Korea’s leading actor Ji Chang Wook has decided to debut a Japanese CD! As announced earlier this month, Ji Chang Wook is to make his singing debut for Japanese audiences, with a debut CD release entitled “Thank You For Being There” and scheduled for release on 15 November 2023.
UPDATED 11 November 2023: Links have been revised to reflect updated purchase portals. New stock is being added daily – if a link shows that a version is sold out, keep refreshing! 😁
Actor Ji Chang Wook is extremely popular not only in Korea but also in Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia and other Asian countries with his sweet and neat looks and high acting skills! He has decided to debut in the Japan music world with his upcoming single “Thank You For Being There.”
Being producted by well-known entertainment company Pony Canyon, Ji Chang Wook’s debut CD release will consist of 4 separate tracks (literal translation):
Track 1. “Thank You for Being There”
Track 2. “And I Was There”
Track 3. “Thank You for Being There” (Instrumental Version)
Track 4. “And I Was There” (Instrumental Version)
Two levels of CD releases will be available:
(artist’s rendering; packaging may change before 15 November).
A Limited First Edition Package is planned, consisting of the CD and photo collection (B5 size), a trading card (chosen at random from 10 different types); and 1 application ticket for the CD Release event participation lottery (see below). Price will be 5,500 yen (~$37.10 USD), inclusive of taxes (shipping and handling extra).
(artist’s rendering; packaging may change before 15 November)
A Standard Edition consisting of the CD alone, with a photo collection (B5 size) will also be offered. Price will be 1,650 yen (~12.00 USD), inclusive of taxes (shipping and handling extra).
Ji Chang Wook’s Japan debut CD will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis and is expected to sell out quickly, so we suggest you get your pre-orders in ASAP. There are many sales portals in which to purchase, but aware that some of these sites may use a Proxy Service for overseas shipping charges, which will require you to set up an account with them prior to ordering. Links to well-known purchase points are below:
HMV Music: Limited Edition CD Standard Edition CD
Tower Records Japan: Limited Edition CD Standard Edition CD
Amazon Japan: Limited Edition CD Standard Edition CD
YesAsia Global: Limited Edition CD Standard Edition CD
NOTE: The Kitchen has utilized various Japan proxy services in the past, and have found that World Shopping is the best at processing and shipping to the United States. We suggest doing some homework on the proxy services offered to see which best handles shipping to your country.
Ji Chang Wook Official Japan Fan Club Release
The Ji Chang Wook Japan Official Fan Club is also offering a special Limited Edition CD, which contains everything noted in the Limited Edition above, plus a fabric poster (B2 size). Price will be also 5,500 yen, inclusive of taxes (shipping and handling extra). Only available to fan club members during the purchase period of 14 September (Thursday) at 4:00pm JST through 6 October (Friday) at 11:59pm JST.
On 22 September, additional jacket photos were released through the Ji Chang Wook Japan Fan Club, which also announced a special fan event in tandem with Wook’s upcoming fan meeting at the Tokyo International Center on 25 December:
◆ 22 December (Friday): A premium autograph and handshake event for fan club members who purchase the Limited Edition CD (150 chosen by lottery), to be held at an undisclosed location in Tokyo.
◆ 23 December (Saturday): A commemorative handshake event for fan club members who purchase either the Limited Edition CD or Standard Edition CD (3,000 chosen by lottery), to be held at an undisclosed location in downtown Tokyo.
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We are jumping up and down with excitement over this latest development in Wook’s career. We will update this site as news breaks and more purchase portals come online. Good luck to everyone in purchasing your own copy (or should that be *copies*)!
Translated from Japanese to English by cherkell; there may be slight inaccuracies. PLEASE DO NOT REPRINT, REPURPOSE, SCREENCAP OR OTHERWISE COPY OUR CONTENT WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION.
Credits: HMV&Books; Amazon Japan; YesAsia Global; Tower Records Japan
Ji Chang Wook's Kitchen 
I am excited for you,I haven’t really heard you sing,only bits on utube,does the CD come in English,I would love to see you sing live,but I live in Australia ,at least I see some pictures🙂🌺
The songs will be sung in Japanese, with Japanese being used for the packaging and the liner notes. There has been no news at present if the Limited Edition will contain English translations, but we are keeping an eye on any release information.