Ji Jin-hee

The camera before the script

Ji Jin-hee was working as a photographer at an advertising agency when the economic crisis of 1997 changed everything. He had no intention of stepping into the spotlight. But mass layoffs at his company pushed him to look for a different income, and he ended up accepting an offer from the agency SidusHQ that he had previously turned down.

His training in visual design gave him a different perspective on staging. Before shooting, he reads the script looking for the framing. In 1999 he appeared in a music video by Jo Sung-mo and soon after debuted in the series Female Secretary.

Photography is still his refuge.

In 2003 he landed the role of Min Jung-ho in Dae Jang Geum. That series about a royal cook was seen around the world and reached audience ratings of 57% in South Korea. But Ji Jin-hee did not want to get stuck in period dramas and sought projects that would break his image as the perfect gentleman.

The risk of gray characters

In 2005 he traveled to Hong Kong to shoot the musical Perhaps Love under director Peter Chan. He had to learn choreography and sing in an international-budget production. He showed that his range could adapt to markets beyond Seoul.

And the gamble paid off.

In 2010 he returned to the palace with Dong Yi to play King Sukjong. Far from the usual stiffness of TV monarchs, he chose to give the role a human and somewhat clumsy touch. That creative decision earned him the Grand Prize at the MBC Drama Awards that year.

But his interest in complex characters became more evident in 2018 with Misty. He played a lawyer who decides to defend his wife despite suspicions of infidelity and murder. The script was dark, and the shoot demanded a constant tension that the actor sustained for months.

Maturity and Offices

In 2019 he took on the lead role in Designated Survivor: 60 Days. It is the Korean adaptation of the American series, and he plays an environment minister who becomes president after a terrorist attack. The shooting pace was frantic.

Nobody expected such an impact.

In 2021 he worked on Move to Heaven and Undercover. In the latter, he played an agent who hides his identity from his own family for decades. The production demanded considerable physical effort for the outdoor action scenes.

In 2024 he premiered Romance in the House. He plays a man who reappears in the lives of his ex-wife and daughter after becoming a millionaire through real estate investments. The series' tone blends comedy with classic family drama.

In 2023 he took part in the second season of D.P., playing General Goo Ja-woon. His scenes were shot at closed military locations under strict security measures.