Kim Bum May Enlist Soon

Kim Bum is ready to serve in the army. At a recent press conference for his current series, "Goddess of Fire: Jeonji," the actor was asked about his plans for enlistment.

"There's not a lot of time left," said Kim. "It's already in my plans."

Basic training should not be too difficult for Kim. The actor is very disciplined and when his roles require physical changes, he knows how to make a commitment.

For example, he lost a lot of weight for his role in "Padam Padam."

"I worked out seven days a week," said Kim. "I worked out in the morning, came home, ate, slept, woke up during the evening and ran on a treadmill or jump-roped, came home and studied my script. My diet consisted of a banana, half a sweet potato and a cup of Caffé Americano. I didn't even drink water."

At 24, the actor could wait a while longer to serve, but he would like to get it over with and feels confident in his career achievements. Many actors wait until they are older and their careers are well established. But Kim's career is pretty solid at the moment, so he can afford to leave for two years and know that his fans will wait for him.

He became famous after playing So Yi Jung in "Boys Over Flowers." He then played the rock star that woos an older woman in "The Woman Who Still Wants To Marry." He received serious acclaim for playing the angel Lee Gook Soo in "Padam Padam," then went on to star as Park Jin Sung in the hit "That Winter The Wind Blows." Now he is playing Kim Tae Do, Moon Geun Young's protector in "Goddess of Fire: Jeonji." He also released his first album last year and performed his first solo concert in Japan.

Although he said he plans to enlist, he had not released any information on the date or the unit he will be serving in.

 "I'm going to go somewhere that will surprise everyone when they hear about it," he said. 

One place he will not be going to is the military's PR unit. Following recent scandals celebrity recruits no longer have the option of serving their military time in the public relations department. This option has ended due to the recent scandal involving singers Se7en and Sangchu. Because of their visit to an adult massage parlor, these celebrity soldiers had to serve 10 days in a military jail and have since been reassigned to units on the front line. Twelve celebrity recruits were reassigned, including actor Lee Jun Hyuk.

Kim Bum promised to keep fans posted about his enlistment dates and plans.