7 reasons Song Ji Hyo is the Ace of our hearts

She may be the proverbial rose among the thorns with the dominantly male cast, but Ji Hyo is no delicate flower. In fact, she is widely considered one of the stronger members of the team, which also consists of tough “Commander” Kim Jong Kook and quick-thinking Yoo Jae Suk. Her specialty lies in tasks that require searching skills, and she has amassed such a formidable track record of solo wins that her co-stars and guest players can’t help but to cower in fear before her (when they’re not being amused by her spaced out, “Blank Ji” expression, that is).

Ji Hyo also isn’t afraid to chuck aside the tired “damsel in distress” trope. In one famous episode, she didn’t hesitate to tackle the world’s highest bungee jump off the 338m-high Macau Tower (a challenge that reduced the men into shivering scaredy-cats) before still being able to skip around and gush about how fun it was.

And that’s just a single example of her awesomeness throughout the hundreds of episodes. Which “Ace” Ji Hyo moment is your favourite?

Photo: TPG

We’ve seen Ji Hyo without a face full of makeup so many times that it’s actually a little bit weird to see her all dolled up (don’t get us wrong: she’s gorgeous either way). In fact, she isn’t afraid to let the whole world see her groggy, just-woken-up mien – messy hair, puffy eyes and all – on the show. Then again, if we still looked as great as her after getting out of bed, we’d dare to do the same as well.

However, Ji Hyo remains extremely modest about her “barefaced goddess” title. In an interview, she admitted that she doesn’t think she’s pretty, but would rather be comfortable than to care so much about how she looks. She also divulged her beauty secrets, saying that she sleeps a lot, cleanses a lot, and slathers on sunscreen especially in the summer.

Be right back, we’re going to wash our face and then take a nice, long nap!

Photo: SBS

Some celebrities pay a lot of attention to how they appear to the public and would never put themselves in an “unglam” situation, but not Song Ji Hyo. While there have been instances of guest stars – particular female ones, which, given society’s stricter scrutiny of them, is also understandable – who came off as clearly being more concerned about their image than doing well on the show and entertaining viewers, that has never been an issue on Ji Hyo’s radar, who will gamely participate in anything and everything that’s asked of her.

This was apparent during one episode where the cast had to take part in a “courage test” by touching an array of mystery objects (they were all innocuous things like dish sponges and rubber gloves, but the unknown can be terrifying). Instead of backing out, a visibly frightened Ji Hyo pushed herself to put her hand in the box, and let the cameras capture her traumatised expression, and even when she burst into tears. Hey, even the “Ace” can have a weakness, and she wasn’t afraid to show it.

Photo: SBS Running Man

Did you know that Ji Hyo once starred in a racy period film, where she had explicit bed scenes with co-star Jo In Sung? The movie, A Frozen Flower, unsurprisingly drew much controversy, but Ji Hyo has maintained a very professional outlook, saying that the scenes were necessary for showing the changes in emotions between the characters (they are commanded to sleep together to produce an heir for the king but end up falling in love).

Another well-known role of hers is that of ballerina Min Hyo Rin in Princess Hours, which she learned ballet for. She showed yet another different side of her as an assassin in movie The Jackal is Coming with JYJ’s Jaejoong, where she reportedly performed her own dangerous stunts without the help of a double. She’s also able to go down the slightly more typical K-drama route, as seen in Emergency Couple with Choi Jin Hyuk.

Clearly, being typecast is not Ji Hyo’s problem.

In 2009, Ji Hyo and 2PM’s Nichkhun travelled to a poverty-stricken area of the Philippines as part of tvN’s World Special LOVE programme to do volunteer work. During Ji Hyo’s visits to a young boy named Dave and his family, she willingly did everything from helping to clear their flooded house to washing the kids to cooking for them (and then cleaning up afterwards). Her goodwill was praised by a local villager, who said that even Philippine stars won’t go so far as to get their hands dirty during their charity visits. You go, girl!

Photos: TVN

Ji Hyo’s “Monday Couple” love line with Kang Gary on Running Man is one of the most beloved pairings in K-entertainment, thanks to their squeal-inducing chemistry and adorable interactions (which are reportedly unscripted). The fictional coupling was so popular that when Ji Hyo’s real-life relationship with CjeS Entertainment CEO Baek Chang Joo (then also her boss) came to light in 2012, she was criticised by fans for “betraying” Gary.

Viewers were given another union to fawn over earlier this year, when she was confirmed to be joining the Chinese version of We Got Married, called We Are in Love, with Taiwanese heartthrob Chen Bolin. Despite the language barrier, the twosome still managed to charm everyone with their couple-like conduct, and many were sad when their last episode together aired in June. However, others also celebrated the end of “Bobo” and “Momo” (their nicknames for each other on the show), and called for the Monday Couple to return in full force again.

Whichever team you’re on, you can be glad that it’s all immortalised on video to look back on and swoon over for all eternity.

Photos: Hunan TV, TPG

After meeting on the set of Chinese film 708090, Ji Hyo and Taiwanese pop star Kenji Wu decided to record a duet together. The cutesy pop track, titled ‘You Are So Cute’, is Ji Hyo’s first recorded single, and Kenji said that the actress worked extremely hard to get her Mandarin pronunciation right. Now that we all know about Ji Hyo’s sweet and pleasant vocals, we can’t wait for her to release more songs in the future!

Photo: TPG