Ji Jin-hee (; born June 24, 1971) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the television shows Jewel in the Palace (2003), He Who Can't Marry (2009), Dong Yi (2010), I Have a Lover (2015), Second to Last Love (2016), Misty (2018) and Designated Survivor: 60 Days (2019).
Career
Early career Ji Jin-hee graduated from Myongji University with a degree in graphic design. He was working as a photographer at an advertising agency when Park Seong-hye approached him about pursuing a career in entertainment. Content at his present job and doubtful that he had any acting talent, Ji refused the offers for a year, but finally agreed when the ad agency downsized during the IMF financial crisis and he got laid off.
In 1999, Ji appeared in the music video for Jo Sung-bin's "Like a Third-rate Movie," and he made his acting debut in 2000 with the television drama Female Secretary. In the next few years, he continued his television career with Juliet's Man (2000), Four Sisters (2001), and the Korean-Japanese co-production Afternoon After the Passing Rain (2002) with Ryoko Yonekura.
Ji made his big screen debut in 2002, playing a detective in the thriller H. This was followed by If You Were Me, a human rights-themed omnibus where he starred in Park Kwang-su's short film Face Value.
Breakthrough He had drawn positive reviews for his portrayal of a surgeon caught up in a love triangle with a priest in the melodrama Love Letter, but Ji's breakthrough came in late 2003 with period drama Dae Jang Geum (also known as Jewel in the Palace). As a Joseon-era government official who falls in love with a female chef turned royal physician (played by Lee Young-ae), Ji's gentlemanly and integrity-filled character attracted female fans across Asia, for not only did Dae Jang Geum receive high viewership ratings domestically (reaching a peak of 57.8%), it also became popular overseas and became one of the proponents of the Korean Wave.
Ji later parlayed his pan-Asian stardom into roles in the Chinese musical film Perhaps Love and the Taiwanese drama The 100th Bride, both in 2005. He next played an amnesiac in Spring Day, the Korean remake of Japanese drama Hoshi no Kinka ("Heaven's Coins").
Fighting against being typecast in nice roles after Dae Jang Geum, Ji also played a playboy slacker in romantic comedy series Miss Kim's Million Dollar Quest (2004), for which he received his first acting award. And in black comedy Bewitching Attraction (2006), he was cast as a cartoonist who shares a past with a promiscuous professor.
In 2007, Ji starred in Im Sang-soo's The Old Garden, adapted from Hwang Sok-yong's novel about a couple who meet during the turbulent 1980s surrounding the Gwangju Uprising; he played an anti-government activist who gets released from prison after serving 17 years for his political activities. This was followed by Ji's first action film, Yoichi Sai's Soo, in which he played dual roles as a hired killer who avenges the death of his twin brother.
Ji returned to television in 2008, as a veteran news reporter in Spotlight. In 2009, he played a fussy, 40-year-old bachelor architect in He Who Can't Marry, the Korean remake of Japanese drama Kekkon Dekinai Otoko ("The Man Who Can't Get Married"). Ji next appeared in the Korean-Japanese "telecinema" Paradise, which both received a theatrical release and aired on SBS and TV Asahi.
He also published Ji Jin-hee in Italy: A Walk in the Clouds, which featured photos and essays about his travels in Rome, Florence and Milan, as well as Ji's recommendations and tips about wine.
In 2008, Ji signed an exclusive contract with NOA Entertainment. NOA Entertainment is a management company established in October 2007 by former managers of his previous agency Sidus HQ.
In 2010, Ji starred in Parallel Life, playing Korea's youngest ever chief presiding judge, who upon his wife's murder discovers that his life may exactly replicate that of someone who died 30 years ago. He was next cast as a music critic and radio show host who goes in search of his missing spouse in the road trip comedy Looking for My Wife (also known as Runaway from Home).
Then Ji reunited with Dae Jang Geum television director Lee Byung-hoon in another period drama Dong Yi, which also proved popular with audiences. As King Sukjong, who falls for a palace maid (played by Han Hyo-joo) and makes her his royal concubine, Ji said he wanted to show a monarch who had "weak spots that show through his charismatic exterior. Rather than being a dignified king, he is an outgoing and adventurous character."
Ji continued playing leading roles in television, as an airline pilot in Take Care of Us, Captain (2012), general and Joseon dynasty founder Yi Seong-gye in The Great Seer (2012), an adulterous husband in One Warm Word (2013), and a villainous doctor in Blood (2015). He also wrote the original draft of the screenplay of horror-comedy Ghost Sweepers (2012), for which he received a story by credit. In 2013, Ji signed an exclusive contract with HB Entertainment.
From 2014 to 2015, Ji starred in three Chinese films, namely: On the Way opposite Eva Huang, in which a recently divorced Korean man meets a Chinese woman on a train while traveling in China; Bad Sister opposite Ivy Chen, a romantic comedy where a father who wants to stop his daughter's wedding teams up with the groom's equally disapproving older sister; and Helios, a crime thriller about the theft of nuclear weapons by a group of terrorists.
On April 30, 2019, Ikkle Entertainment announced that Ji signed an exclusive contract with them.
Personal life Ji Jin-hee married his long-time girlfriend, advertising graphic designer Lee Soo-yeon, at the Central City Millennium Hall in Banpo, Seoul on November 19, 2004, at 5 PM. They first met when Ji Jin-hee was working as an advertising photographer before his acting debut and had been in a relationship for six years. The wedding was attended by 1,500 guests. Their first son was born in 2005. Their second son was born in 2012.
Philanthropy
In 2008, Ji Jin-hee attended a charity event in China (Beijing), where he put his and his wife's wedding rings up at an auction to help the victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2002 H Detective Kang Tae-hyun 2003 If You Were Me Driver segment: "Face Value" 2005 Perhaps Love Monty Chinese film 2006 Bewitching Attraction Park Seok-gyu 2007 The Old Garden Oh Hyun-woo Soo Jang Tae-soo Meet Mr. Daddy Ha Sun-young's husband (cameo) 2009 Paradise Il-ho telecinema2010 Parallel Life Kim Seok-hyun Looking for My Wife Ji Sung-hee 2011 Thomas & Friends: Misty Island Rescue The Narrator (Korean dubbed) animated film2012 Love Fiction Joo-ro Ghost Sweepers story by credit 2014 On the Way Park Jun-ho Chinese film Bad Sister Chinese film2015 Helios Choi Min-ho Hong Kong film Summer Snow Myung-hwan
Television series Year Title Role Notes 2000 Female Secretary MBC Best Theater Episode "Beautiful Man" Juliet's Man Choi Seung-woo 2001 MBC Best Theater Episode "Seongju Puri" Four Sisters Han Tae-suk 2002 Afternoon After the Passing Rain Hong Dae-jin Korean-Japanese co-production 2003 Love Letter Jung Woo-jin MBC Best Theater Episode "Our Writing Class" MBC Best Theater Episode "Farewell Waltz" Jewel in the Palace Min Jeong-ho Hanppyeom Drama Episode "What's in Her Refrigerator?" 2004 Ms. Kim's Million Dollar Quest Park Moo-yeol MBC Best Theater Episode "Big Brother Is Back" 2005 Spring Days Go Eun-ho Hanppyeom Drama Cafe owner Episode "Rosy Life" The 100th Bride Han Wei Taiwanese drama 2008 Spotlight Oh Tae-suk Star's Lover Ma-ri's actor ex-boyfriend Cameo (episode 8) 2009 He Who Can't Marry Jo Jae-hee 2010 Dong Yi King Sukjong 2012 Take Care of Us, Captain Kim Yoon-sung My Husband Got a Family Pastor Cameo (episode 19) The Great Seer Yi Seong-gye 2013 Dating Agency: Cyrano Seon Jung-nam Cameo (episode 1) One Warm Word Yoo Jae-hak 2015 Blood Lee Jae-wook Late Night Restaurant Young-shik Cameo (episode 4–5) I Have a Lover Choi Jin-eon Snow Lotus Flower Lee Soo Hyun One-act play 2016 Second to Last Love Go Sang-sik 2018 Misty Kang Tae-wook 2019 Designated Survivor: 60 Days Park Moo-jin 2021UndercoverHan Jeong-hyeon / Lee Suk-kyu Move to Heaven Han Jung-woo Special appearance The Road: The Tragedy of One Baek Soo-hyeon 2023D.P. 2Gu Ja-woon2024Romance in the HouseByeon Moo-jin2025Kick Kick Kick KickJi Jin-heeNine PuzzlesYoon Dong-hoon Special appearance My Troublesome StarWonban
Variety shows + Year Title Role 2018Where on Earth??Cast member2020Documentary Insight - Virus WarPresenter2021–2022GoalvengersFixed appearance2024My Ugly BabySpecial MC
Music video appearances Year Song title Artist 1999 "Like a Third-rate Movie" Jo Sung-bin 2000 "Once Upon a Day" Kim Bum-soo 2001 "Never" Jo Sung-mo
Narration + Year Title Role 2006SBS Kia Experience 24 Hours 10th Anniversary2010KBS Special "Korean Success DNA"2011Hundertwasser Korea Special ExhibitionaudioguideThomas & Friends - The Movie 3animated movie2015EBS Liberation 70th Anniversary Special Documentary "Great Legacy"MBC 54th Anniversary Special UHD Documentary "A Thousand Faces, Makeup"2017The Art of the Brick Exhibitionaudioguide2018National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art 'Yun Hyung-keun' Exhibition2019KBS Liberation Day Special Documentary "Sakhalin, Liberation Never Came"KBS Documentary Insight "Basic Science Changes the World"2020EBS Documentary Prime Educational Project 10-part series "Again, School"
Discography Year Title Artist Notes2002 "Maria's Bath" Cho Seung-woo, Yum Jung-ah, Ji Jin-hee H OST2005 "The Pain and Even the Sadness" Ji Jin-hee track 5 from Spring Day OST "Fate" Jacky Cheung, Ji Jin-hee tracks 2, 3, 6 from Perhaps Love OST "Life's Montage" Ji Jin-hee "A Beautiful Story" Ji Jin-hee, Takeshi Kaneshiro 2009 "Difficult to Love You" Ji Jin-hee track 4 from He Who Can't Marry OST2010 "We" Jang Dong-gun, Kim Seung-woo, Hwang Jung-min, Ji Jin-hee Gong Hyung-jin, Lee Ha-na Actors Choice single "In Life We Are Alone" Ji Jin-hee track 3 of Looking for My Wife OST
Bibliography Year Title Publisher ISBN 2009 Ji Jin-hee in Italy: A Walk in the Clouds Seed Paper
Awards and nominations + Year presented, Name of the award ceremony, category, nominated work, and the result of the nomination Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2003 MBC Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor Love Letter, Dae Jang Geum 2004 SBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Drama Special Miss Kim's Million Dollar Quest 2009KBS Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, ActorHe Who Can't Marry Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries 2010MBC Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, ActorDong Yi Popularity Award, Actor Best Couple Award with Han Hyo-joo 2011 Hong Kong Cable TV Awards Best Actor CETV Awards Top 10 Hottest Asia Award 2012SBS Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Drama SpecialThe Great Seer Netizen Popularity Award, Actor 2014 SBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Drama Special One Warm Word 2015 4th APAN Star Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama I Have a Lover KBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Mid-length Drama Blood SBS Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial DramaI Have a Lover Best Couple Award with Kim Hyun-joo Top 10 Star Award 2016 SBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Romantic-Comedy Drama Second to Last Love
References
External links