Jang Ki-ha, the leader of the band Jang Ki-ha and the Faces, has become a ‘movie actor’. Having previously debuted as a film music director working with director Ryoo Seung-wan, he is poised to rise as an ‘all-weather filmmaker’ with the news of the release of the film ‘Virus’.

Jang Ki-ha has drawn attention by being named as a lead actor in the film ‘Virus’, which is set to be released on May 7th, along with top Chungmuro actors Bae Doo-na, Kim Yun-seok, and Son Suk-goo. ‘Virus’ is a unique romance film that depicts the unexpected journey of Taek-seon (Bae Doo-na), who is infected with a virus that causes her to fall in love for no reason, and three men. Jang Ki-ha plays the role of Yeon-woo, an elementary school classmate of Taek-seon and a car dealer.

The first trailer that was released showed Yeon-woo immediately noticing the unfamiliar appearance of Taek-seon, a translator who had lost all motivation for everything, who suddenly changes overnight and becomes excited and happy for no reason. Jang Ki-ha, who plays Yeon-woo, and Bae Doo-na, who plays Taek-seon, have raised curiosity about what kind of chemistry they will show.

Prior to ‘Virus’, Jang Ki-ha caught attention by making a surprise appearance as the main character Yoo Teo‘s friend in director Celine Song’s Hollywood film ‘Fast Lives’, which was nominated for Best Picture and Best Screenplay at the Academy Awards last year. ‘Virus’ was filmed before ‘Fast Lives’, so ‘Virus’ is effectively Jang Ki-ha‘s screen debut.

In fact, before his debut as an actor, Jang Ki-ha took his first steps into the Chungmuro film industry as a ‘film music director’ by being in charge of the music for director Ryoo Seung-wan’s film ‘Smuggler’, which was released in 2023 and was a box office hit, attracting 5.14 million viewers. Although he garnered attention for singing the main theme song ‘Heard It Through the Grapevine’ for the 2012 film ‘War on Crime: The Golden Age of Bad Guys’, ‘Smuggling’ was the first time he took on the role of a full-fledged film music director.

With the music for ‘Smuggling’, he was praised for capturing the emotions and atmosphere of the 1970s, which was the setting of the film, and thanks to that, he won the Best Music Award at the 44th Blue Dragon Film Awards and the 43rd Korean Association of Film Critics Awards. Thanks to his connection with ‘Smuggling’, he was in charge of the music for director Ryu‘s other film ‘Veteran 2’, which attracted 7.52 million viewers last year.


Reporter Seungmi Lee smlee@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.