Oh Ji-ho, actor with a soul
BY FUNG L. YONG
Handsome South Korean actor Oh Ji-ho was born in Mokpo, a picturesque port city at the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula. The hometown of this attractive bachelor, aged 37, is famous for its seafood, particularly young octopuses. Some of its popular local delicacies are fermented skate, fish hoe, horse crabs, and spicy broth with octopus, daikon, and napa cabbage. Its agricultural produce includes rice, barley, beans, greens, and fruits. Located near the scenic Yudal Mountain, Mokpo is a popular holiday destination equipped with numerous tourist facilities.
Besides being academically bright since elementary school, Oh Ji-ho also excels in mental mathematics, baseball, basketball, and water sports. After emerging from high school as one of the top achievers, this abacus champion attended Anyang University, a well-known private institution that offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and research programs. Upon completion of his military training in the late 1990s, he decided to venture into singing, modeling, and acting.
Oh Ji-ho gained international fame for his leading role in ‘Couple or Trouble,’ a drama inspired by Hollywood’s ‘Overboard,’ starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. He received the MBC 2006 Popularity Award for his role as an adorable and thrifty maintenance man who managed to turn an arrogant hotel owner into a rather respectable homemaker. He also earned the MBC 2006 Best Couple Award with the female lead for the same drama.
His other popular dramas include ‘Queen of Housewives,’ ‘Single Dad in Love,’ ‘Get Karl, Oh Soo Jung,’ and ‘Autumn Shower.’ His debut movie was the 2000 ‘La Belle,’ which was shown as an art film at the Busan Film Festival in the following year. Two of his more memorable movies include the 2003 ‘Silver Knife’ and the 2011 ‘Sector 7.’ The latter, which features a group of oil-miners fighting against a sea monster, also happens to be Korea’s first 3D movie.
After garnering widespread popularity in romantic comedy, Oh Ji-ho eventually landed a role that utterly changed his screen image as a personable and humorous individual; he acted as a charismatic military officer in ‘The Slave Hunters’ in 2010, which was also his first stint in historical drama. For the impressive role and raw acting, he won the 2010 KBS Excellence Award for mid-length drama.
Currently, Oh Ji-ho is busy acting in his first-ever medical drama, ‘Third Ward,’ featuring a hospital that practises both oriental and modern medicine. He plays the role of a pragmatic, warm-hearted expert in oriental medicine. His character is a medical university graduate who becomes disillusioned with modern medicine after losing a loved one to terminal illness.
To know more about this dashing actor, this writer decided to communicate with one of his international fans, JANE CHANG, who is also an active member of the Oh Ji-ho Soompi Forum.
“I first caught a glimpse of Zio in 2008; he was on television in the drama ‘Get Karl, Oh Soo Jung.’ I forgot about him until some six months later when I strolled past a DVD shop and noticed the same drama on display. After watching the entire drama, I searched out more of his works. Not long after, I found some of his chat-rooms in the Internet and got to know his works a bit more,” recalled Jane.
She revealed, “To have a change of pace, I decided to give myself a treat and attended the Oh Ji-ho Fan Meeting in Yokohama, held in February 2009. I got to know some Japanese fans there; however, we had to communicate using a lot of sign language as I do not speak Japanese.”
“When Zio shook my hand, he clasped both his hands onto mine; subsequently, he looked into my eyes and said, ‘Thank you.’ He is always so warm and courteous.”
Jane recounted, “At that Yokohama meeting, there was a one (and only) male Japanese fan who was wearing hearing aids. Most of us had the chance to go up the stage to either chat with Zio or play a game with him; however, this boy never got the chance. He even brought with him a Korean flag which he waved enthusiastically.”
“After the meeting, this boy, one other fan, and I lingered a bit at the premises. A staff member then came along to ask the boy to go backstage. We waited for him, and when he came out, he happily showed us two photos from an instant camera that Zio had taken with him. This only goes to show that Zio has sharp eyes, and he is such caring person to specially invite the boy to see him backstage. I became his true fan since.”
Jane added, “In August 2010, together with a couple of fans from China, I visited Zio’s management agency, Heavenly Star Contents, but we only saw one of his managers. Subsequently, we took the bullet train to Busan to catch him when he was the ambassador for the International Advertisement Festival there. Around this time, Zio was also busy filming ‘Sector 7,’ the first Korean 3D sci-fi movie.”
“We had such a fun time at Busan. Besides having the opportunity to eat jajiangmien, the famous sauce noodles that we see in his drama ‘Couple or Trouble,’ we were also able to sample some traditional rice wine.”
Jane remembered, “In March 2011, Zio came to Hong Kong as one of the presenters of the Rainbow Awards ceremony. When he saw us in the audience, he not only smiled but waved! On top of that, we got a big hug from him afterwards!”
“In August 2011, I joined more fans from China and travelled to Shenzhen to catch Zio while he was filming the action drama ‘Strangers 6.’ While interacting with reporters and fans, he took notice of my presence; he paused, looked at me, and then said, ‘I’ve met you three times before.’ He has such good memory. We took photos and videos with him and got to hug him as well. He is always so friendly and well-mannered. I am glad that he has received favourable reviews for his performance in the action drama.”
Jane admitted, “As to why I like Zio more than any other Korean celebrities, I guess it is his sincerity, his respect for others, and his gentlemanly manners that have really attracted me.”
“Recently, I met a Japanese fan who has been to many fan meetings. She could tell who has smooth hands, rough hands, warm/cold hands, and so on. Zio's hands are neither smooth nor cold; they are warm. Most importantly, he gives firm handshakes, which we find very rare for celebrities.”
Jane commented, “All in all, I give credit to his parents for bringing him up so well; I believe he still has the adorable characteristics of the small town boy next door.”
“After becoming one of the CEOs of a food company named Namja Kimchi, and having appeared in several series of reality shows, including ‘Invincible Baseball,’ ‘Olive TV,’ and ‘Running Man,’ I find him to be much more confident of himself and at interviews.”
“I love his throw-away-caution hearty laughter where you can only see his teeth and not his eyes. I have no regrets liking this celebrity and I wish him God's blessings for his future,” concluded Jane.
The writer wishes to extend her thanks to Miss Jane Chang and other members of the Oh Ji-ho Soompi Forum for their kind assistance.
