Park Jin-hai primarily focuses on K-dramas, entertainment shows and actor interviews. Beyond that, she also pens articles covering the broader arts scene, with a particular emphasis on classical music, dance and various aspects of lifestyle. Since joining The Korea Times in 2013, she has made significant contributions in the realms of hallyu (Korean wave), industry news and international affairs.
INTERVIEW Park Eun-bin makes chilling transformation in genre-defying medical thriller 'Hyper Knife'
Actor Park Eun-bin / Courtesy of Walt Disney Korea
By Park Jin-hai
While initially marketed as a medical thriller, Disney+'s "Hyper Knife" ultimately defies easy genre categorization. This drama, which dropped its final episodes on April 9, charts the dynamic between two neurosurgeons, showcasing yet another compelling performance from Park Eun-bin, who made her name with the 2022 sensation "Extraordinary Attorney Woo."
The 32-year-old actor portrays Jung Se-ok, a disgraced genius surgeon who develops a unique mentor-mentee relationship with Choi Deok-hee (Sul Kyung-gu), a teacher who mirrors her own psyche.
Moving away from the quirky yet charming persona she embodied as an autistic lawyer in "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," Park has morphed into a chillingly ruthless surgeon, a killer doctor for whom even murder is merely a step in service of advancing neuroscience.
With a calm and emotionless face splattered with blood, Park's Se-ok nonchalantly utters, "For one to survive, the other must perish."
"This was the first time I played a role that expresses so much anger, constantly," the actor told The Korea Times in an interview Tuesday at a cafe in Jongno District, Seoul.
"Because it was a type of acting I hadn't done before, there was a liberating quality to it. While I wondered if Se-ok's lines and mindset were okay, I also felt a sense of exhilaration thinking that if you face the world with this kind of mindset, you could bulldoze through anything."
Park Eun-bin, right, in a scene from Disney+ medical thriller "Hyper Knife" / Courtesy of Walt Disney Korea
Her motivation to join this project wasn't necessarily to portray a villain or shed her previous image but rather to venture into uncharted acting territory. So when viewers reacted with fear at the unveiling of this character, Park was genuinely taken aback.
"My performance was never intended to be frightening, so the viewer responses were very interesting for me," the actor said, noting that her primary focus was to delve into the very essence of Se-ok, striving for a deeper understanding.
"I felt that to act without comprehension would merely be mimicry. I tried my best to mobilize all the knowledge I have to create my own multifaceted version of Se-ok," she said.
Doctor with many faces
To build this character of Se-ok, Park referenced antisocial personality disorders.
"I wanted to craft a multilayered character by referencing antisocial personality disorder traits. I wasn't worried about it being perceived as psychopathic. In building a character I've never met, I try to understand them in my own way, utilizing established diagnostic frameworks as a foundation."
She compared the process of embodying the heinous yet complex character to introducing a new friend.
"This time, thanks to the viewers who embraced the alchemy of my own artistic essence with Se-ok's persona, many have empathized and become deeply engrossed beyond my expectations, for which I am profoundly grateful," she said.
Kim Jung-hyun, director for Disney+ medical thriller "Hyper Knife" / Courtesy of Walt Disney Korea
Story of twisted love, obsession
Director Kim Jung-hyun said he crafted "Hyper Knife" as a meditation on obsession and twisted affection — what he calls an "intricate dynamic between mentor and disciple, a relationship defying simple description and the intense psychological interplay."
"There was significant anticipation in presenting a mentor-protege relationship unlike any seen before in Korean society," he told The Korea Times during a recent interview.
Regarding the connection between the two prodigious minds, he noted there is catharsis in encountering someone who mirrors oneself.
"Their relationship is a form of affection felt for one of the same kind."
He intentionally stylized their interactions like a play, using wide two-shots and ignoring realism in certain scenes. For example, even when Deok-hee and Se-ok openly discuss killing someone in a public place without lowering their voices, no one pays any attention. It’s as if the two of them are in a world of their own, like actors on stage.
As for Park Eun-bin's casting for Se-ok, the director said he needed someone capable of projecting purity and unpredictability at the same time.
"'Hyper Knife' is a complex genre that is difficult to categorize, so a role like Se-ok is like a blank canvas. From that perspective, I had an expectation that people would feel a sense of exhilaration when they saw her face splattered with blood," he explained.
After all, the director calls this drama “a story about crazy love.”
"The object of that love isn't necessarily rational. It could be an act of brain surgery, or it could be a person," he said.
"I once said, 'I hope that after watching this work, you will think about whether you have ever loved someone or something this much.' In the end, it's a story about something or someone you truly loved. In that sense, I think people can relate to it. The way the narrative unfolds may be new, but what I want to tell is a very universal story."
The eight-part series is available for streaming on Disney+.