Kim Bo Seok is a South Korean rapper who debuted in 2001 as a member of the five-member Eurodance boyband, LEO, which was formed to capitalize on the success of the then-popular boyband, g.o.d. LEO never hit it big, and the group disbanded after eight months. After failing the theater department entrance examination, Kim majored in German at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. He is also fluent in English, living in England during his middle school and high school years. This allowed him to receive his secondary teaching certificate in German and English in 2006. Kim also has a master's degree in Cultural Contents Planning from Kyung Hee University's Graduate School of Journalism and Communication. Kim Bo Seok switched to using the stage name "Kim Ji Seok" after being told by the head of the agency that his birth name could be confused with veteran actors Jung Bo Seok and Kim Bo Seong. He began his acting career by appearing in the 2006 music video of Kim Hyung Joong's "She's Laughing", followed by several minor roles. Though his daily drama "Likeable or Not" recorded high ratings of over 40% in 2007-2008, he still did not become a household name. In 2009, Kim played a member of the Korean national ski jumping team in the film "Take Off", which became the second-highest-grossing Korean film that year. He enlisted for his mandatory military service on May 24, 2010, at the Nonsan training center in South Chungcheong Province, where he spent five weeks in basic training. After serving active duty with the Defense Media Agency of the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, he was discharged in March 2012.

More