Actor Cho Byeong-kyu is preparing to enlist in the military after leaving the agency he had been with for 13 years.
On the 6th, the 1MA2C channel uploaded a video titled ""I will join the military soon".. Cho Byeong-kyu met in Daehak-ro, untold stories".
In the video, Cho Byeong-kyu shared his recent status while performing in the play "Myeonhoe." Through works such as "SKY Castle," "Stove League," and "The Uncanny Counter," which received much love, he said about the public's attention toward him, "If people recognize me, I'm pleased. When my popularity exploded long ago, if that situation happened, it could be uncomfortable when meeting friends, traveling somewhere, or being with family if people recognize me. If people recognize me too much, I can't act privately. It was like that then, but as time has passed and the popularity of the works has gradually faded, I feel it's now just right."
Last September, his exclusive contract with HB Entertainment ended, and he is currently active without an agency. Cho Byeong-kyu said, "I was with one company for about 13 years and had a truly beautiful farewell. We were together for so long, from my debut through the good times and the difficult times. I'm very thankful and grateful, and I've never properly expressed those words, so I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to the company that stayed with me for those 10-plus years."
He continued, "We still keep in touch. But after being at one company for so long, it's not easy to find and join a new company. There are points where I'm hesitant to join certain companies. So I'm still carefully considering it. And because I'll be going to the military, I'm thinking maybe I'll join a company after returning from the military," he said, sharing his concerns.
Born in 1996, Cho Byeong-kyu is currently preparing to enlist in the military. He said, "After this play ends, I will do the musical 'Opera.' After that, I will stop acting for this year and prepare to enlist in the military," and added, "About two years ago I applied once for KATUSA. I passed the English test but failed the physical rotation, so if I had gone then I would have gone much earlier. If I had gone then, I might not have been able to do the play 'Myeonhoe.' I think of it positively, and now I'm thinking of going to the army side."
Having continued acting since his arts high school days, he said he lived agonizingly sharp and sensitive over "what should I do to act well from a young age?" He added, "Of course, because of that time I found my path quickly, but I'm very sorry to my younger self. I punished myself so much that I lost much of my humanity and caused discord in my family," and said, "Doing that through my early to mid-20s, and after entering the goal I wanted with 'The Uncanny Counter,' my younger days became somewhat regretful and I couldn't look at those performances of mine."
He continued, "When acting, I could see the purpose in that acting. Seeing those eyes full of ambition and the way lines were delivered showing how much they wanted to achieve, I thought, 'I'm really annoyed with myself. I can't look at the me of that time; it's so pitiful. They're struggling like that because they don't have anything.' I hated myself. Fortunately, what I'm grateful for about that time is that to appear well in dramas and films, to become a good actor, you must perfectly understand the production mechanism; otherwise you can't act well. That made acting easier and more comfortable. By being comfortable I mean I learned quickly how to work hard and struggle so that people see it as effortless. I achieved the life goals I aimed for, gained peace of mind, and developed the capacity to care for others, so my acting improved," he said, describing his artistic growth.
Meanwhile, Cho Byeong-kyu is continuing legal battles with an accuser over school violence allegations. Cho was implicated in school violence allegations in 2021. At that time, A posted on social media that he was a victim of school violence by Cho during his study abroad in New Zealand, and Cho's side filed a defamation suit against A, calling the claims "groundless," and sought about 4 billion won in damages.
However, the defamation charge against A was later not prosecuted, and the damages suit also resulted in a loss for Cho Byeong-kyu in the first trial. The court ruled, "It is difficult to conclude the post is false based solely on the evidence submitted by Cho's side," and dismissed all of Cho's claims. Cho immediately appealed, and the second trial is still ongoing. However, HB Entertainment was removed from the list of appellants in the appellate court, and the plaintiff's claim was reportedly reduced from about 4 billion won to about 900 million won.
Despite the school violence dispute, Cho Byeong-kyu continued his acting work. Two years after the controversy, in 2023 he returned to activity with the tvN drama The Uncanny Counter 2: Counter Punch, and last year he appeared in the web drama A History of Losers. He then released the film Boy in January of this year, and through the play "Myeonhoe" and the musical "Opera," he is meeting audiences. After these, he plans to pause his acting activities and take a military hiatus.
[Photo] OSEN DB, 1MA2C
[OSEN]