In an interview with SpoTV News, Lee Joo Ahn - the actor who recently attracted attention thanks to his role as Gong Gil in the drama The reward of bullying - revealed the reason he was exempted from military service.
Lee Joo Ahn shared: "At the age of 22, I donated part of my liver to my mother. Therefore, I am exempted from military service.
My mother had been struggling with liver problems for a long time, and one day, she passed out due to cirrhosis. I rushed to the hospital and learned that an emergency liver transplant was the only option. I agreed and underwent surgery.
The surgery involved removing up to 70% of the actor's liver to transplant to his mother. Fortunately, the surgery was successful, and his mother recovered.
Lee Joo Ahn's mother is living in her private home, she was extremely happy to see her son become famous through the movie "The reward of bullying".
Lee Joo Ahn expressed: "Currently, I feel very happy. My mother is very proud of her son. Finally, she can tell everyone: "My son is an actor". Even though I live far away, hearing people recognize me as Gong Gil makes her feel more secure.
In addition, the actor did not forget to express his gratitude to the audience: "It's all thanks to the audience who love the film. I am truly grateful to everyone. I will continue to work hard and return with many good projects.
The author of abuse broke tvNs rating record in 2025 (17.1%), and entered the Top 7 TV series with the highest ratings in tvN history.
The film follows chef Yeon Ji Young (YoonA - SNSD) who is the champion of a famous culinary competition in France, when she travels 500 years into the Joseon Dynasty, where she meets Lee Heon (Lee Chae Min) - the king known as the " combative" with perfect taste.
In the film, Lee Joo Ahn plays Gong Gil, a dog loved by the king but is actually an assassin and a close associate of King Lee Heon.
With this role, Lee Joo Ahn has long hair and beard, making it difficult for the audience to recognize him. Many people think that the film's appearance has affected the actor's beauty, because in real life he has a handsome face, 1m84 tall, and a much more attractive figure and demeanor.
However, there are also comments that Lee Joo Ahn's appearance matches the character, praising the actor for his impressive transformation.
Lee Joo Ahn was born in 1996, he debuted in 2018 with a supporting role in the movie SKY Castle. After that, the actor appeared in Save Me 2, Sweet Munchies, True Beauty, Youth of May, Love Song for illusion...
At the age of 29, his breakthrough performance as Gong Gil opened up new development opportunities for his career.
