Jang Ki Yong Enlists in the Military on August 23

By Jae-Ha Kim
KOCOWA
August 21, 2021

By now, you’ve probably heard that another of our favorite actors has committed to serving his mandatory military duty in South Korea. “Born Again” star, Jang Ki Yong, announced that he will enlist on Monday, August 23. YG Entertainment released a statement — which we’ve translated into English — to the media and his fans:

After finishing his work on the series “Now, We Are Breaking Up,” Jang Ki Yong will serve as an active duty soldier on August 23. Due to the spread of COVID-19, and our concern for the safety of his fans and reporters, the location and time of his enlistment will not be shared. Please show your support that he will return in good health after completing his mandatory military duty. Thank you.

Mandatory military duty is something every South Korean male knows is in his future. Sometime between the ages of 18 and 28, almost all able-bodied Korean men must enlist for 18 months of service. A few are exempted if they’ve won an international classical music award or major athletic competition. For instance, soccer star Son Heung Min was granted military exemption after he led his team to the gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games. But even then, he had to complete an abbreviated three-week service and is required to complete about 550 hours of community service within  three years.

Ki Yong has been having enormous success in recent years with his roles. In 2021 alone, he made a cameo appearance in “Hello, Me!” and had the lead male role in “My Roommate is a Gumiho.” “Now, We are Breaking Up” is slated to premiere sometime in November on SBS TV.

Because he will already be serving in the military when “Now, We are Breaking Up” airs, he and co-star Song Hye Kyo won’t be able to hold a real-time press conference to coincide with the release date. So the two stars will pre-record the press conference, which will then air prior to the K-drama’s airing.

FACTS:

Birthday: August 7, 1992. (He recently turned 29.) He was born in Ulsan.

Name in Korean: 장기용

ACTING DEBUT:

His blink-or-you’ll-miss-it cameo in “It’s Okay, That’s Love” had no lines, but nonetheless caused quite a stir among viewers, who wanted to know … “Who is that guy?!” He has always thanked Lee Sung Kyung, who portrayed a high school teenager in the series. At the time, they were both models, who were signed to the same label.

 

WHERE ELSE YOU’VE SEEN HIM:

Ki Yong’s career trajectory has been impressive, with roles in “Born Again” and “A Beautiful Mind” and that cameo I mentioned earlier in “It’s Okay, That’s Love.” He had a much bigger role in “Go Back Couple,” where he played a handsome college student. His character is the epitome of what a man should be … especially to the female lead, who is unhappy with her husband/ex-husband. (It’s a time travel series. Just go with it.) He played the conflicted son of a serial killer in “Come and Hug Me.” And he more than held his own in “Search: WWW,” where he played a younger man — longing for a family — who falls in love with a woman, who has no desire to ever marry or have children.

TRIVIA:

In 2018’s “My Mister,” he had a co-starring role as IU’s childhood friend, who grew increasingly abusive towards her as adults. That wasn’t the first time the two actors had worked together. Five years previously, he appeared in her music videos for “The Red Shoes” and “Friday.”

SINGER: 

Did you know he can sing, too? For the 2019 film “The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos,” he sang “Some Guys” with Choi Woo Shik. For the 2017 K-drama “The Liar and His Lover,” he sang “I’m Alright,” “In Your Eyes” and “Peter Pan.” And his “Paradise Tree” was a highlight of the “Come and Hug Me” original sound track.

AWARDS: 

2014: Fashion Model Award, Asia Model Awards.

2015: Best Dressed Model, Korea’s Best Dresser Swan Awards

2018: Best New Actor, APAN Star Awards. Rookie Award, Asia Artists Awards
Rising Star Award, Korea Hallyu Awards
Excellence Award, Actor in a Wed.-Thurs. Drama (“Come and Hug Me”), Korea Hallyu Awards
Best Couple Award (with Jin Ki Joo, “Come and Hug Me”), MBC Drama Awards

2019: Best New Actor: Television (“Come and Hug Me” ), Baeksang Arts Awards

Jang Ki Yong, we already miss you! Stay safe and healthy. We will look forward to your comeback in another couple years!

KOCOWA reposted this article under the title “Jang Ki Yong: How Much Do You Know?” on November 7, 2021: