Jo Jung Suk became more globally popular through his recent drama ‘Hospital Playlist’. Aside from being a great actor, he is also known for his good personality. But there’s a lot more that you didn’t know about Jo Jung Suk.

Curious? Here are the 8 facts about Jo Jung Suk that will turn you into his number one fan.

Jo Jung Suk is a Capricorn

Jo Jung Suk was born on December 26, 1980, a 40-year-old Capricorn.

Those who are under this sign are recognized for being the hardest working bunch and they can make anything happen once they put their mind to it.

They're ambitious but also realistic. In short, Capricorns are the kind of people you'd love to work, be friends, and fall in love with.

He made his career debut as a theater actor

Before gracing the small and big screen, Jo Jung Suk took the theater stage by storm and was cast in a long list of musicals. This includes Grease, Hedwig, and Blood Brothers, to name a few.

Jo Jung Suk established his name as an actor thanks to the movie Architecture 101

By 2012, after playing a supporting role in the K-drama What's Up as Kim Byeong Gun. He then started gaining more popularity after his supporting role in the blockbuster movie Architecture 101.

The movie made him won numerous awards (including Best New Actor at the esteemed 33rd Blue Dragon Film Awards) for his role as Nap Duk. Also, Hospital Playlist co-star Yoo Yeon Seok is also a cast member in that film.

He considers his 30's as the peak of his success

The following years proved to be immensely busy for Jung Suk. He appeared in a movie with box office hits and critically acclaimed K-dramas. According to him, that period is "the prime" of his life.

He tells more about this in an interview: "Although many people remember Architecture 101 as my start, it was before that for me. I filmed MBN’s 2011 drama What’s Up for around a year and didn’t perform [in plays] for a while."

He added, "That was when I began to appear in media, and if you count my start from there, that was all my thirties consisted of. That’s why my thirties were so happy for me and why I remember it as my prime.”

Jo Jung Suk can sing well and a pro at playing the Guitar

Last year, his remake of this 2001 song "Aloha" that placed number one on charts and stayed in the same spot for weeks.

Not only that, the song was awarded as Best OST in numerous awards shows like the 2020 Melon Music Awards (ICYDK, Melon is South Korea's largest music platform).

"It’s a song that I sang for the drama and I had no idea it would receive this much love. I’m very happy and grateful," he said in response to the track's success.

He voluntarily asked for a pay deduction for his casting in Hospital Playlist

Jo Jung Suk is reportedly one of the highest-paid actors in South Korea. He was supposed to receive 90 million won to 100 million won (around P3.9 to P4.3 million) per episode for his role as Ik Jun, but he reduced his payment to 70 million won (around P3 million).

The reason? He wanted to help the production team financially, as reported by SBS Star. At the same time, he also trusts Shin Won Ho PD-nim and Lee Woo Jung writer-nim.

Jo Jung Suk is married to singer Gummy

Jo Jung Suk is already taken and he's now a father. Jo Jung Suk and Gummy tied the knot in 2018 and became parents to their first child last year.

Gummy shared more about their first encounter in an episode of KBS 2TV's Come Back Home. The OST queen said that they met through her friend, Bubble Sisters' Young Ji, who was Jo Jung Suk's co-actor in the musical Hedwig.

One day, Young Ji was supposed to meet Jo Jung Suk for some reason and she asked Gummy to come with her. "It wasn’t her intention to set us up," Gummy clarified. After that, they met again during her birthday party and the rest, as they say, is history. “It happened really naturally. From a certain point on, our feelings changed.”

Jo Jung Suk is not on Instagram

The actor doesn't have an Instagram account (yet) but go ahead and follow his agency, JAM Entertainment, for more updates about him.

Source[1]

A recent KBS drama shoot starring Girls' Generation's Seohyun and 2PM's Taecyeon has sparked controversy after accusations of damaging a UNESCO World Heritage site.

On January 2, architect Min Seo Hong took to Facebook to criticize the production of the upcoming drama I Took the Male Lead's First Night, which used Byeongsan Seowon, a historic Korean Confucian academy, as a filming location.

His post, titled "An Account of What I Witnessed at Byeongsan Seowon," detailed shocking allegations about the crew's actions.

Min shared that he visited Byeongsan Seowon on December 30, only to find the site bustling with drama staff.

"As I approached, I saw crew members moving around. At first, I didn’t realize it was a filming set, but when I entered the seowon, I felt uneasy knowing this historic site was being used this way," he wrote.

What he saw inside was alarming. According to Min, props were scattered throughout the seowon, and staff were hammering nails into wooden pillars to hang lights.

When he confronted them, they reportedly dismissed his concerns, saying, "We already have permission from Andong City. If you’re curious, contact them."

Determined to take action, Min contacted Andong City’s Cultural Heritage Department. A city official admitted they had approved the filming but appeared unaware of the damage being done.

"When I asked if they knew about the nails in the wooden pillars, they seemed flustered and promised to order their removal immediately," Min shared.

Experts later informed Min that incidents like this aren’t uncommon, with some modern heritage sites even being dismantled for filming. "People might think hammering nails is minor, but in traditional Korean houses, it’s a big deal to even drive in one nail. For cultural heritage, this should never happen," he said.

Min’s biggest concern is the decision to allow such a valuable site, designated as Historic Site No. 260 and a UNESCO World Heritage site, to be used for filming at all. "This was a KBS drama production, and it’s deplorable that they showed such little care for cultural heritage," he added.

The drama, I Took the Male Lead's First Night, is already drawing backlash before its release, with many netizens expressing anger over the alleged damage to the historic site. Comments online include:

"Why are cultural heritage sites being used as filming locations in the first place?"

"If this is true, KBS owes an apology not just to viewers but to the nation."

"Respect for cultural heritage should come before making a drama."

Neither KBS nor the drama's production team has released an official statement regarding the allegations.

However, the issue has sparked heated debate, with many calling for stricter regulations on the use of heritage sites for filming.

Source: [1]