Ji Jin-hee to portray historical figure in new Mon-Tue soap opera

Ji Jin-hee [fantagio]

Korean actor Ji Jin-hee has been cast to play in his third historical TV series.

Ji, whose works "Jewel in the Palace" and "Dong Yi - Jewel in the Crown" gained much love from the Korean audience, will portray the founder and the first king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea in the upcoming drama titled "Daepungsoo" (in Romanized Korean).

His agency, fantagio, explained that the series is a fictional biopic that pivots around the King Yi Seong-gye, one of the most important historical figures in the history of the Korean peninsula.

Ji's portrayal of the King Yi will also tell the Koryo Dynastry coming to an end after 475 years of rule and Yi declaring a new dynasty, which became the foundation of North and South Korea, between 1392 and 1393.

"In 'Daepungsoo, Yi Seong-gye is shown as an extremely complex and round character, given that this is a fictional biopic," a fantagio official said.

"As Ji has been establishing a serious and trustful image through his past historical dramas, we're expecting him to show a more solemn and deep character to well express Yi Seong-gye."

Ji will begin working on "Daepungsoo" starting Thursday, while the upcoming 36-part series will hit airwaves this October.

Ji made debut as an actor through a music video in 1999 and rose to fame in Asia for his role in MBC's historical drama "Jewel in the Palace" in 2003.

He further solidified his position with another historical series "Dong Yi - Jewel in the Crown" on the same broadcaster, in 2010.

He last starred in SBS' TV series "Take Care of Us Captain" opposite actress Ku Hye-sun in January of this year, and has been active in promoting the Korean culture as the honorary ambassador for tourism.

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