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Actor Kim Ji Soo, who was embroiled in school violence allegations, has been in the news for his recent activities in the Philippines.
On August 7, OSEN reported details from a phone interview with Ji Soo, who is currently working as an actor in the Philippines after halting his activities in South Korea following the school violence allegations. According to the report, Ji Soo is affiliated with the largest broadcaster in the Philippines, GMA, and is currently appearing in dramas and programs produced by the network.
He said, "This morning, I appeared on a program in the Philippines similar to Korea's AM Plaza and gave an interview, but I did my own hair and makeup. I have to save money, you know (laughs). I couldn’t bring myself to spend that money." He added, "Things are a little different from Korea, so there are many cases where the actors themselves have to cover expenses."
He continued, "I always dreamt of working overseas, and I felt that I really needed to study English properly, so I came to the Philippines and started studying. I hired two private tutors and worked hard to learn, and now I've reached the point where my English is good enough that it doesn't interfere with my work."
Ji Soo also explained how he began working as an actor in the Philippines, saying, "GMA reached out to me with an offer first, so I ended up working in the Philippines." "I'm someone whose life has been broken once. When you've been broken or brought down, you become detached from things. After going through those experiences, I came to think that I should work even harder at whatever I do."
"It's been exactly two years since I started working in the Philippines. Since I'm Korean, I do receive a little more attention, and more people recognize me compared to before. I'm grateful for the warm responses wherever I go. Seeing that also teaches me a lot."
Ji Soo made his debut in 2015 with the MBC drama Angry Mom and starred in Cheer Up!, Doctors, and Bad Guys: City of Evil, among others. He shot to stardom for his performance in the drama Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo.
His smooth road to success faced a setback as in March 2021, Ji Soo became embroiled in school violence allegations. Although he strongly denied the allegations, the controversy spiraled out of control. As a result, he eventually terminated his contract with his agency KeyEast and stepped down from the KBS2 drama River Where the Moon Rises.
He was originally cast as the male lead in the K-drama, but the allegations surfaced just six episodes into its run.
At the time, Content Zium (formerly Victory Contents), the production company behind River Where the Moon Rises, filed a damages lawsuit against KeyEast, Ji Soo's then-agency.
In October 2023, Ji Soo explained that he had resolved his misunderstandings with his middle school classmate, who first made the allegations against him.
Meanwhile, according to sources, KeyEast submitted a withdrawal of its appeal in June regarding the final appeal in the damages lawsuit filed by CanvasN (formerly Victory Contents), the production company behind the drama. As a result, the second-trial ruling ordering KeyEast to pay CanvasN 880 million won was finalized.
Source: OSEN
