"I wanted to show how a person changes when faced with an unimaginable fortune in gold bars and awakens to desire."
Park Bo-young, who took on her first genre piece by playing Hee-ju in Disney+'s "Gold Land," shared her thoughts in an interview with Seoul Economic Daily at a cafe in Jongno-gu on the 28th. "I actually felt a thrill rolling around in the dirt, shedding blood, sweat and tears," she added. "I wanted to challenge myself with as many genres as possible."
Long known by the affectionate nickname "Bbobly" thanks to her lovable, friendly image, Park found "Gold Land" — a story about human desire surrounding 150 billion won worth of gold bars — to be a major challenge. But critics say her transformation has once again paid off. Through Park's wholesome image, the instincts of desire and greed inherent in every human being are portrayed all the more persuasively, viewers say. "The director told me I have the kind of image where, even if I found gold bars, I'd hand them back without any greed," she explained. "But every human being has desires and greed. He said that if I expressed those qualities, I could deliver an entirely different kind of emotion, and that gave me the courage to take it on."
This year holds special meaning for Park. Having debuted in 2006 with EBS drama "Secret Campus," she is celebrating her 20th anniversary as an actress this year. She also won Best Actress at the 62nd Baeksang Arts Awards for "Unknown Seoul." "I don't usually place great meaning on awards themselves, but I was happy that it became a nice gift for my fans," she said. "I'm not naturally a confident person, but this award has given me the strength to keep moving forward."
That said, she noted that recent back-to-back roles in heavier projects — including "Gold Land," "Concrete Utopia," "Unknown Seoul" and "Daily Dose of Sunshine" — have taken a toll on her energy. "I've been working nonstop on projects lately, so I haven't been able to visit the bookstore I used to frequent in three years," she said. "I want to go to bookstores, see my nieces and nephews, and try ordinary things like a part-time job." She then beamed and added, "My next project absolutely has to be a bright romantic comedy."
