.
Upon his release from his mandatory military service, Ju made his comeback in the period comedy film I Am the King (2012). His charisma intensifies the success or sorrow of his characters. Ju thus perfectly encapsulated the double role of Grand Prince Choong-nyung and the slave Deok-chil before the prince turns King Sejong the Great in I Am the King (which was influenced by the renowned novel The Prince and the Pauper). One obvious sign of Jun’s talent is how steadily he has gotten better over time, establishing that he is a balance of exceptional power and control in his successive leading roles: a pianist in the melodrama Five Fingers (2012), an internist in the medical drama Medical Top Team (2013), and a tour guide and webcomic writer in the romantic comedy Marriage Blue (2013).
In fact, Ju’s acting skills were in high demand due to his intellect, attractiveness, and grit. With the romantic thriller Love Suspicion, he made his film breakthrough in China. Confession, a neo-noir movie that ruthlessly examines the effects of three men’s camaraderie when one of them loses his mother, starred Ju, Ji Sung and Lee Kwang-soo in 2014. After appearing in the historical drama, The Treacherous (2015), Ju returned to television in the melodrama Mask that same year and in the next, he appeared in the noir crime thriller Asura: The City of Madness, which had its world premiere at the 41st Toronto Film Festival. For the same role, the actor was honored with the Popular Film Star award at the Korea Top Star Awards.
Between 2017 and 2018, Ju experienced a career revival. He starred in the two-part fantasy epic mega-hit Along with the Gods, being lauded for his portrayal of Haewonmaek. He gained plaudits for his performances in the suspense movies The Spy Gone North and Dark Figure of Crime in 2018. He also won multiple Best Supporting Actor awards for the former and received a nomination for Best Actor at the Blue Dragon Awards for the latter. The zombie epic saga Kingdom and the fantasy legal drama Item were the two-television series that saw Ju return to the small screen in 2019.
One of the most acclaimed actors in Korean entertainment, Ju Ji-hoon has had a stellar career, reinforced by an aura that has swelled to great heights. He reprised his role in Kingdom‘s season two (2020) and went on to star in noteworthy productions like the legal drama Hyena (2020), co-starring with Kim Hye-soo as an accomplished lawyer with a sharp mind, and Jirisan (2021) – co-starring with Jun Ji-hyun as a military academy graduate who earlier attained the rank of captain but later becomes a ranger – in addition to playing prominent roles and making guest appearances in myriad other shows. He most recently appeared with Ha Jung-woo, Choi Min-ho (SHINee) and Yeo Jin-goo in the variety show Bros on Foot (2023), where the four men embark on a journey with a mission, and will show up in an array of intriguing projects in the near future.
I hope the 40-year-old superstar who once said, “You’re attractive because you don’t know how attractive you are” is conscious that it also pertains to him. He has achieved an unprecedented degree of success, reaching a realm where artistic talent and personality work in harmony. In addition to being one of the most ingenious and innovative artists, Ju Ji-hoon ranks among the most credible Korean heroes.
