“Where can I find a man like Yang Gwan-sik?”

This is a story you hear everywhere you go these days. The male lead character in the currently airing Netflix drama ‘Fooled In Love’, Gwan-sik, is a ‘pure lover’ who is willing to jump into the ocean to run to ‘the woman of his life’ Oh Ae-soon (IU), and an ‘iron father’ who will do anything for his family.

The reason why Yang Gwan-sik‘s charm was able to fully reach global viewers is entirely due to the actor Park Bo-gum who played him. And it’s not just because of his impeccable acting skills. Park Bo-gum‘s signature clean and good image meshed perfectly with the character, creating explosive synergy.

Park Bo-gum, whom we met on the 24th, said that ‘I Was Fooled By Too Much’ is “a work that will be remembered as spring” for him. “It feels like the seed called ‘I Was Fooled By Too Much’ has sprouted and bloomed into flowers”. He said, “I hope this work will make viewers look forward to a warm spring and a bright summer” with his signature bright smile.

“What’s more important than a lot of screen time”

Park Bo-gum, who acted as Gwan-sik from his teenage years to his 30s as a father of three children, said that he gained 4~5 kg in order to better express the honest and dependable ‘youth Gwan-sik’, a former swimmer. He also drew attention by saying that he personally performed the famous scene where the young Gwan-sik jumps from the boat and swims a considerable distance to the dock without a stuntman.

“We filmed it in three places: the Jeju sea, the on-land sea, and an underwater set. I thought I could do it myself, so I decided to try it. I’m not quite at the level of an athlete, but I’ve been swimming for a long time in a sports team since I was little. I thought I’d forgotten how to swim a lot when I was little, but strangely enough, my body remembered.”

While the 16-episode series is being released in four episodes each, Park Bo-gum’s screen time was noticeably reduced in the third act (episodes 9-12) that was released last week, drawing sighs mixed with regret from fans. This is because the focus is on the middle-aged years played by Park Hae-joon and Moon So-ri, rather than the young years of Gwan-sik and Ae-soon, played by Park Bo-gum and IU.

Regarding this fan reaction, Park Bo-gum said, “I’m happy that the young Gwan-sik is receiving so much love,” but also smiled and said, “I hope that people think of not only the young Gwan-sik, but all of the Gwan-siks, from my child actors to senior Park Hae-joon, as one.”

“I think of not only Gwan-sik and Ae-soon, but all the characters in this drama as the main characters. The amount of screen time isn’t important to me. I’m just so happy and touched that this drama is in my filmography.”

O “A good person Park Bo-gum?”

He also spoke honestly about his thoughts on the ‘good person image’ that always follows him around. He said, “I’m not that kind of a person,” but “I don’t live with that image in mind.”

“I’m greedy and I have a lot of things I want to do. I’m not always kind, haha. But I don’t necessarily think, “I’m not that kind of person!” I’ve always lived the same way since I was young. That’s who I am. That’s why I don’t stress about how I should look to others.”

He recently hosted KBS’s music talk show “The Seasons - Park Bo-gum’s Cantabile,” and while meeting various musicians and gaining inspiration, he also shared another dream and ambition for music.

“When will I ever hear stories from great musicians in person and listen to their music right next to them? I think musicians are also actors who perform on stage through music. In fact, some artists even compose and write lyrics. I think they’re actors, writers, and directors. Whenever I see those people, I think they’re really amazing. I’m also studying music steadily right now. “Someday, I want to personally create the BGM for a work I’m starring in.”


Reporter Seungmi Lee smlee@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.