Call her an infectious ball of joy.
Singapore is one of the countries on South Korean actress Park Eun-bin’s must-visit list. And she is finally in town for her Asia fan meet held at the Capitol Theatre.
“Nice to meet you today lah,” the 30 year-old actress says, addressing a crowd mostly made up of local fans, with a handful from Malaysia and Thailand.
Dubbed an ‘acting genius’, the 30 year-old actress is best known for her titular breakthrough role as a young lawyer with Asperger’s syndrome in Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022). In reality, she is just as lovable, if not even more than her on screen character.
However, she clearly notes stark differences between them.
Whale fanatic Woo Young-woo gets all excited when it comes to whale talk. But “it is so difficult to memorise all the information about whales”, Park reveals.
Despite such convoluted technicalities, she masterfully brought Woo Young-woo to life. And she has got her wealth of experience under her belt to thank.
In fact, Park is no newbie in the acting industry. She first started out as a child actor in White Nights 3.98 (1996) at just five years old and has pursued acting for 27 years.
If anything, she has a word of advice for those present. “If there is something you like, be sure to protect it and pursue it all the way”.
While she admits that acting was not all this fun initially, it is now increasingly fulfilling as more diverse roles are offered to her.
Park has a bit of an adventurous side to her, one that is rarely seen. “I like the unpredictability of the roles”, she says.
“I want to be someone that you think you know, but actually don’t”, she attempts to explain. Fans in attendance appear visibly confused, yet convinced at the same time.
To sum it up, Park aims to be a familiar stranger.
Before Woo Young-woo, Park played a university student in Do You Like Brahms (2020) and an operations manager of a baseball team in Hot Stove League (2019). Both drama series are available on Viu.
“I can pull a different persona out of me when acting,” she says, whilst confessing that she used to be a timid young girl.
This young girl did not know if she’d make her way to Singapore 27 years ago. “However, I am here lah,” she exclaims with a bright smile while performing a little celebratory dance.
Call her an infectious ball of joy.
Despite speaking limited English and conversing mostly in Korean, Park never fails to radiate positivity with her irresistible smile.
She also makes an effort to season her talk sets with Singlish to connect with the local crowd.
To pay homage to the city-state, she ends her approximately two-hour fan meet with a special performance of a local earworm Singapura, Sunny Island (1962).
