Park Min-young’s ‘dark side’ – for When the Weather is Fine the Korean star proves she’s more than Secretary Kim
Beloved for recent romcom roles Her Private Life’s Sung Deok-mi and What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim?’s iconic lead, Park is digging deeper to play cellist Mok Hae-won – and, oddly, drawing inspiration from Korean comfort foods and Pyongyang naengmyeon
A far cry from the iconic Secretary Kim and relatable fangirl Sung Deok-mi, Park Min-young takes on a challenging new role as Mok Hae-won in When the Weather is Fine – a character she describes as calm, closed off to the world and possessing a “dark side” due to past hurts.
As we look forward to Park revealing a meatier new side, we get to know the star behind the cameras, from her most memorable roles to how she decides on the projects to take next, and what else she can offer – aside from acting.
She draws acting inspiration from food
Unlike the usual action-packed roles or bubbly romcoms she’s recently starred in, When the Weather is Fine is a slow and steady drama that draws from its characters’ deep experiences and follows their journey to healing.
Talking to Soompi, Park likened the quiet, realistic drama to comfort food: “like a cabbage pancake, which has a deep taste without too strong flavours”, as well as Pyongyang naengmyeon, “which doesn’t have any strong flavours but is somehow addictive.”
She also revealed how she initially wasn’t drawn to the drama, finding it was “a bit bland” compared to other scripts she’s read. “But after I finished reading, my thoughts kept returning to it. Something about it lingered in my imagination,” she said.
Based on a novel of the same name, Park plays Mok Hae-won, a former cello teacher who moves back to her hometown in Gangwon Province after growing exhausted with her life in Seoul.
“It strangely occurred to me that I wanted to heal my heart just like this character – that’s how I made the decision [to join the drama],” Park told Singaporean press. “It's a calm character, which I've never tried before,” Park continued, explaining how she was challenged to “maintain an expression of hurt and sorrow”.