Women swoon for Park in 'Cheese in the Trap'

Actor Park Hae-jin, who stars in the new drama “Cheese in the Trap,” attends a publicity event in Seoul, Dec. 22, 2015. / Yonhap

By Kim Jae-heun

Actor Park Hae-jin successfully returned to TV screens in tvN’s new drama “Cheese in the Trap” on Monday, in a program that recorded the channel’s record-high rating for a Monday and Tuesday drama.

His last appearance in a drama series was in cable channel OCN’s “Bad Guys” in 2014.

“Cheese in the Trap” is based on a webtoon of the same name that has had more than 1.1 billion hits on the country’s no. 1 portal site, Naver, since 2010. The drama stars Park and Seo Kang-joon and rising actresses Kim Go-eun and Lee Sung-kyoung.

“I was very worried about acting out my character in the scenes because the original story of the webtoon had gained so much love from so many people,” said Park during a press conference at Times Square in Yeoungdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on Dec. 22. “It (his character in the series) was the most difficult character in my career because viewers have a different image of the original character and I have to satisfy their expectation.”

However, fans of the original webtoon picked Park as a favorite to play the mysterious perfect guy character, Yoo Jung, in the drama. The actor, 33, said he would have made a more perfect Yoo if he was cast 10 years ago.

Unlike his previous role in the mega-hit drama “My Love From the Star” in 2013, Park takes on a stronger persona in this new romance series.

For Kim, who portrays Hong Seol, it is her first role in a TV drama. Kim starred in the movie “A Muse” in 2012 and rose to stardom after winning nine awards

“Hong Seol is a lovely character,” said Kim. “I tried to portray Hong as if she actually existed in real life. I just want Hong to be adorable.”

After the two episodes were aired on Monday and Tuesday, Kim was praised for adding her unique style to this adorable character.

“Cheese in the Trap” has, so far, topped competing dramas in the same time slot with a viewer rating of 4.6 percent, according to Nielson Korea, Tuesday. The romance series has already gained popularity in China, Indonesia and Thailand.