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| Park Seo-joon / Korea Times file |
Park Seo-joon lifts drama cliche to trendy TV series
By Kang Aa-young
"Young and super-rich, a self-centered cold urbanite."
The popular TV series "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim" has all the drama cliches.
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| Park Seo-joon, left, and Park Min-young star in the TV series "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim?" / Courtesy of CJ ENM |
Despite the same old story, the romantic comedy has been a big hit since it premiered on June 6 on cable network tvN.
According to TNMS, the 11th episode, aired on July 11, hit a 10.6 percent in viewership, a rating two or three times higher than the dramas airing on MBC or KBS during the same time.
What makes this cliche romantic comedy so popular?
Critics say the male lead Park Seo-joon plays a key role behind the "unexpected success" of the show.
"The romance between a super-rich guy and a Cinderella character is the same old story that has been duplicated in many previous TV series," culture critic Ha Jae-keun said. "As chaebol have been depicted as self-serving and greedy in most trendy dramas here, the success of the tvN drama is unexpected."
He said the key factor that makes it successful is Park perfectly played as a modern-day prince.
Park plays Lee Young-joon as a cold, narcissistic vice president of a company who is a top dog in the business. But he has a soft spot for his secretary Kim Mi-so, played by Park Min-young who is the only person he can fully trust and rely on.
Through this role, Park Seo-joon became labeled as the king of romantic comedy as he perfectly depicts the arrogant, rough character who becomes flustered and comical when confronted with love.
He spun this role as a chic urbanite born of a rich family and gives a breath of fresh air to the drama to save the tvN series from becoming lackluster.
Critic Jung Duk-hyun said Park, albeit still young, is a seasoned romantic comedy actor. "As he has experience in the genre, he knows how to play the super-rich, good-looking guy character," Jung said. "His role in the Secretary Kim series is slightly different from the one he played before though. In the TV series, he is more than a super-rich man who has sympathy for a girl from a humble background. He is like a benefactor, someone akin to the male character in the fiction "Daddy-Long-Legs"
Jung said Park is portrayed as confident and energetic, which makes the "Secretary Kim" series trendier than his previous romantic comedies.
Park, 29, rose to stardom after the success of the 2016 drama "She Was Pretty" and has since been called "the master of romantic comedy."
Since his acting debut in 2010, Park has played many different roles, particularly in the romantic comedy genre.
Park is well-known for his hard work and he is said to spend an enormous amount of time putting himself in the shoes of his characters.
His previous romantic comedies include "Fight My Way" and "Kill Me, Heal Me."
Park's career is not limited to romantic comedy. He also appeared in "Yoon's Kitchen," a reality show about local celebrities running a small restaurant on an island in a foreign country.
He played the role of a part-time employee on the show and built the image of the boy next door after mingling with clients of the eatery.
Park was born as the eldest of three boys, and always tried to set a good example in front of his younger brothers.
He said he was worried they could copy his wrongdoings if he deviated from an exemplary life. As a result, he became quiet at home.
"I still restrain myself from talking too much when I go home," Park said in an interview last year with The Korea Times.
"My parents would be surprised how lively I become when I am out with my friends. This is my weakness but I have strengths too. I have leadership. I like to lead people and make a lively atmosphere at film shoots," he said.
"When I am acting, everybody focuses on me. So when I become sensitive, people find it difficult to talk to me. When I am happy, the atmosphere at work becomes lively too. So I try to force myself to feel good and act happy most of the time."
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