Jang Hyuk Recalls His Debut Days with Jun Ji-hyun: 'She Felt Like a Younger Sister'

Actor Jang Hyuk reminisced about his fresh-faced debut days alongside actress Jun Ji-hyun, drawing attention.

Appearing on MBN's entertainment program ‘Gaboga GO’, Jang Hyuk, while discussing the melodrama genre, chuckled as he said, "I originally thought I would go down the path of a melodrama actor."

When MC Hong Hyun-hee asked, "Why don't you do melos? Didn't you co-star with Jun Ji-hyun too?", Jang Hyuk smiled and replied, "Jun Ji-hyun is like a younger sister to me."

He recalled those innocent times, saying, "At the drama set back then, it was just the two of us, rookie actors, Jang Hyuk and Jun Ji-hyun. We were both the youngest, so we practiced acting together and relied on each other a lot."

Jang Hyuk also revealed the reason he began his career as an action actor. He explained, "During the filming of the movie 'Jjang', the stunt double had an accident. Seeing him collapse wearing my clothes made me feel guilty and sorry," he shared. "Seeing that, I started exercising with the thought, 'I should take responsibility for my own actions'."

Meanwhile, the broadcast also unveiled behind-the-scenes stories from the struggling trainee days of Jang Hyuk and god's Park Joon-hyung. Park Joon-hyung recalled, "When I first came to Korea, I weighed 89kg, but I lost weight to 63kg in a year and a half," adding that the first Korean phrase a friend named 'Heung' learned was 'I'm hungry, give me food'.

Jang Hyuk debuted in the 1996 drama 'School' and has since starred in numerous hit works such as 'Successful Story of a Bright Girl', 'The Slave Hunters', 'Protect the Boss', and OCN's 'Voice', showcasing his versatile acting range. He is also known for his exceptional action performances, often training at action schools to deeply immerse himself in his roles. Jang Hyuk is married with two sons and sadly experienced a miscarriage in 2018 while expecting their third child.