Ji Chang Wook was spotted working as a daily part-time worker (known as an ‘albansaeng’) at a GS25 convenience store near its headquarters in Sincheon, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul (near Yonsei University).  The GS25 convenience store chain is featured in the SBS Friday-Saturday drama “Convenience Store Saet Byeol” (written by Son Geun Joo; directed by Lee Myung Woo) currently being broadcast.

Ji Chang Wook was shown working as a part-timer by coordinating his schedule with the convenience store brand that was supporting the drama production.  He was scheduled to participate in special events, such as ringing up direct payments, until 6:00pm that day.

Because of the rapid spread of Ji Chang Wook’s appearance through SNS, hundreds of fans suddenly appeared.  Women flocking to see Ji Chang Wook paralyzed the neighborhood near the convenience store.  As more people gathered, Ji Chang Wook and GS25 management ended the event at 2:30pm instead of the scheduled 6:00pm.

There was also a skirmish in the process.  With more and more people gathering to see Ji Chang Wook, fans were pushing each other while holding their cell phones and following him through the store.

This immediately raised a controversy.  It was pointed out that it was an inappropriate event amid concern about the continued spread of Corona-19.  The country’s “Keep Away” quarantine guidelines were not being followed.  In particular, people who didn’t wear masks for outdoor reasons were caught and fined.

With this in mind, Ji Chang Wook’s management and the GS25 Retail management have yet to offer any position.  Posts about Ji Chang Wook that announced the notice of the event previously posted on the GS25 Yondae Instagram account have since been deleted.

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Update 4 August 2:00pm KST:

Glorious Entertainment’s official position

On 3 August, a schedule in which Ji Chang Wook was supposed to carry out filming, was incorrectly promoted as a customer event at GS25.  We would like to apologize for our failure to respond accordingly when the massive crowd gathered at the convenience store.

GS25’s official position

During the filming at GS25 on 3 August, we apologize for the concern of many people due to the lack of response to the spread of Corona-19.  I apologize to the actors, the people who helped me with the shooting, and everyone who heard about it.
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On 3 August (Mon), a content shooting was conducted with actor Ji Chang Wook at GS25 Yonsei 2nd Store. It was the first content direction for an actor to work as a store manager at GS25.
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However, during the filming, GS25 workers accidentally posted the contents of the filming at the location on SNS, and the filming team recognized the content and requested the deletion of the uploaded post.  Many people misunderstood the fact that the filming was posted online with unclear communication, which mistakenly promoted as an event in which shoppers could make a payment at a convenience store with the actor.  I sincerely apologize.
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Since then, the shooting was been stopped due to unexpected crowds.  Due to insufficient personnel and insufficient preparation, the scene was not safely organized.  Regardless of the intent and process of the filming, we apologize for the inconvenience caused by the complacent preparation and handling of the situation where many people are trying to prevent the spread of Corona-19.
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With this opportunity, we will be more careful in producing content and make it safe for our customers to use.  Once again, I sincerely apologize.

Credits:  Sports Donga; Wikitree; Newsen; GS_Yondae2 Instagram