Korean Actor Kim Ji Soo: Walking the Flower Road to a New Chapter
Things are looking up for South Korean actor Kim Ji Soo as he makes a big screen comeback with the Filipino film "Mujigae," sharing that he’s opening up his life to new adventures and learning
In Korea, the expression “let’s walk on the flower road” is akin to wishing for good things and happiness to happen in one’s life. With a tumultuous chapter now behind him, actor Kim Ji Soo is moving forward and hopefully on a flower road heading to a future filled with exciting possibilities.
Right now, the destination of promising opportunities appears to be here in the Philippines. The South Korean star first came into the consciousness of the Filipino audience with the hit K-drama Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo in 2016 as the drama’s 14th Prince Wang Jung which was then followed up by his role as the charismatic second lead on the Hallyu hit Strong Woman Do Bong Soon.
Fast forward to 2024, Kim Ji Soo has come full circle. A decade after working on his first-ever indie film Seoul Mates, which happened to be a Filipino-Korean collaboration, he is back on the big screen with another Filipino film titled Mujigae. The film一produced by UXS (formerly known as Unitel) and directed by Randolph Longjas一also stars Ryrie Turingan, Alexa Ilacad, Rufa Mae Quinto, Lito Pimentel, Donna Cariaga, and Cai Cortez. Mujigae premieres in SM Cinemas nationwide on October 9.
Ji Soo’s firsts in Mujigae
Mujigae (the Korean word means “rainbow” in English) tells the story of an orphaned child, the titular character; the kid is suddenly left in the care of her Filipina aunt, Sunny (played by actress Alexa Ilacad), who’s reluctant to take her in and be her adoptive parent. Ji Soo plays the Korean biological father of Mujigae (played by child actress Ryrie Turingan). His role was described by the production as a character that will serve as “the missing arc for Mujigae to make her feel that she wasn’t abandoned and is actually loved by her father.”
Ji Soo talked about his role in the film, saying, “It’s a story about a child and how this child is living without the parents. I play the role of the child’s hidden father who belatedly realized she is my daughter. Even if it’s late, my character is trying to fix everything, taking care of her and taking responsibility.”
Asked what would make Mujigae a must-watch film, Ji Soo paused to share a thoughtful answer. “It’s a drama story. This genre is kind of hard to see these days. You know, when you go to the movie theater, there’s always like action, horror, or some comedy. But it’s hard to find a drama. So it’s a good movie [to watch] for everyone and every age. It’s a film that a family can watch together. It’s a good movie. It’s a warm story and the kind of movie that will make you guys feel warmth and love,” he smiles.
As an actor, it’s incredibly interesting for Ji Soo as well because the film gave him an opportunity to flex his acting muscles in a role he’s never done before. “Actually, this is my first time to get a role as a father. It was really fun and I tried to get close to my daughter (Ryrie). I tried to be playful and I was always kidding with her and making her feel [happy],” Ji Soo begins.
He continues with a gentle laugh and notable humility, “It’s also my first time acting with a kid so it was really fun. Ryrie is so talented even though she’s really young. I think she will be a good actor [when she grows up]. She knows how to do acting well and, on the screen, she never gets nervous and just does whatever the director says. So, wow! She’s better than me. I thought about that.”
It was also the actor’s first time to work with ABS-CBN and Star Magic actress Alexa Ilacad. What little time they spent together onscreen was compensated with offscreen conversations. “She’s very kind but sadly, we don’t have that many scenes together in film. But behind the scenes, we talked and had conversations about TikTok and about this industry,” Ji Soo offers.
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Of growth and evolution
The Kim Ji Soo we know now is a sum of everything he has ever experienced from when he was young and when he finally discovered acting to how he is now. He’s all grown up, self-actualized, and mature enough to accept accountability and lessons in life.
Asked how he was during simpler times, when he was just a boy in Seoul and still oblivious to the lure of the entertainment industry, Ji Soo reflected and took a trip down the memory lane. “I was very playful. I spent a lot of time outside and played some football and basketball. I was also always playing computer games,” he starts.
If there was something he truly excelled at as an elementary school student, it would be sports. Perhaps not many people know but Ji Soo was a judo athlete and competed at national level before quitting the sport. “I was really young, like between eight and 12. So for four years, I was a judo player. My goal back then was to get a gold medal at the Olympics. But when I reached middle school, I quit judo because it was really hard. At that time, I wasn’t sure if I could do it forever,” he confesses.
Like most of the young people who are still trying to navigate their interests and dreams in that age, Ji Soo had options but what got him really focused was when he discovered acting. “When I turned 16, I found something new in acting. So after that, my dream was always something about acting,” Ji Soo shares. He was inspired by a friend who started going to an acting academy and that friend recommended him to the same academy. That’s when Ji Soo felt the spark within him.
“I just wanted to try. When I heard the story about [the acting academy], I was very interested so I went there. When I tried acting, I knew it was my thing, it was [going to be] my job so I did acting class,” Ji Soo explains. After enrolling in the class, he followed his teacher and the one he considers his acting tutor to a play theater and worked with him for three years.
When Ji Soo turned 19, he tried out at a public audition held by JYP Entertainment. “It was a public audition for actors, singers, dancers—everyone can do it. I applied there and, luckily, I got called back,” he says. He was an actor trainee at the entertainment agency for six months before embarking on a different route.
Subsequently, he did films including the aforementioned Filipino-Korean indie film Seoul Mates. In 2015, Ji Soo officially debuted in Korea for the MBC drama Angry Mom and starred in various television series such as Cheer Up!, Page Turner, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, Bad Guys 2, Ping Pong Ball, Netflix’s youth romance drama My First First Love, When I Was the Most Beautiful, and Amanza.
“You know, acting is—I can never be bored. It has a lot of fun things when you act on some characters. For example, my role is a doctor. Then, I should learn about being a doctor. It’s hard to get bored, it’s always like fresh. We meet new characters as an actor so it’s really fun and interesting. But it's always difficult even if I’ve been doing it for like over 10 years. Still, I don’t know how to do it. It’s still difficult. That’s why it’s fun, I guess,” he explains, giving us a glimpse of how passionate he is about acting.
He shares with Metro.Style that the role he considers most fun is his character on My First First Love. “It’s a light story about friendship and love so it was fun. And the core [of the story] goes around people my age. We [the cast] were like friends. We just hang on the set. It was relatable,” Ji Soo says.
For him, the most challenging role he took on so far was in the South Korean streaming television series Amanza where he played the role of a patient diagnosed with terminal cancer. “I was a cancer patient in the drama. It was kind of really sad and I tried to lose weight [for the role]. It was very challenging,” he remarks, adding that he enjoys his roles in every drama because he always learns from his characters.
As an actor, the best compliment, he says, is when fans associate him with and remember him for a character he played. He often gets the 14th Prince reference from Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo. “It’s a good compliment when people see me as the character,” he notes.
In the future, he hopes to do an action movie like John Wick but he especially wants to do a musical and challenge himself to do so. He was inspired to dream of it when he watched his actor friend Byun Yo Han do Hedwig and the Angry Inch onstage. “Hedwig is my dream role. I’ve never tried musical yet. But one day, I really want to try the musical Hedwig. I’ve been to my friend Byun Yo Han’s musical and after watching it, it was too impressive. Wow! It was really awesome. After that, I searched about Hedwig. I watched the movie and I always listen to the songs. It was just impressive and really cool,” he enthusiastically shares, his eyes beaming with inspiration.
Ji Soo’s road
In August, Ji Soo launched a YouTube channel, Jisoo Road, that’s been described as “a documentary of Actor Kim Jisoo’s path to growing up as an actor and human being.”
“It was supposed to show my journey to somewhere. There is no destination yet. I was just trying to show my journey as an actor—that’s the concept. Until now, I’m just trying to learn, like speaking English and other lessons,” Ji Soo explains.
In his YouTube channel, you would catch the actor playing the guitar, singing, spending time with his acting mentor and even practicing his English-speaking skills with a native English speaker. The actor says he’s involved in everything that’s related to the YouTube channel.
In the first episode of Jisoo Road, you could feel the actor’s vulnerability and sincerity after a challenging chapter in his entertainment career. “In the last four years, a lot of things have happened to me. Anyway, I completed military service and I talked with friends who posted about bad issues. I cleared up the misunderstanding as well with them. And then slowly, I’m going to try again. I’m getting ready,” he says in the video.
Jisoo Road allows the actor to express his most intimate thoughts about life. “On the way back from the trip [to Seoul], I had to go through a dark tunnel. The world is going fast. My reflection on the window, I looked like it had stopped. At the moment, when I feel anxiety and nervousness, someone told me the tunnel is the fastest way to get to your destination. Life goes on and on. Unless you’re a wanderer, you have to get back to your normal life,” he pensively states on the first episode.
At home in the Philippines
For now, Ji Soo’s road somehow led to the Philippines and it’s been an interesting experience for him to spend time here not as a mere tourist but as an actor.
“I’m doing great. I’ve been here for a few months and I like it here. I’ve learned Filipino words and tried different kinds of Filipino food. I’m a meat person so I enjoy it. I like pork sisig, lechon, and adobo. I like saying 'ingat!' When the shoot is finished, I always say that to my team. 'Ingat' sounds cute,” he smiles.
Working in this country felt like a whole new adventure for the actor. “Actually, it’s my first time to work abroad so I was kind of worried at first. But when I started shooting here, I just realized that everywhere is kind of the same. It’s not too different. It’s also like family here. It’s fun learning a new culture. People here are very friendly and they welcome me—maybe because I’m a foreigner so I’m like a guest. Filipinos are so bright and they always make things fun and they always smile. They like joking around so it’s kind of a good and positive energy to me. I like it,” he shares his glowing impression.
Overall, he can’t help but muse about this new chapter and season in his life. “I would say it’s challenging. My training was also challenging but I don’t know exactly why, but it felt kind of stable because we can fail and try to do whatever. But now, it’s kind of different. There is more pressure to do well. There is no turning back and I have to go ahead so it’s challenging,” he declares, agreeing to the observation that this particular season in his life feels like he is being pushed out of his comfort zone for good reason.
Asked by Metro.Style about the difference between the Ji Soo a few years ago—before a trying moment in his life—and the Ji Soo now, the actor got pensive. “I think I got more patient now. Year by year, I learn everything. I’m ready to open my mind. I’m still learning and growing up,” he thoughtfully shares.
When asked if there’s an important lesson in his film Mujigae that he applies to his life, his response was brief but meaningful. “Take responsibility,” Ji Soo concludes with humility and certainty.
Mujigae. Rainbow. As it seems, he’s now seeing the rainbow after the rain, a moment symbolizing acceptance, hope, happiness, and love. The sun is shining brightly. It’s a new day, a new start for Ji Soo.
Photography by Rxandy Capinpin
Metro Head: Christina N. Lopez
Editor-in-Chief: Geolette Esguerra
Sittings Editor: Grace Libero-Cruz
Editorial Assistant: Tim Marasigan
Grooming by Kevin Inciso
Styling by John Lozano, with associates Bea Yabut, Lon Morelos, Elijah Mananghaya, and Jerome Penero
Videography by NicePrint Photo
Special thanks to Kathleen Dy-Go, Grace Foronda, SBTown, and Universal Records Philippines
Shot on location at It’s Vintage - Salcedo Village, 124 San Agustin St., Makati City