Park Yong-woo

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For the footballer, see Park Yong-woo (footballer).
In this Korean name, the family name is Park.
Park Yong-woo
Born (1971-03-16) March 16, 1971 (age 53)
Seoul, South Korea
EducationChung-Ang University - Theater and Film
OccupationActor
Years active1993-present
AgentPrain TPC
Korean name
Hangul
박용우
Hanja
Revised RomanizationBak Yong-u
McCune–ReischauerPak Yongu

Park Yong-woo (Korean: 박용우; born March 16, 1971) is a South Korean actor.

Early life[edit]

Park Yong-woo's father was an engineering professor and his mother was a music teacher. As a child he was shy and expressed himself poorly. Instead, he nurtured his imagination. When he first chose to become an actor, Park felt hampered by the fact that he didn't have any childhood or family trauma to draw from, but later realized that a vivid imagination was the key to his acting process because it didn't require him to show his "naked face."[1]

Career[edit]

Supporting actor[edit]

Park failed the college entrance exams twice before he was accepted to the prestigious Theater and Film department at Chung-Ang University in 1991. He failed twice more when he joined MBC's actor's auditions, then finally passed in 1995. Park spent a decade playing minor and supporting roles on television and film, notably in Shiri (1999), Ditto (2000) and Age of Warriors (2003). He later said those ten years of experience enabled him to have greater freedom and control with his acting,[1] and that he believes a person is not just born a good actor, but rather good acting requires much preparation and work, with some luck thrown in. Park said, "I guess every actor dreams of playing a main character and I'm not an exception. But for me, it is more important to become a good actor regardless of how big my roles are."[2]

2005-2006: Career breakthrough[edit]

In 2005, Park drew critical notice with his much-praised portrayal of the influential son of a paper mill owner in Kim Dae-seung's period thriller Blood Rain (2005). He won Best Supporting Actor honors at the Chunsa Film Art Awards and the Korean Film Awards, as well as nominations at the Grand Bell Awards and Blue Dragon Film Awards.[2][3]

But his career breakthrough would come in his first leading role, in dark romantic comedy My Scary Girl (2006) opposite Choi Kang-hee.[4] Titled "Sweet, Bloodthirsty Lover" in Korean, Park played a timid college lecturer in his late 20s who finally finds his first girlfriend, only he begins to suspect that she may be a serial killer.[5] With a relatively low budget and lead actors who were not particularly famous at the time, Son Jae-gon's debut film was a sleeper hit and became the tenth top-selling domestic film of the year with 2,286,745 tickets sold.[6] After its release, witty dialogue from the film were continuously quoted and parodied, and their performances made Park and Choi stars.[7]

Leading roles[edit]

Park spent the next several years acting in various genres. He played a kindly handyman with a crush on a piano teacher in For Horowitz (2006), a world-weary cop investigating the murders of orphaned girls in The World of Silence (2006),[8] a detective who sacrifices his ethics to pay for his wife's medical bills in Beautiful Sunday (2007),[9][10] one husband of two partner-swapping married couples in Love Now (2007), and a suave con artist out to steal treasure in Once Upon a Time (2008).

At the press conference of Kim Han-min's 2009 thriller Handphone, Park said he hoped viewers wouldn't interpret the two characters as simply good and evil, but as real people with understandable motivations within the context of their situations.[11][12]

2010: Return to television[edit]

2010 marked Park's return to television for the first time in six years in the period medical drama Jejungwon, about the establishment of Gwanghyewon (later renamed Jejungwon) in 1885, the nation's first "modern" Western hospital which historical records show treated sick people regardless of their economic status despite the hierarchical society of the era.[13] Loosely based on a real-life person, the protagonist Park played is born a poor butcher's son and becomes Joseon's first surgeon and an independence fighter.

Park said he didn't hesitate to take the role, describing his character as someone who "doesn't stop trying to achieve his goals and starts thinking not only about saving people's lives but also his country. Although he seems somewhat unsophisticated, for ordinary people he is a humane and caring doctor, and I tried to portray those qualities so that viewers would empathize with him." He added that he liked the social message imparted by the drama which resonates in the present day, and that he felt his character's story reflects his own journey toward becoming an actor.[14]

2011-present[edit]

In the mystery suspense film Children... (2011), Park played a documentary filmmaker who delves into the unsolved Frog Boys case. Initially driven by ambition and opportunism, he later becomes sincerely attached to it.[15][16]

Multicultural comedy Papa followed in 2012, in which his character is an entertainment manager who becomes an adoptive father to six children in the United States, and encourages the eldest daughter to join an audition program.[17][18]

In drama series My Lover, Madame Butterfly, Park played the white knight to a divorced, has-been actress.[19]

He next appeared in Song Il-gon's Forest of Time (2012), which blurs the boundary between documentary and narrative filmmaking, as Park and Japanese actress Rina Takagi spend ten days searching for the reportedly 7,200-year-old Jōmon Sugi, a cryptomeria tree in the renowned forest of Yakushima, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that inspired the Hayao Miyazaki animated film Princess Mononoke.[20]

In 2014, he played a genius sculptor who suffers from a progressive muscular paralysis after the Korean War in Late Spring.

Park said in a 2007 interview, "Although I am not completely devoted to acting, it may look that way because I am not lucky enough to be able to enjoy my life fully. Although I usually get bored doing something for a long time, acting makes me feel alive and changes me; even though it entails pain. I want to be an extraordinary actor while being an ordinary person."[10]

In 2018, he stars in the medical exorcism drama Priest.[21]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Television series[edit]

  • Tracer (Wavve/MBC, 2022) as Oh Young[23]
  • Priest (OCN, 2018)
  • Life Tracker Lee Jae-goo (SBS, 2015)
  • My Lover, Madame Butterfly (SBS, 2012)
  • Jejungwon (SBS, 2010)
  • Best Mother (SBS, 2005)
  • Terms of Endearment (KBS2, 2004)
  • Age of Warriors (KBS1, 2003)
  • Sun-hee and Jin-hee (MBC, 2001)
  • Crystal (SBS, 1999)
  • Paper Crane (KBS2, 1998)
  • Run Barefoot (MBC, 1998)
  • Myth of a Hero (MBC, 1997)
  • A Bluebird Has It (KBS2, 1997)
  • Hometown Legends "검룡소애" (KBS2, 1997)
  • MBC Best Theater "My American-style Boyfriend" (MBC, 1997)
  • Ganyiyeok (MBC, 1996)
  • Dangerous Love (MBC, 1996)
  • MBC Best Theater "당신의 편지를 냉동실에 보관하세요" (MBC, 1995)
  • Apartment (MBC, 1995)
  • The Fourth Republic (MBC, 1995)
  • Professor Oh's Family (SBS, 1993)

Theater[edit]

Awards[edit]

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination
Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result Ref.
Asia Contents Awards 2022 Best Supporting Actor Tracer Nominated [25]
Baeksang Arts Awards 2022 Best Supporting Actor – Film Spiritwalker Nominated [26]
Chunsa Film Art Awards 2005 Best Supporting Actor Blood Rain Won
KBS Drama Awards 2003 Excellence Award, Actor Age of Warriors Won
MBC Drama Awards 2022 Best Character Award Tracer Nominated [27]
Korean Film Awards 2005 Best Supporting Actor Blood Rain Won

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Playing Monopoly With Park Yong-woo". The Chosun Ilbo. 6 January 2007. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  2. ^ a b Kim, Tae-jong (4 May 2005). "Good Guy Actor Shows Different Side". The Korea Times via Hancinema. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  3. ^ "K-FILM REVIEWS: 혈의 누 (Blood Rain)". Twitch Film. 12 September 2005. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  4. ^ "Herald Interview: Actor on a roll but still hungry". The Korea Herald via Hancinema. 5 April 2006. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
  5. ^ Paquet, Darcy. "My Scary Girl". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  6. ^ "Korean Box Office Report - April 7/9". Twitch Film. 10 April 2006. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  7. ^ "Son Jae-Gon Talks 달콤, 살벌한 연인 (My Scary Girl)". Twitch Film. 16 April 2006. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  8. ^ Lee, Min-a (13 November 2006). "Smart girl chooses two silent types to go missing with". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  9. ^ Kim, Tae-jong (28 August 2006). "Actor Park Yong-woo, No More Good Guy". The Korea Times via Hancinema. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
  10. ^ a b "Actor Park Yong-woo". The Dong-a Ilbo. 22 March 2007. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  11. ^ Song, Woong-ki (15 January 2009). "Cell phone topic of new thriller". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  12. ^ Lee, Eun-joo (4 February 2009). "Thriller Handphone rings true to reality". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  13. ^ Kang, Myoung-seok (6 January 2010). "Actors save lives on set of TV series Jejungwon". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  14. ^ Kang, Hye-ran (14 January 2010). "Historical drama concocts formula for success". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  15. ^ Lee, Hyo-won (11 January 2011). "Will film do justice to missing children case?". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  16. ^ Kim, In-koo (15 February 2011). "Veteran actor finds peace in life, career". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  17. ^ "Papa (2012)". The Chosun Ilbo. 3 February 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  18. ^ Lee, Nancy (20 December 2011). "Go Ara and Park Yong Woo Charm in Cosmopolitan". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 17 September 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  19. ^ Cho, Suyoun (10 June 2013). "Actor Park Yong-woo appeals charismatic image through pictorials". BNTNews. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  20. ^ "Forest of Time (2012)". The Chosun Ilbo. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  21. ^ "Yeon Woo-jin, Jung Yoo-mi and Park Yong-woo Lead OCN's "Priest"". Hancinema. September 18, 2018.
  22. ^ Han Hyun-jeong (May 6, 2022). "박찬욱X박해일X탕웨이 '헤어질 결심' 6월29일 개봉[공식]" [Park Chan-wook X Park Hae-il X Tang Wei 'Decision to break up' opens on June 29 [Official]] (in Korean). Maeil Star Today. Retrieved May 6, 2022 – via Naver.
  23. ^ Choi Hee-jae (October 20, 2021). "박용우, '트레이서' 출연 확정…손현주·임시완과 호흡 [공식입장]" [Park Yong-woo confirmed to appear in 'Tracer'... Breathing with Son Hyun-joo and Im Si-wan [Official Position]] (in Korean). Exportsnews. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via Naver.
  24. ^ Kim, Gab-sik (2 March 2001). "Hollywood hit The Sting remade as musical". The Dong-a Ilbo. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  25. ^ Kim, Na-yeon (September 27, 2022). "우영우' 박은빈→'트레이서' 임시완, 아시아콘텐츠어워즈 배우상 후보" [Woo Young-woo' Park Eun-bin → 'Tracer' Im Si-wan, Asia Contents Awards Actor Award nominee] (in Korean). MT Star News. Retrieved October 3, 2022 – via Naver.
  26. ^ Ahn Byung-gil (April 11, 2022). "58회 백상예술대상 후보 공개…영광의 주인공은?" [58th Baeksang Arts Awards nominations revealed... Who is the hero of glory?] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. Retrieved April 11, 2022 – via Naver.
  27. ^ Choi, Hee-jae (December 30, 2022). "최원영, 베스트 캐릭터상…"♥심이영·두 딸, 진심으로 사랑해" [MBC 연기대상]" [Choi Won-young, Best Character Award... "♥Shim Yi-young and my two daughters, I love you sincerely" [MBC Drama Awards]] (in Korean). X-poorts News. Retrieved March 5, 2023 – via Naver.

External links[edit]

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