Actor Park Jeong-min has candidly shared his thoughts on the sudden surge in popularity he experienced following his joint performance with singer Hwasa at the Blue Dragon Film Awards.
Park drew widespread attention last year after delivering a special celebratory stage with Hwasa at the awards ceremony. In the aftermath, he unexpectedly rose as a heartthrob, with many fans remarking that they wished to see him star in a romantic film.
Speaking in a recent interview with Herald Muse at a cafe in Sogyeok-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Park responded modestly, saying the reaction was simply a case of people “reading more into it than the dream itself deserved.”
“People recognize me a bit more now, and when I go to stage greetings, I might see two or three more banners with my name,” he said.
“But my personal daily life hasn’t changed much. So I wouldn’t call it a huge stroke of luck—just that a lot of good things seem to be happening lately. If Humint does really well, then maybe I’ll call that a big break.”
He went on to stress that nothing about the Blue Dragon performance was intentional on his part.
“I didn’t have any particular agenda. I was asked to do it, so I did. Hwasa sent me a video and said, ‘You can just do it exactly like this.’ I practiced and performed it as is. There was no deeper meaning behind it,” he explained. “Films and novels are ultimately interpreted by the audience, so I think this was another case of people finding meaning beyond what was intended.”
Park also admitted he has never rewatched the performance. “I was too embarrassed to watch it again. Even when it shows up in my algorithm, I grit my teeth and scroll past,” he said with a laugh. “I thought it was something that would disappear like a mirage. Constantly watching it could lead to self-gaslighting or distorted self-perception, and I didn’t think that would be healthy.”
He added that those around him were far more excited than he was. “It felt like I’d worked hard all this time, only to suddenly become a ‘star’ for something completely unrelated,” he said. “People would tell me, ‘This is it—you’re really taking off now,’ and I’d ask them, ‘Then how far do I have to go to count as having really taken off?’ I’m grateful, of course, but that performance never made me think I needed to push myself further or change direction.”
Meanwhile, Park Jeong-min is set to return to the big screen with Humint, a film centered on a clash between individuals with different agendas in Vladivostok—a city where secrets and truths alike are buried beneath the cold ice of the sea. The film is scheduled for release on Feb. 11.
Reported by Herald Muse Staff Writer Lee Mi-ji
Reviewed and edited by Herald Muse Team Leader Kim Hae-yeon
image@heraldcorp.com
