"So Ji-sub"

So Ji-sub (born November 4, 1977 in Seoul) is a South Korean actor.

It was 1997 when So Ji-sub modeled for the jeans brand "STORM" and first caught the attention of Korean fans. He debuted as an actor in the sitcom Three Guys and Three Girls and remained active in the entertainment industry through dramas and commercials. Although his roles in dramas in the late 90s, such as Model, were small, his popularity grew, and by 2002, he was cast as the male second lead in Glass Slippers. Playing a gangster who falls in love with the main female character, more and more fans found him attractive and talented.

In 2004, he was cast in two immensely popular dramas - What Happened in Bali and I'm Sorry, I Love You. Cha Moo-hyuk in I'm Sorry, I Love You in particular became his breakout role, garnering positive feedback from critics and fans. Through those two dramas, he began drawing attention from not just Korea, but from all over Asia. To this day he still considers them the best dramas in his filmography.

After completing his mandatory Korean military service as a public relations officer with the Mapo District Office, So returned to the entertainment world in 2007. His comeback was in Jang Hoon's directorial debut Rough Cut, in which he plays a thug who dreams of becoming an actor, while Kang Ji-hwan plays an actor who beats up and hospitalizes his co-stars. The low-budget film was a critical and surprise box office success.

2009 was the year So tried to break into the Japanese and Chinese markets. In I am GHOST, a five-minute 24-episode action drama aired every Thursday and Sunday on Japan’s mobile-exclusive broadcaster BEE TV, So played a killer on the run with a high school girl. He spoke no lines in the mobile drama, and was "worried whether (their) emotions would be delivered just through (their) motions." The year before, he had appeared in a supporting role as a monster in the Japanese manga live-action adaptation GeGeGe No Kitaro 2: Kitaro and the Millenium Curse.

So then starred in the Chinese romantic comedy Sophie's Revenge, with Zhang Ziyi in the titular role (he later signed with a Chinese talent agency). He returned to Korean television with the drama Cain and Abel, about the intense relationship between two brothers, one a genius doctor and the other outshone by his sibling.

Expectations were high for his big-budget Korean war drama Road No. 1, but the series tanked in the ratings, averaging 4% to 5% for its entire run.

So published his photo-essay collection, So Ji-sub's Road in 2010. The volume covers stories and photos over the past 13 years since his debut, using unpretentious language and sensitive photography taken during So's trips to the DMZ and Gangwon province. The usually taciturn and stoic actor reveals his inner thoughts throughout the book, with essays on the number 51 (reflected in the name of his company - it means a 50-50 probability then believing just 1% more; the K stands for Korea), Romeo and Juliet, why he likes rainy days, and stories about his interactions with other celebrities and artists such as Tiger JK. Within ten days of its release, the book hit the bestseller list, having sold 50,000 copies by pre-order, and entered its third printing. He was subsequently named the goodwill ambassador of Gangwon-do in an effort to boost tourism there, and a 51 km-long trail in the province was named "So Ji-sub Road", which was unveiled to the public on May 20, 2012. He is the first Korean celebrity to have an entire road named after him.

A professed longtime hip-hop lover, So rapped for two original tracks – Lonely Life and Foolish Love – under the artist pseudonym "G" or "G-Sonic" for the Rough Cut and Cain and Abel soundtracks, respectively. In 2011 he released another digital single Pick Up Line under his own name. Two teaser videos were released, the first teaser described as a comedic version that features guest stars Jung Joon-ha (who is a close friend of So's) and Kim Byung-man (whom So named as one of his favorite comedians). The three of them reportedly enjoyed filming the teaser. The second teaser gave a better taste of the MV. The music video itself, along with the single, were released on February 17th.

So then starred in auteur Song Il-gon's romantic melodrama Always (Korean title: Only You). He plays a boxer who falls in love with a girl (Han Hyo-joo) who begins to lose her eyesight. It was the opening film of the 2011 Busan International Film Festival. He published a second book of photo-essays titled So Ji-sub's Only You featuring photographs, notes and commentary on playing his movie character Jang Chul-min.

On March 14, 2012, he launched a magazine for his fans titled SONICe, inside are So's suggested dating ideas and locations, favorite food and books, and more stories through his eyes. Its name is a combination of “so nice” and “Sonic,” which is So’s nickname.

So's first mini-album Corona Borealis was released on March 20, 2012. It featured collaborations with songwriter Kim Kun-woo, vocal trainer Mellow, soprano Han Kyung-mi, and singers Huh Gak and Bobby Kim. Bobby Kim complimented So's rapping in their duet track "One Day Long Ago", saying, “So has a talent in feeling the groove and it’s as good as his acting skills.” So also starred in a music video of the album's title song "Some Kind of Story."

So has recently finished filming The Salary Man, about a hitman in a killer-for-hire company who, after he falls in love and decides he wants out of his job, finds himself the target of his former colleagues. For his next TV role in the procedural Ghost, So portrays a workaholic detective in the cyber criminal investigative service.

source : http://en.wikipedia.org