Ji Soo

Ji Soo, born Kim Ji-soo on March 30, 1993, is a South Korean actor whose television debut came in 2012 through SBS’s To the Beautiful You. He appeared in television projects before taking a regular role in the 2015 youth drama Angry Mom, playing Go Bok-dong, a troubled student connected to the series’ school-violence storyline. That role helped make him recognizable to drama audiences and led to further prominent casting. In 2016, he played Wang Jung in Scarlet Heart: Ryeo, SBS’s Korean adaptation of the Chinese novel Bu Bu Jing Xin. The historical series followed a twenty-first-century woman transported to Goryeo; Ji Soo’s character was one of King Taejo’s princes. Also that year, he starred opposite Kim So-hyun in Page Turner, a KBS Drama Special about musicians, portraying Jung Cha-sik, a former athlete who becomes involved in piano competition. Ji Soo then headlined Strong Woman Do Bong-soon in 2017, playing Guk-doo, a detective and longtime friend of the title character. The JTBC romantic-comedy paired Park Bo-young with Park Hyung-sik and became one of the channel’s ratings hits. He had another leading role in My First First Love, Netflix’s Korean coming-of-age series, released in 2019. As Yoon Tae-oh, he shared a house with friends confronting family pressure, romance, and the transition to adulthood. The program was released in two parts and also featured Jung Chae-yeon, Jinyoung, Choi Ri, and Kang Tae-oh. His film credits include the 2016 black-comedy Glory Day, in which he appeared with Suho, Ryu Jun-yeol, and Kim Hee-chan, and the 2019 fantasy film The Divine Fury. In 2021, Ji Soo withdrew from the KBS drama River Where the Moon Rises after allegations of school bullying were posted online. He issued an apology on Instagram on March 4, 2021, saying he recognized wrongdoing from his past and apologizing to those hurt. The production replaced him with Na In-woo, reshooting his scenes before broadcast. The controversy altered the trajectory of an actor whose rise had been strongly associated with ensemble youth dramas and emotionally vulnerable characters. His credits span historical romance, contemporary campus stories, crime investigation, musical drama, comedy, and fantasy action. Before television, he trained in acting through stage work and debuted in the 2009 play Bong-sam Wasn’t There. His subsequent television roles made his name most closely associated with South Korea’s youth-oriented dramas, particularly the contrasting worlds of school conflict in Angry Mom and royal rivalry in Scarlet Heart: Ryeo.