The Morning Calm Post

Actor Jung Il-woo experienced both his Japanese debut and his first global OTT original series through Prime Video original Japanese drama "Criminal." The series was reported to have ranked No. 1 in Japan's viewing chart for three consecutive weeks after its release on July 17, 2026 KST, and director Daishi Matsunaga and Jung attended a press conference in Korea at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Seoul on July 30, 2026 KST. With Jung's agency move, his challenge in a Japanese production and plans for global activity all mentioned together, this work can be read as a turning point in the actor's career.

Jung Il-woo has widened his activity range through the Japanese drama "Criminal." According to multiple reports, a Korean press conference for the Prime Video original Japanese drama "Criminal" was held at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on July 30, 2026 KST. Director Daishi Matsunaga and actor Jung Il-woo attended the event.

"Criminal" carries several layers of meaning for Jung. It is his debut in a Japanese production and also his first global OTT original series. Jung has been a familiar face through Korean dramas, films and variety programs, but his participation in a work made with a Japanese production team and released through a global platform gives this move meaning beyond a simple overseas appearance.

"Criminal" is a crime mystery based on Ai Ota's novel of the same name. It follows characters in different positions, including a detective, a journalist and a survivor, as they risk their lives in pursuit of a larger truth. Daishi Matsunaga is a Japanese director known for films including "Pieta in the Toilet," "Hanalei Bay" and "Egoist," and he also challenged himself with OTT series direction through this work.

The main character lineup also creates genre tension. Issei Takahashi plays Soma, a detective isolated within the police organization because of his convictions, while Takumi Saitoh appears as Nanao Arizumi, an old acquaintance of Soma and a freelance writer. Koshi Mizukami plays Shuji, the survivor of a daylight indiscriminate murder case. Jung Il-woo plays Takigawa, a man whose identity is difficult to explain easily among these characters.

The question "Criminal" asks is not as simple as its title. At the press conference, director Matsunaga explained that when adapting the work, he considered questions such as "Who is the criminal?" and "Whom do we think of as a criminal?" to be important. He said that while the premise in a society ruled by law is that one must not commit crime, he wanted to deal with what kinds of violence can occur when each person's idea of justice collides. This explanation is important for understanding the direction of the work.

"Criminal" does not remain only in the structure of tracking the perpetrator of an incident. It also deals with the positions from which characters view the case, the justice each believes in, and the way society defines someone as a criminal. For that reason, Takigawa, played by Jung Il-woo, appears to be placed not simply as a functional supporting character within the genre, but as someone who shakes the questions of the work.

The process by which Jung joined as Takigawa is also interesting. According to reports, Jung said director Matsunaga watched the film "Highway Family," expressed that he wanted to work with him someday, and later offered him the role of Takigawa, a character who becomes an important key in "Criminal." Jung explained that he decided to appear after receiving the offer.

The director's explanation was more specific. Matsunaga said that when casting Jung, he values the impression he receives when actually meeting the actor more than the works themselves. He said he felt interesting potential in Jung, and after watching "Highway Family," judged that an even better side could come out. During the working process, he also evaluated Jung as passionate about acting, saying that the actor offered opinions about the character for each line and scene.

This passage shows that Jung's Japanese debut was not simply the result of casting, but a case in which the director's observation and the actor's preparation process worked together. When a Korean actor appears in an overseas work, recognition alone is not enough. Communication with the local production team, character interpretation, and an acting method that crosses language and cultural differences are all needed. The filming stories Jung shared at the press conference also explain this point.

Jung said he stayed in Japan for about two months to film his first Japanese work. He also shared that he wrote "business trip" on social media because he could not disclose the filming. This shows that casting and production information were managed in a limited way until the work was released. He explained that there were difficulties caused by language and cultural differences, but he continued filming through the director's help and his own focus on the set.

Jung's ideas were also reflected in the adaptation of the character. In the original novel, Takigawa is Japanese, but in the drama he was reportedly changed into a Korean character. Jung said he thought adding Korean elements could make the character richer, and suggested changing the original detail of Takigawa handling an acupressure ball into walnuts. He thought the sound of cracking walnuts could fit the tension of the work. He also added that the combat boots worn in the series were the ones he had actually worn during his military service.

These detailed settings show that the actor was not merely digesting foreign-language lines, but trying to plant the character's cultural background and sense into the work. When a Korean character appears in an overseas production, nationality cannot be explained only through one or two lines of dialogue. Concrete elements such as gesture, objects, habits and sound create the character's presence. The walnuts and combat boots Jung suggested are small devices, but they can be read as elements used to make Takigawa persuasive as a Korean character.

There was also a change in acting method. Jung said the words director Matsunaga said most often were "empty yourself" and "do not try to do something." He added that although there are moments when an actor wants to prove his acting, in this work he tried to approach the character of Takigawa himself. This can be read as meaning that in a genre work, he was asked to carry restraint and tension rather than excessive expression.

As Jung said, acting by emptying oneself may sound easy, but it is difficult in practice. Especially when conditions such as an overseas production, unfamiliar language environment and first Japanese drama overlap, an actor may want to show more. But the director asked for the opposite direction. If Takigawa is a mysterious character, the actor needs to leave space for the audience to feel tension rather than explain everything about the person. This is also why the work remains a new acting experience for Jung.

At the press conference, Jung said he hoped Korean viewers would also watch the series. The flow in which a work that first gained response in Japan is introduced to Korea also connects with the recent global OTT market. In the past, there was a larger time gap before foreign dramas entered Korea, but now movement between regions has become faster through global platforms. The structure in which a Korean actor appears in a Japanese-produced drama, and that work then stands before Korean media and viewers, also shows changes in the Asian content market.

"Criminal" also arrives at a fitting moment in Jung Il-woo's own activity flow. Jung debuted in 2006 through the sitcom "Unstoppable High Kick," and this year marks his 20th debut anniversary. The fact that an actor in his 20th year since debut is presenting both a Japanese debut work and a first global OTT series can be seen as an event opening a new section of his career. It is a choice to be evaluated again in an unfamiliar environment rather than only maintain a familiar image.

An agency change was also reported around the same time. Jung signed an exclusive contract with Galaxy Corporation on July 29, 2026 KST. The company is known to house figures including G-Dragon, Song Kang-ho, Taemin, Kim Jong-kook, Ryu Jun-yeol and Lee Jung-hoo. With the agency move and the Korean press conference for his Japanese debut work reported in sequence, attention also turned to the possibility that Jung's future activities could expand from Korea into overseas projects and global OTT.

The possibility of a follow-up season should be viewed carefully. Director Matsunaga mentioned that the original work is the first in a linked trilogy of novels beginning with "Criminal," and said there is room to think about a sequel. He also said he felt the appeal of OTT series through this work and would like to challenge himself again. However, this is not confirmation of production, but an answer that leaves the possibility open.

Takigawa, the character Jung plays in this work, also creates a Korean point of contact inside the drama. It is meaningful that a Korean actor plays a Korean character in a Japanese drama, and that the character has been introduced not as a simple decoration but as an important key to the case. Casting in the global OTT era looks beyond nationality and considers an actor's language, image, existing filmography and adaptability on set together. "Criminal" is a work that places Jung Il-woo within that flow.

Another point to watch is the distance between the public image Jung has built and the genre tone of "Criminal." Jung has moved across many genres including romance, family drama, historical drama and comedy, but playing a man with an unclear identity inside a Japanese crime mystery is a different kind of work. The director's request for "emptying" suggests that Jung had to remove some of his existing familiar image and build the unstable energy of the character.

The title of the work is also meaningful. The word "Criminal" brings to mind legal judgment, but as the director explained, the drama asks not only who the criminal is, but also who defines someone as a criminal. In a structure where the different perspectives of a detective, a journalist and a survivor intertwine, Takigawa may function as a person who cannot be explained only through the surface of the case. This point expands the work into a broader question than a simple investigation drama.

For Korean viewers, Jung's Japanese-language acting and adaptation to a local production environment may also become points of interest. According to reports, he said he felt language and cultural differences, but focused on the set with the director's help. The difficulty an actor experiences in an overseas production is not only a matter of pronunciation. Filming methods, rehearsal culture, the way a director and actor exchange opinions, and the pace of the set can all differ. The fact that Jung offered opinions on character props and settings suggests that he did not passively follow the production, but actively participated in building the character.

Jung Il-woo's global activity potential cannot be evaluated through one work alone. Still, "Criminal" provides enough information to be seen as a starting point for testing that possibility. He worked with a Japanese production team, participated in a global platform title, and the work was reported to have shown early viewing-rank performance in Japan. Through the Korean press conference, the director and actor also explained the production process and casting reasons directly. These conditions provide a factual basis for an article about the actor's overseas expansion.

The fact that his Japanese debut work has shown a good start does not mean the results of his future activities can be concluded in advance. In the global OTT market, outcomes vary depending on the response to each title, platform programming, local promotion and accessibility by language region. For Jung, "Criminal" is a starting point, and what matters more from here is which works, languages and genres he chooses next.

Even so, the meaning this work leaves for Jung is not small. An actor marking his 20th debut anniversary moved away from a familiar position and into unfamiliar conditions: a Japanese drama and a global OTT original. He participated in the process of adapting the character into a Korean person, and experienced an acting method that required him to remove rather than add under the director's guidance. The work produced early results after its release in Japan and was introduced in Korea through a press conference.

"Criminal" is more than a surface-level marker of Jung Il-woo's Japanese debut. It is a case showing how a Korean actor can be cast and reinterpreted within an Asian production environment. The actual presence of Takigawa and the character's role inside the work will need to be confirmed directly by viewers. Based on the information currently confirmed, however, "Criminal" captures a moment in which Jung Il-woo takes one step outside his familiar position as a Korean actor.

Summary Points

• Jung Il-woo experienced both his Japanese debut and first global OTT original series appearance through Prime Video original Japanese drama "Criminal."
• The Korean press conference for "Criminal" was held at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Seoul on July 30, 2026 KST, with director Daishi Matsunaga and Jung Il-woo attending.
• The work is a crime mystery based on Ai Ota's novel of the same name, following a detective, a journalist and a survivor as they approach a larger truth.
• Jung plays Takigawa, a man whose identity is difficult to explain easily, and said he proposed some ideas during the process of adapting the character as Korean.
• The series was reported to have ranked No. 1 in Japan's viewing chart for three consecutive weeks after its release on July 17, 2026 KST.
• Director Matsunaga said he saw Jung's potential through "Highway Family" and their real-life meeting, and also praised his acting passion during the work process.
• Jung signed an exclusive contract with Galaxy Corporation on July 29, 2026 KST and expressed his intention to expand future activities in Korea and overseas.