Accomplished Hallyu star Ji Chang-wook tells StarLifestyle that there are many ways of looking at success.
However, the handsome actor points out one thing that’s crucial to him.
“Success means different things to different people. Some define success as making a lot of money, acquiring honour or holding power.
“But I think it’s all worth nothing if you’re not happy with yourself,” he says in an exclusive email interview.
“You live your own life, so you feel satisfied within the spectrum of success you have defined for yourself.
“However, wouldn’t feeling content and happy with yourself be the endgame of success?”
As far as his career goes, the diligent artiste – who turns 35 next month – has enough reasons to be content and happy.
He rose to stardom with his performance in The Warrior Baek Dong-soo (2011) and the highly-acclaimed series The Empress Ki (2013).
The South Korean continued to showcase superb acting capability in the 2014 spy/romance drama Healer, leading him to a career in China with roles in Mandarin-language dramas The Whirlwind Girl 2 and Mr Right.
Other memorable K-dramas followed including Suspicious Partner, Melting Me Softly and Backstreet Rookie, as well as the action film Fabricated City.
Currently, he is starring in the Netflix Original, The Sound Of Magic.
Success in terms of mainstream measures is secondary to Ji perhaps because his path to fame and fortune was laid with a tough childhood.
Having lost his father at a young age due to cancer, Ji saw his mother singularly shoulder the parenting responsibilities while working at a restaurant.
Ji – who’s known to dote on his mother – has said in an interview that he grew up watching his mum work hard to keep the family afloat.
He previously shared with a media outlet of his younger days: “In a way, I grew up normally and, in other ways, I grew up facing difficulties.
“I realised at a young age that life was not easy. So, looking back on my childhood, I think I had some depression. Fortunately, I overcame it with my mother’s love.”
Though a filial son, Ji went against his mother’s wish when he decided to pursue acting after he finished school.
He was admitted into Dankook University’s School of Performing Arts in 2006.
That same year he made his debut in the musical theatre world, and later ventured into movies and TV series in supporting capacities.
We ask Ji what advice he’d give to youngsters who are facing problems in chasing after their dreams.
He says: “You have to really think about what you like to do, and what makes you happy. Will you be able to do well once your dream becomes a reality? Can you continue to do it?
“You have to objectively think about these things and make a judgment call on whether you will be able to handle it.
“You can’t just say ‘dream big’, or ‘do what you want to do’. Reality hits differently.
“There will always be a sacrifice you’ll have to make to do what you love, and it’s not going to be all rosy.
“So, you’ll need courage to take responsibility for your decisions.”
Being happy and realising one’s dreams despite the various hurdles are two things that are explored in The Sound Of Magic.
Based on the popular webtoon Annarasumanara by Ha Il-kwon, the K-drama centres around struggling teenagers Yoon Ah-yi (Choi Sung-eun) and Na Il-deung (Hwang In-youp) whose lives are forever changed when they meet Ri-eul (Ji), an easygoing adult who lives at an abandoned amusement park and goes around performing magic tricks.
Ri-eul shows them that good things can exist in their lives if they don’t abandon certain values and hold on to the wonderment they felt as a child.
During an online press conference, the series director Kim Sung-youn said that the series poses pertinent questions to its viewers.
“I think the series makes one think about what it means to be an adult, how we want our children to be raised, and the real meaning of happiness,” Kim explains.
Ji concurs that it was important to him to stay faithful to the series’ message and the sentiments of the webtoon – which are whether we still have that childhood innocence and dreams in our hearts.
The amiable star says: “I talked a lot with the director and writer to recreate my character and found a balance between acting according to the script and respecting the source material.”
Ji also notes that one reason why he felt an immediate connection to The Sound Of Magic is because the teenage characters of Ah-yi and Il-deung reminded him of himself.
“I felt like their stories were my stories,” he states.
“One is a teenager who’s forced to grow up too fast due to poverty, and the other is a teen whose dreams are imposed upon him by his parents and he’s always worried about grades.”
In a recent interview with a Korean magazine, Ji spoke further on this: “(In my teens), I got so stressed because of my grades too.
“There was also a period in my life where it was difficult to handle because my family was going through a tough time.
“The sight of Yoon Ah-yi not knowing what to do because of her struggles with poverty touched certain memories.
“I empathised with their pain and wanted to protect these characters and really root for them. So, I think I was drawn to that the most in choosing this project.”
At the same time, Ji adds that he found the character Ri-eul to be intriguing.
“I thought it was a challenge I would like to take on.”
One of which was learning magic.
He comments to StarLifestyle that before embarking on the project, he enjoyed watching magic shows but had no interest in learning to perform illusions.
Nonetheless, he was excited to play a magician in the series, and started his training three months prior to filming.
In those months, he carried props around and constantly practised with the instructor.
Ji further shares with StarLifestyle the most challenging magic trick he had to learn for the series: “More than a trick, there was a technique that involved rolling a ball with my hand. That one was really hard to get the hang of.”
Since The Sound Of Magic also involved singing and dancing, the consummate actor worked on those too prior to filming.
But as a seasoned performer in musical theatre, Ji attests that there wasn’t much difference in terms of dancing, singing and acting on stage or for a TV series.
“But in terms of the mechanism, this series was shot on a camera, so my acting had to be centred around the camera. I recorded the songs as well.
“There were these technical differences, but the acting and expressing emotions were pretty much the same.
“Responding to this question makes me think that maybe it would have been better if my acting had been even more focused on the camera and the technical parts.”
A well-liked celebrity in the South Korean entertainment industry, Ji naturally received high praise from his co-stars, Choi and Hwang.
Choi remarks to StarLifestyle of her experience working with Ji: “He is a really warm person. His warmth made me feel comfortable when we were acting.
“I learned a lot from him especially in seeing how he treated others on set.”
Hwang agrees, saying: “He was always very warm and considerate, and respected our work together so I felt grateful for him while we filmed.
“He’s as handsome on the inside as he is on the outside, and he’s definitely a role model of mine.
“He always cheered me on by yelling, ‘Go, Hwang In-youp!’ I want to take this opportunity to say the same to him – ‘Go, Chang-wook sunbae!’ – and thank him as my senior.”
Ji is said to star in a new K-drama next, with the working title If You Say Your Wish.
The show is reported to be inspired by the acts performed by a foundation that grants the last wishes of terminal cancer patients.
In the series, Ji plays a young man who is at the end of his rope. After an incident, he decides to volunteer at a hospice care and starts listening to the last wishes of the patients there.
While Ji doesn't share how he picks his roles with StarLifestyle, he has spoken to another outlet of his view on acting, then and now.
“Since I’m introverted, I thought that if I was someone who knew how to open up and approach others more, then my acting would be a lot better too,” he revealed in that interview.
“My personality changed a lot as well. I had to change myself so that I could be comfortable on set.
“But, now, ‘human Ji Chang-wook’ comes before ‘actor Ji Chang-wook.’
“Acting is just a job and I do it because I want to. It’s fun, and I like it a lot.”
All six episodes of The Sound Of Magic are available on Netflix.
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