Pyo Ji-hoon on True Education: laser hair removal regrets, charismatic student actors, and a season 2 promise

True Education hit No. 1 in more than 10 countries including South Korea after its release. Pyo Ji-hoon, who plays Education Rights Bureau official Bong Geun-dae, sat down at a Samcheong-dong café in Seoul on the 16th to talk through it.

The role came with an unexpected prep challenge. "I was really trying to get laser hair removal done because of my stubble," he said, "but it hurt so much. I got it done once and couldn't go back." Watching his first scene back, the regret set in. "I kept thinking, 'I should have pushed through it.'" He's already made a public promise — if season 2 happens, he'll manage his appearance properly.

On set, the student cast caught him off guard. "The first day we shot school scenes, I was surprised when I met everyone in the classroom," he said. "Looking at the actors playing high schoolers, I thought, 'Oh, this is going to be fine' — they all had such charisma."

Costar Kim Mu-yeol also left an impression. "Watching him do action scenes so coolly was really striking," Pyo said. "It made me think I need to take care of my health until I'm his age too."

Pyo debuted with Block B in 2011. He moved into acting through the 2017 drama Love Temperature, then built his profile with Encounter, Hotel Del Luna, and Good Partner. Bong Geun-dae is his biggest role to date by screen time.