INTERVIEW Park Hae-jin survives THAAD fallout
Actor Park Hae-jin speaks during a press conference to promote his latest film “Cheese in the Trap” at a theater in Seoul, March 7. /Yonhap
Actor tells his new film, career
By Park Jin-hai
Actor Park Hae-jin’s popularity seems strong enough to weather the THAAD fallouts.
The 34-year-old actor, who starred in a romantic comedy “Cheese in the Trap,” which hit local theaters on Wednesday, became the first Korean to start a video channel on Weibo, thanks to his huge popularity in both Korea and China.
By request of the largest social media network in China, Park with 5.8 million followers on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, will air live-cast shows including his promotional events for his latest movie through “Park Hae-jin V+” beginning as early as next month, although his film hasn't yet secured a Chinese release.
China has banned all Korean entertainment content in an apparent retaliation for the U.S. missile defense shield in Korea from August 2016.
“It has been quite awhile, I’ve been away from China. Although the soaring mood signals for a thaw, the ban on Korean cultural content has still not been completely lifted,” said the actor during an interview with The Korea Times, Tuesday. “Many options are being discussed such as my dramas and films getting released through the channel.”
In his latest film, an adaptation of the 2016 tvN drama of the same name, based on a popular webtoon, Park takes on the role of a handsome and kind but mysterious-looking university student, Yoo Jung.
Park, who debuted in 2006 with a KBS weekend drama “Famous Chil Princesses,” playing a suitor who falls in love with an older woman, earned some recognition in Korea and China. In 2011, he starred in his first Chinese drama “Qian Duo Duo Gets Married,” which aired on Hunan TV, earning 1.5 billion views in two weeks. He starred in two other Chinese dramas in 2012 and 2013, before returning home with megahit dramas “My Love from the Star” (2013) and “Cheese in the Trap” (2016).
“It seems as Chinese viewers feel closer to me. I was not recognized as a hallyu actor after the local success of imported Korean dramas, but a foreign actor cast in local dramas with other Chinese actors. I think they took it positively,” said Park who rose to fame in China with “Qian Duo Duo Gets Married.”
Since then he has tried to balance his projects so that he can focus on both countries almost equally, going back and forth between Korea and China. “Some viewers thought that I’m Chinese because I acted alongside familiar Chinese actors on TV,” he said.
Nicknamed the “360 degree heartthrob” and “sweet guy” by his Chinese fans, he has worked in seven Chinese dramas. With “Far Away Love” (2016), he became the first Korean actor to earn the best actor award in the country. He was chosen as one of the 100 most influential cultural figures in China and featured in a postage stamp series that year, which was also been the first of its kind.
“I was so surprised for the love Chinese fans have shown me with ‘Qian Duo Duo Gets Married’ and ‘Far Away Love,’” said the actor, adding that his first venture into the Chinese entertainment business was hard but rewarding. “At the shooting site for my first Chinese drama, I felt like a monkey in the zoo. Everybody around me moved around hurriedly and I was the only one who didn’t understand a word or know what to do next,” said Park. “I couldn’t use all those things that I took for granted when I was acting in Korea. Due to the language barrier, I opened my ears to pick up every sound the staff makes. I read the script and imagined what lines and reactions my counterparts would show in advance.
“While I was acting with veteran actress Li Xiaoran in my first Chinese project, I felt like I could understand what she was saying by reading her eyes and the way she breathes. That state of being able to fully focus on acting I think has helped me a lot in my career.”
Park is also known for his consistent charity work in both countries. His philanthropic missions in China include supporting sick children as well as planting trees and building wells to help prevent desertification. In April he will leave for China to plant 6,000 plants he donated. According to his agency, the donation amounts to between 800 million-900 million won. In Korea, his donations have reached 1.7 billion won.