Awwww. I'm always so sad when actors leave for military service.
But we will be looking forward to his return and seeing everything he will do in the future :)
Ji Chang-wook FIGHTING!!!

All the best Ji Chang Wook. ;)

Hope he will do better project in the future. Romcom or melodrama next time OK? I need to see he is actually acting instead of doing so much action scenes. I know he is hot doing action but still... :) Of course hopefully with a great partner as well, at least who is on par with him in acting.. ;)

he is leaving for military service I am so sad

I will prefer to remember him as Healer than K2. #sorry

We're always here to wait for his next projects however long they may take. By his comeback after two years, I hope he picks a good drama and a good team.

I really miss this guy and now i'll miss him even more. Why does he have to go now? Why didn't he go before "Bachelor's vegetable store"? Is there some kind of procedure they follow when enlisting to the military?
So how long will it take for him to return?

Oh thank u my vitamin A

I would love to see him in rom-com! Please!!

Yes..I really wish he will do rom com before he wnlists for military. For me the role were he could take his acting chops to peak was Emperror Ta Hwan in Empress Ki... but Healer doesn't fall below either. The ease with which he potrayed diametrically opposite, the dorky and simple Bong Soo and the cool, complex Jung Hoo is above critisism. Healer will always be his most memorable role for me....till he brings out another one. For me K2 failed to utilize his talent, except in action... which was overdone, bringing distress to him as well as us viewers. Cutting all those action scenes by half to give Je Ha a proper origin and a real name could have given us viewers some satisfaction, and given JCW some break. Only good thing that came out of K2 was, it gave him some recognition in korea ( as far as I have heard) and made many rewatch healer once again and appreciater the writer Song Ji Nah. And that made me realise, how well plotted healer was... While K2 failed to develop both Je Ha and Anna, to give them proper backstory's other than a one liner, two main healer succeeded in giving charecter motivations to even side charecters.

He himself really acknowledged the flaws of K2 which he has revealed in post K2 interviews! But K2 made him more popular in SK the buzz it created sealed his posiiton as one of the most popular artist now in Korea which for me is timely as he is about to join the military.
I hope that he wil have another drama a romcom or a thriller before he goes to MS, as he mentioned to showcase more of his acting talents. What separates JCW from his contemporaries are his acting abilities and his many talents! I want him to act in a more mature roles once he is back from enlistment!

Fighting Wookie, stay safe and healthy and humble as always!

My top 3 JCW dramas in terms of his acting are:

1. Empress Ki ( hands down, he is mindblowing and brilliant as Tahwan)
2. Healer ( i love all the many little nuances all are incredibly acted and on point as Jung Hoo and Bong Soo)
3. K2 (Jeha is explosive esp with Yoojin plus the action, looks and aura made Jeha one of the classic character in dramaland)

They all have to go but they usually come back looking better than ever physically and some of them just seem even more mature. So the Adorkable Handsome One is leaving. Tears. So isn't it time for a couple of other come back. Where is that big hunk of handsome Choi Jin hyuk? I know he got kicked out for a bum knee but isn't it time for him to come back now? We need a replacement quickly. lol

Thank you for translating this interview, awcoconuts. :)

I enjoyed the first 7 episodes of the k2, the rest, not that much, but no one can deny the fact that ji chang wook worked hard to do the action scenes. He should totally do a slice of life or rom-com drama next. I really want to see him in lighter roles like park bong soo throughout a drama. But I guess, we need to wait 2 years to see that.

Aww, it's always great to see Ji Chang-wook. ..... I remember seeing him for the first time ever in a K. Will video. Back then I thought, "He's definitely someone to watch in the future."

Unfortunately, real-life time issues got in the way, so I only watched The K2 up to episode 4. The action was certainly intense in those 4 episodes, so I don't blame him for wanting to take a break from action scenes.

Looking forward to his projects in the future.

Alas, The K2 never managed to completely grab my heart unlike Healer, but the effort JCW poured into it was very well appreciated. Oh man, I'm still having trouble accepting that he'll be going away soon. This breaks my heart. :(

Would love for him to do another show before enlistment but we wouldn't want him to over-exert himself as well, so action is out. Yes, a romcom would be rather nice!

..I haven’t finished living my life, so my career as an actor and my lifetime achievement are still works-in-progress..

Aww, what a humble man he is.

And, JCW my dear... I also haven't finished living my life to watch and admire you craft your career and achievement in this lifetime. Uh, well, sometimes my admiration turned into drool when I ogle over you. Pardon. That's one of your achievement too, I guess, to be able to make many noonas fall over you. Me included.

Certainly will miss you.

My God, he's handsome. I watched more K2 than I wanted to just to look at him. K2 was awful, in my humble opinion.

I feel sorry for JCW that his training for The K2's action scenes was so grueling, but at least now he's in top physical shape, so military training shouldn't be too strenuous for him.

I was really disappointed that he signed on for The K2 because I (rightly) suspected I wasn't gonna like it (based on Yong Pal being unwatchable for me)-- but I'm happy that it created a lot of buzz and popularity for him. He sure is a hard worker.

I've often seen a resemblance between his smile and Ha Ji-won's (I see it in the 2nd picture here) and I kind of want them to play siblings someday, but I suppose that'd be weird for many who have watched them play lovers.

Thanks, awcoconuts!

He is forever Healer Oppa in my heart, the K2 was ok, I enjoyed the scenes between Song Yoon-ah and him so much, to the point where I skipped during the episode to catch their scenes, that chemistry !!!! (I kinda wish the story revolved around these two character way more) I kind of feel like the action out shown his acting capability in this project. I wish him all the best, a safe service and I can't wait to see what he is going to go for next.

Two questions about his comments on military service:

He said it'll give him an opportunity to hang around creative minded friends. The army doesn't strike me as a place 'creative' types would be drawn to. So do they still have that special unit for actors? Or is it something else?

Also, why would he be worried about having a commanding officer who's younger than him? I get the whole age/respect thing in Korean culture. But that person would have more experience / military accomplishment. Why would following their instructions be a difficulty?

He left the strongest impession in empress ki for me. Healer was so-so, and in the k2 he was overshadowed by song yoona. The 1st time I noticed him was in 5 fingers though

Aw, I'm going to miss him but time flies, and I think he'll be back before we know it!

On the other hand, I think he did the smart thing by getting all his action roles done while he's in top physical condition. I think he's cemented himself as one of the top "action" actors and can move onto different roles now if he wants too.

I'd love to see him in something more dark and challenging. Not action, but a melo perhaps.

Let's hope so, because after a while, even his pretty bloodface couldn't keep me interested. I'm not a fan of the writer, I don't think-- overly elaborate but somehow boring plots and very little character development. Some of the action was fun, but then it gets all shooty and I could watch boring American TV for that. I was disappointed, but I didn't think it was any of the actors faults. Also, sorry, he should have been dead fifteen times by the end of it. I don't find it so compelling when the good guy is just magically unkillable. I mean, sure, I wanted our Wookie to live, but since the plot had obviously decided a long time ago he was invincible (unless it suddenly didn't) I just didn't care anymore. At least nobody sabotaged a nuclear reactor or got blamed for her own rape in this one (lookin at you, Yong Pal).

I love love Ji Chang Wook. He is currently one of my favorite actors. I am glad he is getting recognition for all the work and effort he put into K2. You can definitely tell he pushed himself to the limits. Me and my Mom would marvel at the fact he was doing some of these intense action scenes himself.

I've read a lot of comments about K2 that are in the negative. I just finished watching this series last night and I loved the show. It definitely had it's flaws but there was also so much going for it. The acting was top-notch, the music was excellent, the action scenes were amazing, the cinematography and directing were very well done. The writing did have flaws, with Anna's character being one of those big flaws. She was very underdeveloped and seemed out of place compared to all the other characters. A lot of people were saying it's Yoona's fault the show wasn't doing better but I personally think she did a fine job acting, it was her character that was poorly written. Her scenes also seemed very disjointed and odd. You have this intense action thriller and then these weird rom-com moments that felt forced.

Overall I really enjoyed K2 but it definitely didn't surpass my love for Healer.

When the workout he got in K2, he's totally ready for military service. You got this Ji Chang Wook!!