An Ultra Fan's Guide to Kim Ji Suk
Born: December 28, 1962
"To an actor, fame is short, but acting is long."
"He has a reputation amongst co-stars as funny and bright. He is known as a jokester on the set that has earned him the title "NG Mawang" (NG Master). When he makes an NG (blooper), he attempts to make light of his error. " He enjoys playing soccer in his free time. He has sought to project an image of integrity and wholesomeness. He also openly discusses his commitment to clean living through regular exercise and healthy eating. Despite his advancing age, he continues to accept physically challenging roles that require horseback riding, combat and swordsmanship, and exposure to extreme temperatures. His youthful appearance and physical fitness allow him to play characters much younger than his actual age.
- Source: Wikipedia
Spouse: Ha Hee Ra
"Choi Soo-jong and Ha Hee Ra's happy marriage is well-known in Korea. When Ha was pregnant, Choi did the housework, cooked, and let her rest, a fact that has made Choi very popular with Korean women and jokingly scorned by Korean men. In a television interview in early 2010, Choi's wife Ha stated her husband is a better housekeeper than she is. Choi is frequently seen text messaging and making phone calls with his wife Ha Hee Ra while filming and was even documented doing so in the television special for Emperor of the Sea." His fidelity to his wife and dedication to his role as father and husband are widely discussed in the media, although he strives to retain his family's privacy. - Source: Wikipedia
"When not filming, He and his wife also are involved with charitable projects both jointly and separately. They contribute regularly to charitable causes in addition to actively volunteering for causes such as disabled children and were actively involved in the cleaning up after the massive oil spill in Korea in 2007." - Source: Wikipedia
Children: (son) Min-seo (1997) and (daughter) Yoon-seo (1999)
Aren't they just lovely children? ^_^
Dramas
Comrades (2010)
As Sergeant Lee Hyun Joon, the head of Squad 1, he leads his men through danger with great leadership. He also has a star-crossed love with a head leader of the NK troop. He faces her time and time again. The war and different beliefs separated them, and they had to walk their own paths all the while longing for each other. It was a cruel fate for the two, but it is not the main focus of the drama. The drama shows the depths of brotherhood that is formed during harsh times. They had to face cold, prison, interrogation, and missions together - and never did they opt to abandon one of their men. Sergeant Lee said they were his men and he'd protect them even if it meant dying with them. Successful mission after successful mission, they were always ordered to do the most dangerous of tasks. The OST is simply AMAZING. Friends (by Kim Jang Hoon) & Friends (by the cast) is my most cherished song from this drama, I have it on CD and listen to it regularly. ^_^ It's a war no one wanted to fight but had to in order to keep their country free. Fighting your own people who hold different beliefs is not something anyone would want to take on. This drama shows each side's beliefs, what they think they are fighting for and derogatory names they called each side. Hatred for one another brewed as the war continued...we also see the story of a deserter who simply wanted only to survive and not kill. It's a very moving drama that is sure to bring tears to your eyes and an ache to your heart. Not to be forgotten.
Into the Flames (2014)
Drama is based on the creator and founder of POSCO (the world's best steel manufacturer throughout the late 1980s and also was at the top in terms of facilities), Park Tae Joon. It depicts his life from when he was living in Japan where his dad worked during the Japanese Occupation to the creation of POSCO. The drama starts off in 1943 and shows his martial arts background, his friends, and fictional events to make the story more entertaining. When it's announced that that Japanese Colonization of Korea has ended, he and his family head back to Seoul S.K. And from then on it shows how he gets his team, his friendship with the president, and his leadership skills. Choi Soo Jong portrays him excellently. I just recently re-watched it and enjoyed it just about as much as I did the first time through (though this time I skipped the fake characters that I don't care for). Unfortunately, no one has subbed this... I'd sub it if I knew Korean more than I do. The drama spans from 1943-1945 and then a big time jump to 1966 and finishes off in 1972 (this was the first drama I saw him in).
The Great King's Dream (2012)
About Kim Chunchu who lead the unification of the Three Kingdoms. It showcases his dream of unification, his friendship with Kim Yushin, and all the historical events that took place from the time he was a teenager to the fulfillment of this grand dream. Seonduk and Bidam are also portrayed in this drama in a more accurate fashion to history. If you enjoy history playing out before your eyes or just plain like Korean history and enjoy a great leader who can hold all of your trust and loyalty who dreams big and loves people then this is what you are looking for.
Dae Jo Yeong (2006)
Depicting the fictional life of Dae Jo Yeong, the founder of the state of Balhae after the fall of Goguryeo. Based on the history of General Dae Jo Yeong who strives to bring back the Old Goguryeo with his father and other fellow soldiers. From a shooting star foretelling his future, he is hunted down as a baby, grew up as a slave, goes in pursuit of his father and his journey begins. I loved this drama - it is very long, but even though it's long it never gets boring or draggy. I enjoyed the friendships in this drama and the entire cast is wonderful in their roles. If you're a lover of factual history (mixed with fiction, of course) then you'll love this as I did. Jo Yeong is a great leader and a true patriot. The bromance in this was heartfelt. ^^ Love Gulsabiwu :)
President (2010)
About a political candidate running for president and the events that surround him. He brings in his son as a documentary filmmaker. His son questions if his dad deserves to be president, follows him around and observes him inside his home and outside to figure out what kind of person he is. Choi Soo Jong delivers leader roles really well and I enjoyed watching him in this political drama. I thought it was a good political drama that constantly had me questioning the morals and actions of its characters. I liked how this drama was never dull and was like a constant guessing game. However, it does have some bad acting delivered by the actor who portrays his son - but Choi Soo Jong stole the show, so you probably won't be too bothered by that lol.
Emperor of the Sea (2004)
It tells the story of Goong Bok (CSJ) who was born into slavery and because of a pirate attack when he was young he lost his mother. He and his best friend get sold, go through struggle after struggle, and eventually meet the right "master". They start climbing the ranks out of slavery and becoming influential and become great businessmen as well as soldiers who fight off the pirates. He gains lots of enemies in this drama and has a strained love with one woman as well as a strained "friendship" with one other man. What I enjoyed the most in this drama was the basis of the story: the deep loyal friendship between Goong Bok and Yon, as well as the conflicted, torn friendship between him and Yum Moon. I had to set this drama on "speed" when I watched it because it was very slow - as in the dialog was very slow, they'd take a long time to say a few sentences and that annoyed me. I enjoyed it more when it was set on speed - so I'd recommend putting it on double speed so they talk a bit faster lol. It did have a way of making the same situations arise through different means many many times as well. I loved the OST in this drama.
First Love (1996)
Despite this having one of the highest ratings during its airing, it's one of the worst love lines I've seen in drama-land. This story is about the lives of two brothers who are entangled with the lead girl. One has a long-standing crush on her and the other is dating her. The drama tries its best to portray first love and how a man's first love never dies-type scenario. but they should have gone with "first loves never work" because that would have been much more believable for me as a viewer. I would not recommend this drama - I went into it for Choi Soo Jong but stayed for Bae Yong Jun instead. CSJ's character Chan Hyuk was beyond ridiculous in his love for this girl. How can you still love someone so much that you refuse to move on when your family is attacked the way they were by her family? I hate that they have this perception on first loves - if that's how first loves were then I'd hope no one would have a first love. I was disappointed that this drama had let me down so much when I went into it with such anticipation of what it would deliver. In the end, the only one I liked and enjoyed and sympathized with all the way through was the younger brother. I also liked his friend played by Kim Tae Woo. CSJ's character alone would have been good, but when thrown in with this girl he was a mess and I couldn't stand him... :/ Plus it doesn't flow well with me when the "lovers" don't have chemistry or equal footing. You could tell they weren't right for each other. It basically portrayed a selfish love rather than a selfless love. I liked the brothers' relationship and the family protectiveness. The romance plain and simple just ruined the drama as a whole for me. lol, I thought CSJ looked a lot like Jo Dong Hyeok in the early part of this drama. ;) The entire focus of this drama was based on 'First Love'.
Sons and Daughters (1992)
About twins of the opposite sex and the unequal treatment of their mother who prefers boys to girls. She treats her daughters like dirt and treats her son like a prince - or more like a mother coddling her baby. Her obsessiveness over her son was honestly quite disturbing. She pressured him like nothing else and talked to him as if he was two years old throughout the entire drama. I couldn't stand the mother. I didn't much like the son played by CSJ either because he seemed like such a weak mama's boy who never stood up for himself or his sisters. He's the kind of man I don't like. He felt extreme pressure for being the only son in his family but that didn't make me sympathize with him (maybe because of how they portrayed his character). I was invested in the twin girl's story, and to be honest I ended up skipping most every scene that didn't have her in it. I enjoyed this story much more than First Love as this one had an interesting storyline and good characters that you felt sympathy for or loved watching. Unfortunately, you can only find this drama on MBC channel on YouTube RAW. I couldn't find it anywhere else. It's a relatively good drama for 1992 and if you can understand Korean more than I do, you might even like it more.
On the Prairie (2003)
CSJ plays a car salesman who through many different encounters ends up falling for Yeon Ho. He is a family man who truly cares about his family, mother, and brothers. He isn't rich but he is honest, kind and has convictions that help him in life. This drama portrays his life, his love life, his family's life, and how he matures through falling in love and through marriage. He is a sweet guy with a quirky personality. And it seems CSJ's older dramas have this curse on me where I care more about another character whether it be the second lead, another main lead or a side lead more than his character. And that proves true for this drama as well. I ended up liking his younger brother's story and scenes much more, and especially in the latter half of the drama I sort of didn't care about our leads anymore and only wanted to watch his younger brother's scenes and story. I was fully invested in the younger brother's life, struggles, love, and desires. And once again this drama is also without subs and is available on YT.
Jealousy (1992)
This tells a story about two friends who end up falling for one another - the girl falls first and gets jealous of her friend's girlfriend. Throughout this drama we see her watching him, hanging out with him, and liking him from afar. Once again, it was simply too long; this would have been better at 10 episodes or less. It was also a huge advertisement for 7Eleven's convenience stores. Only on MBC channel on YT RAW. I personally skipped all unnecessary scenes that didn't involve our two leads.
War of Roses (2004)
About a couple that comes from different classes in society and how those differences start making them drift apart. Their "drifting" became more so because of outsiders who were basically messing with our characters minds. Once a girl starts to crush on our lead male, he enjoys the fact that someone "sweet" has a crush on him - so he revels in it for awhile. And the woman is enticed by sweet talk of a fellow doctor - not knowing his true intentions. Either way, this couple both have one eye on each other and one eye on the outside. This causes more conflict in their relationship. I didn't like any of the characters in this drama - they were all too shallow and the things that happened in this drama were prolonged for too long and kept going around and around in circles up till the end. Only on MBC channel on YT RAW. Regardless of their "wandering eyes and hearts" the couple still did truly love one another. It again would have been better shorter.
For the Sake of Son (2011)
A drama special about a North Korean spy sent to bring back her husband who abandoned both her and her young son. A detective notices her at a restaurant and falls for her at first sight. He takes her back to his house as a hired maid, but he doesn't realize that she approached him on purpose. I forgot most of this short drama except for the fact that I didn't really like it when I watched it. I couldn't believe in the detective's love and I didn't like the NK woman either... :/
CAN'T FIND :'( But I want to watch if I ever do find them.
Did You Ever Love? (1999) / Pilot (1993)
Did You Ever Love? - This one I really want to watch (wish I could find it!). The MV is so appealing to me. ^^ It looks like two best friends are caught in a love triangle with one woman, and it seems like one friend leaves her for some reason or another (work or something) and CSJ's character starts to pursue her... It just looks really classic and good - stars: CSJ and Kim Min Jong - MV
Pilot - stars: CSJ and Han Seok Kyu - No synopsis but this is what it seems like: It's about guys at an air academy who are learning to become pilots and their friendships and romance (wish I could find it as it looks good) - MV // Happy Time Masterpiece Theater preview
Fireworks (1997) / Emperor Wang Gun (2000) / When She Beckons (1997)
Fireworks - No synopsis, in the clip it looks like it's about doppelgangers, one a car repairman and the other a rich chaebol. The rich gets into an accident and somehow he and the other guy trade places (memory loss for one and a burn for the other or something). - It looks interesting but not sure if I will like it or not. lol - Happy Time Masterpiece Theater preview
When She Beckons - No synopsis, but the preview looks like it's about a deaf or mute woman whose past lover (I don't think he's her brother) ends up in jail and she falls in love with CSJ's character (the preview and clip I found look interesting, wish I could find it) This is the 2nd one I want to really watch - sort of a preview.
Emperor Wang Gun - I wouldn't mind checking it out for CSJ and Jung Tae Woo but honestly it's just too LONG! 200 episodes and not just a half an hour long but a whole entire hour! O.O Dae Jo Yeong was LONG for me and it was only 134 hour long episodes! I did try and watch the first episode of this a while back but it seemed to "play" scripted and not a big enough budget to make it interesting... also lots of people I didn't care about in the first episode... so, I'm going to have to pass on this one. But it apparently got good ratings when it aired.
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There are a couple actors who have acted in multiple dramas with him over the years: Choi Chul Ho (The Great King's Dream, Into The Flames, Dae Jo Yeong, On The Prairie), Jung Tae Woo (Dae Jo Yeong, Emperor Wang Gun, Comrades). I love that I get to see two other actors I love watching in dramas because of another actor. ^_^
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All of CSJ's older movies are nowhere to be found :(
I'm anticipating any new dramas he may be in in the near future. It's 2017 and his last actual project was in 2014 - it's time for another powerful leader type role! Historical, Political, War, Family, Friendship, anything where he is a strong leader with wisdom and insight. No romance unless it's with just one woman, please (I don't like it when they give him one woman he loved and then they separate but he always looks longingly at her - no. lol). I just love him in serious type roles! Roles where I can admire his character and have full faith in him. ^ ^
