Ji Chang-Wook To Be Honored At Asian Film Awards In Hong Kong

South Korean actor Ji Chang-wook will be honored for his career achievements at the 16th Asian Film Awards, which takes place on March 12 in Hong Kong. The award will be presented at the Hong Kong Palace Museum.

Since making his debut in 2008, Ji has starred in a steady stream of dramas and films. He first attracted attention in the 2010 daily drama Smile Again, then appeared in the historical drama Warrior Baek Dong-soo, the success story Bachelor’s Vegetable Store, and the melodrama Five Fingers. He won critical acclaim and an MBC drama award for his role as the Emperor Toghon Temur in the 2013 historical drama Empress Ki.

After that role he appeared in a succession of popular dramas, including Healer, Backstreet Rookie, The Sound of Magic, Lovestruck in the City and If You Wish Upon Me. He also appeared in the Mandarin-language dramas The Whirlwind Girl 2 and Mr. Right. His drama work has earned him multiple awards and he received a Baeksang Arts Award nomination for his role as a gamer accused of murder in the film Fabricated City. Ji is also a musical theater actor and contributed songs to the soundtracks of several of his dramas, most recently The Sound of Magic.

Altogether, the Asian Film Awards’ nomination list, features 30 films from 22 countries and regions competing for 16 awards. Many of the nominees will attend this year’s ceremony to represent their respective films. Nominated for eight awards, the Japanese film Drive My Car will be represented by Best Director nominee Hamaguchi Ryusuke, Best Actor nominee Nishijima Hidetoshi, Best Supporting Actor nominee Okada Masaki, Best Screenplay nominee Oe Takamasa and Best Original Music nominee Ishibashi.

Fellow Best Film nominee Decision to Leave will be represented by Best Actor nominee Park Hae-il, Best Production Design nominee Ryu Seong-hie and Best Original Music nominee Cho Young-wuk.

Best Director nominee Darezhan Omirbayev will attend to represent Kazakh drama Poet, which is also nominated for Best Film. Best Actor nominees Iran’s Mohsen Tanabandeh and China’s Zhang Yi will also attend to represent nominated films World War III and Home Coming, respectively.

Return to Seoul (France, Germany, Belgium, Cambodia, Qatar) will be represented by Best Director nominee Davy Chou, Best Supporting Actor nominee Oh Kwang-rok, Best Newcomer nominee Park Ji-min and Best Editing nominee Dounia Sichov.

Other nominated filmmakers attending include: Japan’s Kore-eda Hirokazu, nominated for Best Director with South Korea’s Broker; Lav Diaz, nominated for Best Director with When the Waves Are Gone, which is also a Best Film nominee; Before, Now & Then Best Actress nominee Happy Salma; Suzuki Ryohei and Miyazawa Hio, nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively, for Egoist; and Yim Si-wan, Best Supporting Actor nominee for Emergency Declaration.

After being held in Busan, South Korea for the past two editions, the awards ceremony returns to Hong Kong with support from Create Hong Kong and Film Development Fund Hong Kong. The Asian Film Awards Academy will stream the red carpet ceremony on its YouTube channel starting at 6pm (KST).