~ JI CHANG WOOK ~

Who is Ji Chang Wook

Ji Chang Wook, born on July 5^th 1987, is a South-Korean actor. He studied at Dankook University and majored in theater and film before beginning his career in musical theatre. He starred in movies such as” How to use guys with secret tips” (2013), “The Long Way Home” (2015), and “Fabricated City” (2017). However, he’s most known for his roles in the dramas “Healer” (2014-2015) for which he received the popularity award and the best couple award (with actress Park Min Young) at the 2014 KBS drama awards, “Suspicious partner” (2017), “Melting me softly” (2019) and “Backstreet rookie” (2020). He enlisted in the military on August 14^th, 2017 and was discharged on April 27^th, 2019. You can follow him on his official Instagram account @jichangwook.

Pre-military

Let's talk about maybe my favorite K-drama of all time: Healer. I cannot count how many times I’ve re-watched this drama and always enjoyed it like it was the first time. Everything about it is so good. Healer is an action and romance drama that tells the story of a young man Seo Jung-Hu (a.k.a Healer, played by JCW) who does the job of "messenger", completing missions that are more or less legal with the help of his acolyte "Ahjumma", an old woman who's always in her PJs and eating in front of her computer, but most importantly who's an expert in hacking. With his top-notch fighting skills and high-tech equipment, he accomplishes the missions his clients give him against money. One day, he receives the mission to watch over a girl, Chae Young-Sin (Park Min-Young), a reporter from a second-rank tabloid who's inspiring to become a famous journalist just like her idol Kim Mun-Ho (Yoo Ji-Tae). JCW shines best in this role. He's badass, sexy and conveys the story of Jung-hu so well. The character he plays seems so fierce and strong, but the more we get into the story the more we realise he's just a human with his own story. Plus, the romance he has with Young-Sin is really sincere. To me at least it didn't appear as fake like in Melting me softly. If I had to recommend you one of his dramas it'd be this one. Action, drama, comedy, romance, you'll be really moved. 

Another drama of his I also liked was "Suspicious partner" where JCW plays the role of a prosecutor and Nam Ji-Hyun the role of a prosecutor trainee. They will work together on a mysterious case involving a psychopath murderer. They will eventually fall in love too. I like the romance less than in Healer and the end is a bit messy, but the "mystery" and "action" aspects of the story is what makes, in my opinion, this drama a nice one. 

The K2 was a bit too much to handle for me, the story was really gloomy and weird for me and so were the characters, but if you like these things go for it, it's really well-done, it's just not my cup of tea.

Post-military

Honestly, I feel like the roles he’s been picking (or getting, I don’t know if his agency chooses the roles he’ll play or if he has 100% freedom of choosing) since he's back from the military don’t do him justice. Let’s take Melting me softly, his first role after his discharge from the military. “Melting me softly” is about a professor who’s been working on a revolutionary project. But to prove its efficiency, two people have to volunteer. Ma Dong-Chan (JCW) and Ko Mi-Ran end up “volunteering”. But instead of being frozen for 24 hours in a capsule, they spend 20 years in that capsule and end up waking up by some miracle. Problem is, if their body exceeds 31 degrees Celsius and if their heart rate increases too much, they’ll die. Also, the only person to know the solution to this is the professor at the origin of the project who now lost his memory. The story had some potential, but I think what made it hard to get into was the characters. Mi Ran’s character is really foolish and dull. There’s nothing exciting about her personality. And oh my god let’s not talk about this professor. The moment he reappears 20 years after he’s so… stupid. Maybe it’s because the actor isn’t good but he’s over-acting everything and that led me not to trust his behavior and his words. Maybe the only well-done characters (aside from Ma Dong Chan) are the assistant of the professor and Ma Dong Chan’s ex-girlfriend.

I haven't seen backstreet rookie yet, but I've seen glimpses of it and I feel like it's going to be the same as Melting me softly: A pointless and dumb romance with weird characters and a not-so-interesting plot. 

To put it in a nutshell, I think what suits JCW the most is action dramas with a side romance, like not the romance being the whole point of the story. Maybe it's because he looks strong and fierce that I find him better at action/mystery dramas, I don't really know. Looks like his next drama will be another romance one, hopefully I won't be disappointed by the story. The drama is called "Lovestruck in the City" and is said to premiere sometime this month. Chang Wook will play the role of an overly passionate architect who loves city streets, and Kim Ji Won will play the role of a freelance marketer. 

That's it guys, I hope you enjoyed the article and that you'll check JCW's work if you still haven't. Take care and I'll see you soon!

Love, Swan