Looks like Ji Chang Wook might be appearing on the big screen faster than we thought…or maybe not.

Actor Sol Kyung Gu, who was previously supposed to star with him in the movie “Two Constables” that never materialised, revealed in an interview that Ji Chang Wook made a special guest appearance on his upcoming war movie “The Long Way Home”. However, Ji Chang Wook’s short cameo never made the final cut as his part was edited out from the movie.

Sol Kyung Gu said in his interview, “Many characters appeared in our movie, but many of them ended up being deleted during the editing process. This was the case for actors Kim Won Hae and Jung In Gi, and even for Jung Suk Won who only appeared in one scene in the beginning.”

“Especially in the case of (Ji) Chang Wook, he was supposed to act with me in the movie ‘Two Constables’ but it was postponed, so he said he will make a special appearance in ‘The Long Way Home’. His agency representative was also on close terms with our producer. He made his way down to Ha Dong immediately after his drama ended in order to film this, but he was completely edited out of the movie. He was just cut out like that.”

Sol Kyung Gu at his interview with the media

In the movie, Sol Kyung Gu stars as a South Korean soldier called Nam Bok. He went on to elaborate on Ji Chang Wook’s cameo role.

“He appeared as a South Korean soldier who gives me a draft notice. That was the story about Nam Bok’s past and the drama begins from that point onwards. It was probably edited out because it made the story too long.”

“The Long Way Home” is a movie about Nam Bok, a farmer who is drafted to become a South Korean soldier, and a North Korean soldier named Young Gwang (played by Yeo Jin Gu), who can operate a tank just by reading a manual. Both of them get embroiled in a dangerous battle over a secret document that has the power to turn the tide of the war.

Although it seems that Ji Chang Wook might not be appearing in the actual movie, he is seen in one of the movie’s trailers. He appears around the 2-minute mark of the trailer. Blink and you might just miss it!

Soldier 1 (Ji Chang Wook): Your draft notice is here! Kim Nam bok-sshi?
Nam Bok: I’ll be having my 60th birthday tomorrow and the day after, what army?
Soldier 2: Let’s go.
Soldier 1 (Ji Chang Wook): Your country is calling you.

Sol Kyung Gu’s revelation now helps to answer the mystery of a photo of Ji Chang Wook at a film set that emerged last September. Turns out he was filming this movie!

Ji Chang Wook with the actor who plays the other South Korean soldier

That actor went on to take a picture with Sol Kyung Gu. Mystery solved!

This turn of events sounds eerily similar to what happened to his supposed cameo in the 2013 film “How To Use Guys With Secret Tips”. Although he was listed in the final credits as a guest star playing the role of Hong Joon oppa, he never appeared in the final cut of the movie at all. While that may have been understandable since he wasn’t as famous back then, you would think that the director would want to keep his cameo segment now that he has made it as a Hallyu star. I guess the director would rather focus on quality than star power, and we probably can’t blame him for that. But I’m sure we all feel it’s a pity, just like Sol Kyung Gu.

“The Long Way Home” opens in theatres in Korea on 24 September 2015.

Source: Newsen, Lotte Entertainment, bona0320