A Top List of Ji Sung Dramas and Movies
It just somehow happened I fell in love with this actor after watching Devil judge...and that wasn't my first experience with the actor, I already liked him quite a lot from before, but his performance as Judge Yohan was too memorable for me to not see what else Ji sung can do.
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1. The Devil Judge
Korean Drama - 2021, 16 episodes
Top of the top, la crème de la crème, I doubt much is going to ever top this drama and if something does I'll be shocked out of my mind.
Devil Judge is everything I look for in a story, involving characters, involving character dynamics, an involving plot that doesn't forget its plot elements and throws them in a trash bin like many others do. The main purpose of this drama is the discovery and understanding of the character of Kang Yohan, the Devil Judge, mostly through the eyes of our main protagonist, Kim Gaon. The drama is good at never giving any resolute answers on the character that is Kang Yohan, but gives you enough to manage to try to piece a picture together with the characters themselves. Is he a good person? Is he a bad person? Does he seek justice or does he seek anarchy? Did he destroy everybody and everything that ever stood in his way? Would he do anything no matter the cost to pursue his own goals? It's a gradual discovery and ultimately it is your choice whether you agree with him, disagree with him, understand or come to trust Yohan no matter what others or the drama itself tries to throw at you. Regardless of your position the true answer is still going to be painful.
I seriously don't think they could have made a better casting choice than Jisung to give Kang Yohan life; he was able to show all of his different faces masterfully, be it the ruthlessly arrogant one when dealing with his enemies or when trying to prove a point or the kind and sometimes socially awkward face when he was desperately trying to work through his emotional dishonesty in front of the people he actually cared about, the scared and vulnerable face when he was trying to fight his demons as well as the impassive, indifferent look in front of human suffering. I could write an essay on this character and I am not even kidding so I'm going to stop here...
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2. Doctor John
Korean Drama - 2019, 32 episodes
Having started it right after Devil Judge, it's a bit hilarious how similar Devil Judge Yohan is to Doctor Yohan xD (because yes, they have the same name). Questioning morality, questioning Yohan's character and ability as a doctor because of something that he did in his past, his trainee who doesn't know whether to trust him or doubt him half the time, his highkey sadistic attempts of scaring off medical officers that aren't able to take their jobs seriously thus not able to give accurate diagnosis, his ability to not give a damn and do whatever he thinks he's right even if it's going to kick him in the ass later. What Doctor Yohan does different from Judge Yohan is that he actually has a very deep rooted empathy for people, even if sometimes they're not worth saving (despite him not giving signs that he does it out of empathy, but seems to be more out of arrogance) and it's quite cute how he finds the same qualities in his trainee resident which also happens to be the main girl.
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3. Kill Me, Heal Me
Korean Drama - 2015, 20 episodes
This was actually my introduction to Jisung as an actor and while I liked him just fine this drama absolutely VEXED me for its psychological inaccuracies and the obnoxiousness of the main girl. Definitely an interesting concept that shows Jisung's capabilities as an actor on various levels, but that's where it ends for me.