On November 27, 2024, Gangnam B-Side, starring the South Korean actor Ji Chang-wook, aired its last two episodes on Disney+. The noir action-thriller limited Korean series is set against rampant drug smuggling and pr*stitution racket across Gangnam, Seoul.
Sports Chosun reported that the star revealed how he was out of breath after doing an action during the filming of the Disney+ series, The Worst of Evil (2023). Ji Chang-wook shared that he fell down and was out of breath, assuming that it must have been due to his age that he was getting exhausted.
"'Gangnam B-Side' was fine, but during the 'The Worst of Evil', I fell down after failing to match the action. out of breath. It occurred to me that it was because of my age. In the past, I did it 100 times more, but I was out of breath and thought I could only do this."
However, Ji Chang-wook, who is 37, added that after watching other senior actors older than him doing action scenes, he stopped thinking about "age." Adding in a lighthearted manner that even after 10 years, if he would get paid to do action series or films, he would seize the opportunity.
"Some seniors are older than me, but I think I can do it more. Age?? I'm relieved to think that I don't have to worry about the door anymore. It's a painful action, but I also get more greedy. If there is a work that gives you money in 10 years, you have to do action. I'm trying to build my body by exercising steadily."
Ji Chang-wook discusses how viewers' perspectives have changed about series involving drugs, assuming it to be more realistic
Sports Chosun shared how Ji Chang-wook touched on the theme of doing projects that involve drug cartels and smuggling rampant across a city. Both of his Disney+ series, The Worst of Evil and Gangnam B-Side, focus on drugs, smuggling, prostitution, and murder.
However, in Gangnam B-Side, he is on the opposite side of the law, taking matters into his own hands.
The Welcome to Samdal-ri actor shared he chose Gangnam B-Side as he wondered if his character, Gil-ho, had a duality to him. While reading the script, he revealed to have been "shocked." Ji Chang-wook said:
"As it's a drama, the expression is a little more dramatic and it's just stimulating, but I wonder if there are such dual characters. I just hope it doesn't show up in front of me. I thought it was a good story to tell because there were many cases in which drugs were circulated in clubs and such cases were good. Every incident in the script was shocking."
Ji Chang-wook continued that the audience nowadays welcomes such dramas more easily as they find the stories more "realistic." However, he shared his personal reservation about finding such stories a little unrealistic, where a knight arrives to expose a drug smuggling racket, risking his own life.
"Honestly, it doesn't seem realistic, but the public seems to have reversed the idea that it would be closer to reality. I don't know, but is it a knight that people encounter during an incident?? There are more provocative aspects of the door. So people think that 'Gangnam B-side' was more realistic."
The Worst of Evil and Gangnam B-Side are both available on Disney+ for global streaming.