Ji Chang Wook Recalls His Tough Childhood, and Pays Gratitude to His Mother:"She is my driving force

Hallyu star Ji Chang Wook opens up about his tough past and heartfelt feelings towards his mother.

On July 24, the famous K-reality show Yoo Quiz on the Block Season 4 invited Ji Chang Wook as a guest, where the actor talked about the various hardships he endured during his childhood, the time his works were underperforming, and his affection for his mother. 

After expanding his range with various genres in K-dramas and movies, including Empress Ki, Healer, The K2, and Suspicious Partner, and rising to stardom, Ji Chang Wook's subsequent works relatively underperformed. Talking about failures, he said, "In fact, this is probably a concern many actors have. Everyone works hard. They do their best for the success of their projects, but there are far more failures than successes."

He further admitted, "Looking back now, not succeeding with a project isn't a failure, but at that time, being so young and inexperienced, I was stressed and had worries like, 'If the project doesn't do well, will I disappear [from the industry]?'"

But, he realized that the lack of success in a project is not necessarily a failure. Yoo Jae Suk commented, "Experiencing failure is something everyone inevitably goes through. It's not something you can avoid if you want to. You need to experience failure to understand that it's not the end."

At the show, Ji Chang Wook also revealed that he still lives with his mother. He said, "She is alone, so I feel like she would be lonely if I were to live separately, so I haven't decided on when I would live independently yet." 

When asked if his mother had said anything to him this morning before going on the show, Ji Chang Wook responded, "Actually, my mother doesn't like talking about herself much. She firmly told me not to talk about her. Wherever she goes, people say 'Ji Chang Wook's mom,' which makes her uncomfortable because she's not a celebrity."

The actor also said, "My mother is my driving force. Actually, my father passed away early, and my mother went through a lot. It was tough. In a way, as a son, as a family member, and as a man, I always felt that I should protect my mother, ever since I was young. At that time, I used to walk with my mother down a very shabby alley, holding her hand, and I was smaller than her. I had the thought that I should protect her when I grew taller than her."

He then explained the hardships his mother endured during his childhood, saying, "When I was young, my mother ran a BBQ restaurant and a spicy fish stew restaurant in the neighborhood. Even though they were really small restaurants, she managed them all by herself. So when it got too busy, I would go and help her out. At the BBQ restaurant, cleaning the grill was the hardest, and at the spicy fish stew restaurant, cleaning the tank was the hardest." 

He also revealed, "Usually, I didn't have enough money to go to school. Tuition was too expensive. I used to work part-time with my friend who is now the CEO of my agency. ... The job that paid the most was loading and unloading packages. At that time, the daily wage was 70,000 won, but I would take home around 60,000 won after deductions. I had big goals. 'I must not let my mother suffer. I must not let her worry about money.' That was a big thing [for me]."

When Yoo Jae Suk asked, "Are you still affectionate towards your mother?" the actor said, "That's what I think, but my mother might not be fully satisfied. When I thought about it, I realized that spending time with her is better than doing nice things for her or buying her delicious food. I try to have dinner with my mother whenever possible. She's like a friend to me."

Ji Chang Wook continued, "Sometimes, work stresses me out and my mental state isn't great. However, seeing my mother go about her daily life gives me healing. When I'm not in a good state mentally due to the stresses of the outside world, opening the door to see my mother watching TV in the living room, sleeping, or doing laundry — these scenes provide healing. If she's having a meal when I come in, I eat with her and talk to her to relieve stress. I think if I had spent time alone in a dark room, I would have been more lost."

He added, "When I see my mother, I often think that I need to work hard even when I'm tired. So, these days, I feel at ease working on projects. Apart from that, acting is fun and enjoyable and I have a desire to show more. That's why I want to continue working without taking a break and strive to do better."

Ji Chang Wook also shared an episode from 20 years ago, when he worked part-time with a friend who is now the CEO of his agency. He said, "I used to work part-time with my friend who is now the CEO of my agency. He is my best friend, and we have been friends for 20 years from the time I met him in my first year of high school. He worked as my manager and then became the CEO of my agency."

Ji Chang Wook also lightened the mood by revealing a funny incident when he had late-night shoots in the past when his now CEO was his manager: "At that time, we kept filming through the night, so my friend [manager] kept dozing off while driving. Since we had a lot of shooting to do in areas outside the city, I told him to sleep at rest areas if he got sleepy while driving for safety reasons." He continued, "I also slept in the back, and when I woke up, we were at a rest area. I thought, 'He must be tired. He'll go once he's rested enough,' and I slept a bit more, but then we were at another rest area. We kept stopping at rest areas to sleep," he revealed, laughing as he shared that a journey that should have taken 2-3 hours ended up taking 9 hours.

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