Rising star Jo Han Gyul shares the story about his life-changing role

In a recent interview with the news outlet Ten Asia, young actor Jo Han Gyul shared some great stories about his breakout role in the retro TV comedy 'Undercover Miss Hong'. Born in 2002, he is gaining a lot of attention for his handsome looks and solid acting skills.

Even though the show's ratings started a bit low at 3%, Jo Han Gyul never lost faith. He made sure to watch the broadcast every single night while eating his dinner after working out. Now, his hard work is paying off. He shared a funny story about fans recognizing him at restaurants. Just the day before the interview, a customer and a restaurant owner asked for his autograph. He laughed, noting that people do not actually know his real name, Jo Han Gyul. Instead, they ask, "Are you Albert from Miss Hong?" He joked that his real name has disappeared, but he is still incredibly happy that people recognize his face.

The drama is set in the late 1990s, years before he was even born! In the show, he plays Albert, the rich and carefree grandson of a company chairman. To learn how to act like a wealthy young man from that era, he did a lot of research. He asked older executives at his company for advice and even used ChatGPT for help. He also searched YouTube and watched classic Korean movies like 'City of the Rising Sun' to perfectly capture the 90s fashion and mood.

Before becoming an actor, Jo Han Gyul spent a long time training to be a baseball player. Sadly, an injury forced him to change his career path. Now, his biggest dream is to win a major acting award. He attended his very first award ceremony at the 2025 SBS Drama Awards. Even though he did not win this time, he said it was a great learning experience. Looking forward, he hopes to star in a global project on a streaming platform like Netflix so he can meet viewers all over the world.

He ended the interview by sharing his deep gratitude for his co-star, actress Park Shin Hye. He called her the absolute best, explaining that she took amazing care of him on set and always warmly accepted his acting choices. He was so happy working with her that he hopes they can act together again in another project.