Imma start a new series of entries here, and I’ll be kicking off with Jo Hee Bong. But first, this wouldn’t be regular. I can’t promise how often I can recap (King’s Family will definitely be on-going so no worries), so this series will be kind of like some fillers. I’ll mostly be introducing the ahjusshis/ahjummas/harabojis/halmonis that I like (and often they influence my decision of watching a drama or not), and the dramas and/or movies that I’ve seen them in. A good portion of the dramas will be pretty ancient, so I can’t promise if I remember things correctly.
So. Jo Hee Bong! He’s currently seen in the Japanese Occupation era drama, Basketball (tvN), as this multi-tasking guy. I asked sab what does she think about his character (we both read only HeadsNo2’s recaps over at dramabeans), and she thinks he’s just a character whom the characters inside the drama see him as different persons, not one. Me, I still wonder if he’s some kind of spy, taking on different roles (yesh, I hope he’s someone important in the story).
His basic info can be found here, and because reading Hangul makes me head hurts ALOT, what I found over at Baidu about Jo Hee Bong is very limited. So he graduated with a degree in Economics at Sogang University (the current President Park Geun Hye is an alumnus). He debuted in 1997, and was mainly active in movies from 2003-2006, and turned to act in dramas from 2006 onwards. There’s a brief paragraph here at dramabeans about him, from a specials episode from Hong Gil Dong.
I can’t recall when was the first I saw him, but I think it was in When It’s At Night (MBC, 2008). The ironic thing is, I can’t remember his role in that drama. I do, however, remember how I learnt of his name. It was when I was watching Hong Gil Dong (KBS, 2008). His short appearance as the mad King, who is the brother of Jang Geun Suk‘s character, was very memorable. Since then I’d keep a a lookout for dramas that he acts in. The next I saw him was in Tree of Deep Roots (SBS, 2011). It was another small role, appearing only late in game, as the disgraced yangban, who is also secretly a member of the Hidden Roots.
I also remembered him in The Equator Man (KBS, 2012) as the advisor for Uhm Tae Woong‘s character. His roles are always small, appearing only for a few scenes each time, and not always around in every episode. Even so, he made his characters memorable. I believe to anyone who watched Good Doctor (KBS, 2013), his character of the Paediatrics Department Head is something not easily forgotten. Although he started off as a villian, his character showed glimmers of hope of being a nice person, and indeed, he was actually this senior doctor who had complex about his mediocrity, and is also afraid of loneliness, I particularly like how Shi On (Joo Won) penetrated through his wall and changed him into someone who mingles with his subordinates.
So there. Do share your impressions of Jo Hee Bong with us here!
The cat that watches TV 
I think he is a great actor. I first noticed him in Hong Gil Dong where I thought he must be very popular because of his amazing performance.
Is he well-known in Korea? I’m kind of confused because the older a Korean actor/actress gets, the less screen time he/she seems to get (from what I’ve seen so far) as opposed to the film industry in my country where the older an actor/actress the more fame he/she has attained.
I’d like to see him in other challenging roles like this one, because he was the most memorable aspect of the drama for me (I didn’t really like the drama).
I’m not sure if he’s well known in Korea. He debuted late, and he did more movies than dramas initially. I think he has a great (but not quite important) role in tvN’s basketball.