joo ji hoon jun ji hyun sung dong il

‘Jirisan’ actors’ profile: Jun Ji Hyun, Joo Ji Hoon and Sung Dong Il

tvN’s 15th-anniversary special drama “Jirisan”, starring the top stars Jun Ji Hyun, Joo Ji Hoon, and Sung Dong Il, aired its first episode on October 23rd.

With only 2 episodes, this drama has successfully attracted keen attention from the viewers and also raised high expectations for the next stories. So why don’t we take a look at the profile and life stories of “Jirisan” actors!

Jirisan actors

Jun Ji Hyun

Currently, Jun Ji Hyun is enjoying her happy married life. However, some people may not know that the actress was once rumored to have dated Bi Rain. In June 2010, Korean media raised suspicions of Jun Ji Hyun and Bi Rain’s romantic relationship with evidence. They even claimed that the couple had been dating for more than a year, and they often met around Jun Ji Hyun’s house in Samsung-dong.

Jirisan actors
Jirisan actors

After the news broke out, Bi Rain’s agency immediately denied the dating rumor, saying, “Rain is not dating anyone at the moment. He has been too busy to have time for a romantic relationship”. Meanwhile, Jun Ji Hyun’s company also stated that this was the first time they heard this rumor.

Jirisan actors
jun ji hyun bi rain

Back to the fairytale-like marriage life of Jun Jihyun. During the heyday of her acting career, Jun Ji Hyun surprised everyone with the announcement of her marriage to Choi Joon Hyuk and the two held a wedding in April 2012. It is known that Jun Ji Hyun and Choi Joon Hyuk have known each other since their childhood. Both lived in the same neighborhood and went to the same elementary school.

Jirisan actors

In mid-2015, the couple announced to the media about Jun Ji Hyun’s pregnancy after 3 years of marriage. On February 10th, 2016, the couple welcomed their first son. After that, the actress suspended her acting activities temporarily to focus on raising her son and taking care of her family. In 2017, Jun Ji Hyun announced another happy news of her second pregnancy. After having 2 children, the actress still maintains her admirable body and ageless beauty.

jun ji hyun bi rain

However, in June this year, a former reporter said that Jun Ji Hyun had already divorced her husband and planned to bring her children to live abroad to protect them from being affected. However, Jun Ji Hyun’s company, Culture Depot, refuted the rumor right away and asked people to stop spreading false information. Choi Joon Hyuk even posted on his SNS account himself, saying, “I still want to be Jun Ji Hyun’s husband”, and Jun Ji Hyun’s mother-in-law also expressed her frustration towards the false news about her children.

Joo Ji Hoon

After emerging as a rising star with the role of Prince Lee Shin in the famous drama “Goong”, Joo Ji Hoon then lost his fame due to the “drug” scandal and had to suffer from many ups and downs in his acting career. During the past decade, Joo Ji Hoon has gradually gained back the trust of the public and become a superstar in Korean showbiz.

Jirisan actors
Jirisan actors

After the success of “Goong”, Joo Ji Hoon’s acting skills received recognition from both the viewers and critics. Moreover, the popularity of “Goong” had made Joo Ji Hoon’s name be known all over Asia, from China, Japan to Vietnam, Thailand, etc. He even got the nickname “prince” from fans and was cast in more big projects, such as “The Devil” (2007), “Antique” (2008), and the theater play “Don Juan” (2009).

joo ji hoon
Jirisan actors

During the peak of his career, Joo Ji Hoon was caught up in a scandal related to using illegal drugs. In April 2009, after being arrested, he admitted his faults. After this controversy broke out, all the big broadcasting stations banned him from acting or appearing on any of their shows. His name was erased from all scheduled projects, and all brands decided to boycott him.

joo ji hoon
joo ji hoon

After 6 months of paying the price, 1-year probation, 120 hours of community service and a fine of 360,000 won, Joo Ji Hoon lost everything. His rising career was ruined, fans turned their backs on him, he was heavily criticized by the press. The actor then enlisted in the army to fulfill his mandatory military service while waiting for the scandal to settle down. 

Jirisan actors
joo ji hoon

After he was discharged from the army, only KeyEast Entertainment recruited him as they were aware of Joo Ji Hoon‘s ability and saw his potential for career development in both Korea and overseas. Joo Ji Hoon is evidently a hardworking actor. From 2012 to 2016, Joo Ji Hoon starred in many productions such as I Am The King, Marriage Blue, Five Fingers, Confession, Mask, Medical Top Team, The Treacherous,… but could not achieve much success as the Korean public was still not willing to welcome his appearance on the screen again.

joo ji hoon
Jirisan actors

It was not until the success of the movie “Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds” (2017) that marked another turning point in Joo Ji Hoon‘s career. The film became a box office hit, making $109 million worldwide, sold over 14.4 million tickets and ranked 3rd in the highest-grossing films in the history of Korean cinema. Currently, Joo Ji Hoon is one of the most sought-after actors in the industry. He constantly receives offers from many producers as well as endorsement deals from different brands. Perhaps, he should be the most grateful to KeyEast Entertainment for counting on him.

Sung Dong Il

Whenever Sung Dong Il is mentioned, many fans of Korean dramas will think of his heartwarming role as Duk Sun’s father in Reply 1988. Prior to the hit Reply 1988, the veteran actor took part in numerous projects and became a familiar face to the audiences. However, it seems that he always leaves the most impression every time he takes on the role of an on-screen father. Many Korean viewers even call Sung Dong Il by the endearing nickname “nation’s father”.

sung dong il
Jirisan actors

Besides the success in his acting career, the male actor also has a happy family of his own. Sung Dong Il’s wife is Park Kyung Hye. For a long time, the two has been an admirable couple in the Korean entertainment industry. Not only have they been staying together for years, they earn the public’s respect for working hard and not being involved in any controversies. Both stay private about their personal lives, so their marriage is rarely reported in the media. The two tied the knot in 2003 after getting to know each other for some time.

Jirisan actors
sung dong il

Although through his characters, Sung Dong Il appears to be rather strict and short-tempered, he is actually a very warm and responsible person in real life. The actor once shared: “My wife is the motivation for me to work harder every day because I just want her to enjoy a good life by my side.”

During his interviews, Sung Dong Il also did not hesitate to express his affection and gratitude to his wife. Because when the two got married, it was difficult for both of them and they could not have a proper wedding ceremony. He got himself into doing business to improve their life but ended up in failure. But even during the most difficult time, his wife always stayed by his side to support him. 

sung dong il
sung dong il

Sung Dong Il also shared that later when he shot to fame as an actor, received more projects and got busy with work, taking care of their children was mostly his wife’s job. Sung Dong Il said that whenever he looked at his wife getting older, he did not know how to make up for her because no matter how much money he made, it was impossible to get her youth back and that caused him to always feel guilty.

Although the main cast of Jirisan have different personal lives, one thing they have in common is their top-notch acting. So don’t forget to tune in every week for new episodes of Jirisan and support these talented actors!