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| Actress Park Min-young played the role of meteorologist Jin Ha-kyung in the rom-com series "Forecasting Love and Weather." Courtesy of Hook Entertainment |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Actress Park Min-young has referred to her recent romantic comedy series "Forecasting Love and Weather" as overcoming a difficult homework.
"I wasn't in my best place mentally and physically before I took part in this work. So 'Forecasting Love and Weather' felt like a major assignment," Park said during a recent interview with The Korea Times. "Although I'm not completely satisfied with my acting (in this series), this project has taught me a good lesson."
Led by "When the Camellia Blooms" director Cha Young-hoon, the rom-com series revolves around meteorologist Jin Ha-kyung (Park) who is in charge of one of the forecast divisions at the national weather service.
She promises herself never to commit to a workplace romance after a bitter breakup with her 10-year fiancee. But when she welcomes newcomer Lee Si-woo (Song Kang) to the team, she falls for a new romance at work.
The series, which ended with a 7.3 percent viewership rating on April 3, not only tells the story of Ha-kyung's romance but also follows the work life of the people at the national agency which is filled with unpredictable events in forecasting the weather.
Park shared that she invested an enormous time to study the character, especially with its unfamiliar profession.
"I put in a lot of time pondering, relentlessly studying (the character), staying up almost every night like I'm completing an assignment step by step. So this was one of the hardest homework I've ever come across," she said. "Thankfully I was able to finish it. Like you feel satisfied when you solve a difficult problem, I'm sure that this has been a valuable experience for me."
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| A scene from the series "Forecasting Love and Weather" / Courtesy of JTBC |
Ha-kyung is a diligent, smart meteorologist who joined the organization as a mid-level official. Park added that she went on a trip to the Korea Meteorological Administration and watched related documentaries to learn about her character's profession.
"There weren't a lot of references so I only had options like watching documentaries over and over," she said. "I also visited the agency to see how (the actual officials) talk and to observe their work environment. I had to practice a lot to spit out the jargon and difficult phrases naturally like they are everyday words."
Park expressed that she share similarities with her character's professional aspect, but she did not quite agree with her romantic life of befriending her ex-fiancee and falling for another guy at work.
"I also put my work as a priority like Ha-kyung. We were similar in the sense that we are both passionate about work and tend to be a perfectionist," she said, adding that she pushes to be perfect when it comes to playing her roles. "But we had such different perspectives in love. Ha-kyung went through a heartbreak from love but soon falls for a new love. The fact she could become friends with her former lover seemed to be different from how I am."
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