Actor You Need to Know: Park Eun-bin
Park’s taste in art defines who she is. Her penchant for interesting characters is a testament to her rising fame and a reason behind the accolades she has been receiving thus far
Park Eun-bin as Chae Song-ah in 'Do You Like Brahms?' Photo courtesy of SBS TV
Park Eun-bin’s acting talent might be credited to her early entry into the industry at the young age of five. Since she was reliably cast as a child actor in countless Korean television series before landing her first starring role in the time-traveling romance Operation Proposal in 2012, her charisma must have been apparent to industry insiders. Unfortunately, the lead part did not really take off. But Park went with the flow, playing a variety of supporting roles until her portrayals in Hello, My Twenties (2016) and its sequel (2017) propelled her to public attention. She made a lasting impression as Song Ji-won, a wacky and outgoing girl and one of the housemates who claims to see ghosts in this slice-of-life drama about five girls living together and bonding over the teething problems in their teens.
What is pretty obvious about Park is her fluidity as an actor. She can embody all types of women – be it shy, flamboyant, daring, passionate, eccentric or complex – with obvious competence and in the most realistic way possible. In 2017, she starred in the courtroom drama Judge vs. Judge, followed by the suspenseful horror film The Ghost Detective (2018). Park was later cast as the operations manager of a hard-pressed baseball team in the popular sports drama Hot Stove League (2019-2020). The television show won Best Drama at the 56th Baeksang Arts Awards, catapulting the actor to even loftier heights.
Her subsequent role earned her the Top Excellence Actress Award at the 2020 SBS Drama Awards as the ambitious violinist Chae Song-ah in the musical romance drama Do You Like Brahms? (2020). It was impressive how vividly Park expressed the dreams and passion of her character as she sought happiness while studying music. I suppose the distinction between Park’s real self and her on-screen personas is usually muddled by her understated acting style, which distinguishes her.
Park’s taste in art is a reflection of who she is. Her penchant for interesting characters is a testament to her rising fame and a reason behind the accolades she has been receiving thus far. In a quickly evolving and cut-throat industry like showbiz, I guess being choosy is the right way to go and the best survival tactic. You have to be picky for long-term success. Park understands that and is always looking for new ways to do things.
She gave a compelling performance as a cross-dressing protagonist in The King’s Affection, the superhit period drama series, playing Crown Prince Yi Hwi last year. For her role, Park was nominated as Best Actress at the 58th Baeksang Arts Awards and won the Top Excellence Actress Award at the 2021 KBS Drama Awards. The majority of the praise she received emphasized her more refined portrayal, with her flawless character emulation being cited as one of the key factors in the series’ success. Additionally, the show received praise for its depiction of the youth challenging the social system to assert their rights and happiness.
The actress appeared in the action-horror film The Witch: Part 2, The Other One earlier this year, preceding her phenomenal run in the legal drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo, where she played the titular role of Young-woo, a young attorney with Asperger’s syndrome. Despite her high intelligence, Young-woo finds it challenging to interact with others. However, she is an exceptional lawyer when it comes to the courtroom. Park received rave reviews for this performance from all quarters, and the Best Foreign Language Series category of the 28th Critics’ Choice Awards included the drama in its list of nominees.
The 30-year-old must have encountered difficulties in trying to impersonate an autistic girl, communicate her feelings, and mimic her mannerisms. But if you’ve seen her in the drama, you know how effortlessly she brought Young-woo to life, making her seem timid, amusing and lonesome, and yearning for love while still being strong and brilliant.
Speaking about her experiences playing this character in an interview with The Korea Herald, Park revealed that she tried to memorize the script by writing the lines on paper, finding ways to deliver them clearly, and refining the words. It was challenging to repeat the lines for 30 to 40 minutes inside a courtroom, she claimed, and she felt some sort of semantic satiation after filming the trial sequences. “It was an intense seven months,” she noted.
