{"id":2431122,"date":"2026-05-25T08:28:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T08:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2431122"},"modified":"2026-05-25T08:28:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T08:28:50","slug":"from-danjong-oppa-to-military-cook-drama-park-ji-hoons-second-act-is-exploding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/from-danjong-oppa-to-military-cook-drama-park-ji-hoons-second-act-is-exploding\/","title":{"rendered":"From \u2018Danjong oppa’ to military cook drama, Park Ji-hoon’s second act is exploding"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n
<\/picture>\n
\n

Park Ji-hoon \/ Xportsnews<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Park Ji-hoon is having the kind of career moment few K-pop idols successfully achieve: dominating music, television and film all at once.<\/p>\n

The former Wanna One member has become one of South Korea\u2019s hottest entertainers after a breakout run fueled by a high-profile historical film role, a solo music comeback and a highly anticipated Wanna One reunion project.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/picture>\n
\n

A scene from “The King’s Warden” \/ Courtesy of Showbox<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Released in February, \u201cThe King\u2019s Warden\u201d surpassed 16 million moviegoers, an extraordinary result in South Korea\u2019s struggling theater market. Park drew praise for his emotionally layered performance and intense screen presence, helping fuel word-of-mouth buzz surrounding the movie.<\/p>\n

As clips spread online, Korean viewers began affectionately referring to him as \u201cDanjong oppa,\u201d referencing the tragic young king from Korea\u2019s Joseon Dynasty.<\/p>\n

The viral nickname quickly became part of the film\u2019s cultural phenomenon, with many viewers saying they had \u201crediscovered\u201d Park as a serious actor rather than simply a former idol.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/picture>\n
\n

A scene from “Weak Hero” \/ Courtesy of Netflix<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Although Park first rose to fame through K-pop, his acting career has been steadily building for years.<\/p>\n

A former child actor, he gradually expanded his filmography through dramas including \u201cLove Revolution,\u201d \u201cAt a Distance, Spring Is Green,\u201d \u201cLove Song for Illusion\u201d and \u201cWeak Hero Class 1.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among them, \u201cWeak Hero\u201d is widely viewed as the project that transformed public perception of him. The darker, emotionally intense role helped Park shed his youthful idol image and attracted global streaming audiences, proving he could compete seriously as an actor.<\/p>\n

\"Park<\/picture>\n
\n

Park Ji-hoon \/ Courtesy of YY Entertainment<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What makes Park\u2019s current run especially unusual is that he has continued his music activities at full speed even while his acting popularity surges.<\/p>\n

In April, he returned with a solo album showcasing a more mature musical style and upgraded performances.<\/p>\n

He is also meeting fans through the fan concert \u201cRE:FLECT,\u201d scheduled for May 30 and 31 at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.<\/p>\n

\"Wanna<\/picture><\/div>\n

At the same time, Wanna One\u2019s long-awaited reunion is generating major buzz among K-pop fans nostalgic for the group\u2019s peak years.<\/p>\n

The group debuted in 2017 through Season 2 of the Mnet survival show \u201cProduce 101,\u201d where Park finished in second place. At the time, he became a national sensation thanks to the viral catchphrase \u201cSave you in my heart,\u201d which turned into one of the biggest memes of the era.<\/p>\n

Wanna One went on to become one of South Korea\u2019s biggest idol groups, often grouped together with EXO and BTS as the dominant boy groups of the late 2010s. The group\u2019s recent reunion through the reality show \u201cWanna One Go\u201d sparked strong emotional reactions among longtime fans.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/picture>\n
\n

A scene from “The Legend of Kitchen Soldier” \/ Courtesy of Tving<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Park\u2019s momentum is continuing with his latest television drama, \u201cThe Legend of Kitchen Soldier,\u201d which premiered on May 11.<\/p>\n

The military-themed series quickly topped paid subscription contribution rankings during its first week and has continued climbing in ratings. According to Nielsen Korea, the drama recorded its highest viewership yet at 7.9 percent on May 19.<\/p>\n

With successful acting projects, active music promotions, viral online buzz and group reunion activities all happening simultaneously, Park has become one of South Korea\u2019s busiest \u2014 and hottest \u2014 all-around entertainers.<\/p>\n

For many fans, the \u201cDanjong oppa\u201d craze may have started the latest wave of attention, but Park Ji-hoon\u2019s real peak may only be beginning.<\/p>\n

This article from Xportsnews is adapted by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.koreatimes.co.kr \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Park Ji-hoon \/ Xportsnews Park Ji-hoon is having the kind of career moment few K-pop idols successfully achieve: dominating music, television and film all at once. The former Wanna One member has become one of South Korea\u2019s hottest entertainers after a breakout run fueled by a high-profile historical film role, a solo music comeback and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2431123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2431122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/From-\u2018Danjong-oppa-to-military-cook-drama-Park-Ji-hoons-second.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2431122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2431122"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2431122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2431124,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2431122\/revisions\/2431124"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2431123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2431122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2431122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2431122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}