Actor Cho Byeong-kyu, 30, will temporarily halt his acting activities within this year to prepare for his military enlistment.
Cho, who is currently starring in the play "Visiting" (literal translation), recently appeared on the YouTube channel "1ma2c" and announced that he would temporarily halt his acting career for military service.
Cho shared, "About two years ago, I applied for KATUSA (Korean Augmentation to the United States Army) and passed the English test, but I was not selected in the random draw. Since I wouldn't have been able to stand on the theater stage if I had been accepted back then, I am taking it as a positive outcome," adding that he plans to enlist in the regular army.
In September of last year, Cho parted ways with HB Entertainment, the agency he had been with for 13 years. He is currently carrying out his activities without a separate agency. Regarding this, he added, "I want to express my gratitude to the company that was with me from my debut through my prime and difficult times, and we still stay in touch," noting that he is carefully considering a new agency.
Cho also mentioned why he chose the two-person play "Visiting," saying, "I wanted to guard against becoming complacent in comfort."
Cho faced a crisis in his career when he was swept up in school bullying allegations in 2021. He filed a multi-billion won damages lawsuit against the person who claimed to have experienced school violence while studying abroad in New Zealand, but lost the first trial in September of last year, and an appeal is currently underway.
Photo by Baek Seung-chul
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)