Park Hyung-sik to Star in ‘Treasure Island’

Korean media reports have it that Park Hyung-sik will take center stage in the suspenseful and tense SBS K-drama Treasure Island.

The Hallyu sensation had starring roles in The Heirs (2013), High Society (2015), Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth (2016), Strong Girl Bong-soon (2017), Suits (2018), Happiness (2021), Our Blooming Youth (2023), and his most recent Doctor Slump (2024).

Park returned to television this year with Doctor Slump, a medical drama romantic comedy about Yeo Jeong-woo (Park Hyung-sik) and Nam Ha-neul (Park Shin-hye), whose promising professions take a turn for the worse, trapping them in a rut. But that, along with perhaps fate, pulls them together, evolving things for the greater good and letting the two shattered individuals heal in each other’s company, bounce back, and thrive again while falling in love in the process.

Park has been tapped to take on the role of Seo Dong-ju in Treasure Island, following a favorable response to his performance in Doctor Slump.

Treasure Island follows a guy who musters a whopping two trillion won in political corruption funds for him to make it through. Unbeknownst to them, a clandestine agency kills him, causing him to miss out on the money won irrevocably. There’s a catch, though: the man reappears alive only with no recollections of his past. What ensues is an intertwined narrative of thrill, mystery, and drama.

Renowned for his exceptional recall, Park’s Dong-ju leads a strategic team at the mammoth conglomerate Daesan Group in the story. He’s a committed Desan employee, but one with lofty goals, who intends to leapfrog Daesan one day. 

Park’s character is cloaked in ambiguity, which I think is why his real purpose and hidden agenda may remain veiled for most of the narrative. He will thus likely lure us deeper into the maze of secrecy surrounding his personality as the drama unfolds. There’s bound to be suspense and surprise while every move and decision he makes is planned and carefully considered. 

Not that I’m reading too much into it, but whatever is understood about Dong-ju appears to capture a mere fraction of who he is. I’m curious to see what transpires next—a twist or revelation that will explain more of the character. Every encounter and interaction with him could be laden with uncertainty as he navigates a fine line between the person he is and who he wants to be. 

Treasure Island is anticipated to expand on Dong-ju’s inherent vagueness and unpredictable nature, as he may deftly influence other characters and his surroundings to pursue what he wants. He could potentially be strategizing across the story, building intrigues that entwine with the lives of others, resulting in a complex web of relationships and conflicts.

Treasure Island, by screenwriter Lee Myung-hee and director Jin Chang-gyu, purports to come with serious, hidden undertones, leaving viewers to question and analyze them in an account of this man who becomes embroiled in peril, oblivious to what’s at stake. 

In fiction like this, I’ve noticed an author employing different literary techniques to heighten the drama’s suspense, including foreshadowing, cliffhangers, and dramatic irony, alongside unforeseen developments, making for an interesting immersive narrative. The characters themselves, in the meantime, are frequently involved in elaborate machinations and complications, manipulating, and misleading one another to achieve their objectives. I am interested in just how these play out on Treasure Island.

The drama is reportedly going into production soon.