Photo courtesy of Dongyo Entertainment
Park Jae-chan, a member of group DKZ, is considered a ‘next-generation prolific actor’ on TV screens. Despite the ongoing slump in the drama market, he released three works in a row last year alone: MBC‘s ‘Our Home’, JTBC’s ‘Playful Woman’, and Channel A‘s ‘Check In Hanyang’.
In particular, with ‘Check In Hanyang’, which ended on the 9th, he rose to become a key leading role along with Kim Ji-eun, Bae In-hyuk, and Jung Gun-joo. In a recent interview for the conclusion of ‘Check In Hanyang’ held at a cafe in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, he expressed his surprise, saying, “When I debuted as a member of DKZ in 2019, I never imagined that I would be this active as an actor.”
Photo courtesy of Dongyo Entertainment
“When I debuted, I made a brief appearance in the Tooniverse children’s drama ‘Joaseo Subscription’, and many web drama officials who saw it contacted me, so my projects increased one by one. Then, in 2022, I appeared in Watcha‘s ‘Semantic Error’, and last year, I got to do a serious drama that was released by a broadcasting station. I was really lucky to be able to show my gradual development. My determination to act more seriously also grew.”
Having never studied acting professionally before, he even took separate acting lessons ahead of his first historical drama, ‘Check In Hanyang’, because he wanted to “show better acting.” While acting as the character of Go Soo-ra, an ‘dirt spoon with ambition’ who enters the ultra-luxurious hotel Yongcheonru in Joseon as a servant in order to succeed, she recalled her “deep debut days.”
Photo courtesy of Channel A
“I saw in Go Soo-ra the passion I had for doing well in the entertainment industry after my debut. That’s why I felt even more affection for her. In the end, I was so happy that Go Soo-ra became the leader of the new hotel founded by the four-member group. In that sense, I really hope there will be a season 2. I‘m the leader, so I can’t stop here, haha! While filming the ending with my co-stars Kim Ji-eun, Bae In-hyuk, and Jung Gun-joo, I imagined a lot about season 2.”
Park Jae-chan, who finished the drama, is “focusing on preparing an album to return to the stage as a singer.” In addition, his next work will be confirmed soon. He said with sparkling eyes, “Recently, I’ve been in discussions about appearing in movies as well as dramas, so I definitely want to try my hand at movies.”
Photo courtesy of Dongyo Entertainment
“Of course, there are times when I get tired while working as a singer and an actor at the same time. But when I hear my mom call me ‘world star son’ every time we talk since the day I debuted, I get strength. I have to work hard at anything to make that happen. My New Year’s resolution every year is ‘Let’s make this a better year than last year,’ and I was proud that I achieved that last year. I’ll keep running so that I can think, ‘I made this a better year,’ even on the last day of this year.”
Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com
This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.
