After success of 'Parasite,' Park So-dam moves on to arthouse flick 'Fukuoka'

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Actress Park So-dam / Courtesy of CJ Entertainment

Park So-dam, well-known for her outstanding performance from the Oscar-winning “Parasite,” has moved on to a smaller, less commercial film “Fukuoka.” The art house flick displays the importance of communication through three different characters.

In the film, Park plays So-dam, a mysterious young woman who inspires Je-moon (Yoon Je-moon), a second-hand bookstore owner, to travel to Fukuoka and meet his long estranged friend Hae-hyo (Kwon Hae-hyo).

The two men lost touch 28 years ago after falling in love with the same girl, who eventually left both of them. Hae-hyo moved to the girl's hometown of Fukuoka to look for her, but never saw her again. Struggling to get over his ex-girlfriend, Hae-hyo has been running a bar in the Japanese city and growing old alone, just like Je-moon.

The characters go through conflicts in their lives, many of which remain unresolved. It's hard to pin down exactly who or what Park really is because details about her character are kept under wraps throughout the film. She might be a ghost or a source of trouble that divides the two friends.

While filming, Park said she had a lot of conversations with director Zhang Lu and her fellow actors.

“We were in Fukuoka for two weeks to shoot most of the scenes,” she said in a written interview with The Korea Times. “I've been to Fukuoka before, but I really looked forward to visiting filming spots and exploring the city with the crew. To me, shooting the film felt like traveling.”

The 29-year-old actress said she was thrilled to work with Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu again after starring in the filmmaker's earlier work “Ode to the Goose” in 2018.

“Back when we were filming 'Ode to the Goose,' we talked about working together again for another film, but I didn't expect we'd meet again so soon,” she said. “I signed up for the film because I had high hopes for the director and was curious how the story would unfold.”

Park said she has pleasant memories of Kwon and Yoon, who made a lot of jokes to lighten the mood on set.

“Kwon and Yoon were both a joy to work with,” she said. “At the start, I needed some time to adjust to the unfamiliar filming location, but the two cheered me up, saying 'Let's do this, So-dam! Let's go!' There were a lot of scenes where the three of us just roam the streets, and they all remain a pleasing memory.”

Park is set to appear in tvN's upcoming series “Record of Youth,” in which she stars as an aspiring makeup artist named An Jung-ha. It revolves around a group of young professionals in the world of modeling who work to achieve their dreams and love.

“Fukuoka,” which has premiered at several international film festivals including the 69th Berlin International Film Festival, is currently playing in cinemas nationwide.