"'My Perfect Secretary' is the work that gave me my full name."
Actor Park Bo-kyung (44) showcased a powerful villain performance in 'My Perfect Secretary'. He mentioned that he felt lonely throughout the filming as the sole antagonist, but receiving the nameplate 'CEO Kim Hye-jin' made it a meaningful project for him.
The SBS Friday-Saturday drama 'My Perfect Secretary' (written by Ji Eun, directed by Ham Joon-ho and Kim Jae-hong), which concluded on the 14th, depicted the close-care romance between CEO Kang Ji-yoon (played by Han Ji-min), who excels at her job in a headhunting company, and her perfect secretary Yoo Eun-ho (played by Lee Joon-hyuk).
In a meeting after the drama's conclusion, Park Bo-kyung shared, "Before the first broadcast, the director and Han Ji-min exchanged messages saying, 'This year, I'm looking forward to the drama's premiere on January 3rd more than January 1st.' It was the same at the end. We had planned to watch the final episode together, but I couldn't join due to scheduling conflicts. Still, we had a lot of fun and kept in touch regularly."
In the drama, Park Bo-kyung played Kim Hye-jin, the representative of the top headhunting firm Careerway. Kim Hye-jin is a character who does not shy away from unethical methods for project success and harbors jealousy towards her junior, Kang Ji-yoon, who is thriving as the CEO of People’s.
As the sole villain in 'My Perfect Secretary', how did Park Bo-kyung set up and portray Kim Hye-jin?
Park Bo-kyung explained, "The director said, 'Kim Hye-jin has a strong sense of inferiority towards Kang Ji-yoon, and I hope you don't think of her as a bad person who expresses that through anger and bullying.' When taking on a villainous role, there should be justification for their actions. So, I approached the character with a sense of inferiority towards Kang Ji-yoon."
He continued, "Since it's a warm drama, I acted thinking, 'They will apologize and reconcile later.' But when I read the final episode script late, I realized that Kim Hye-jin never redeems herself. In the scene where she receives resignation letters from everyone, I thought, 'What a lonely person she is.' Since she is a character who receives no love from anyone, I felt I should be on Kim Hye-jin's side."
He also shared his thoughts on playing the representative of an industry he had never encountered before.
"I didn't even know such a profession existed," Park Bo-kyung began. "When I was cast, I looked up what the job entailed, and it turned out to be a profession that helps find and recommend good talent to the right places."
He added, "I also thought that headhunting applicants are similar to actors. Actors need to be chosen to work on a project, right? We have to show our profiles and, even with the same experience, we are evaluated on who fits the role better."
What was the chemistry like with Han Ji-min, who played his rival in the drama?
"I had heard a lot about her being cheerful and lively, and she really was that way on set. I'm the type who struggles with getting angry, so I would say, 'I'm sorry, Ji-min,' while acting. But each time, she would say, 'Do whatever you want. I'll support you,' which made filming easier. As for the acting part, what can I say? She's such a professional (smiles)."
The reason 'My Perfect Secretary' is more special to Park Bo-kyung is that he was called by his full name, Kim Hye-jin.
Park Bo-kyung said, "In 'Little Women', I was called 'Director Go', but this time everyone called me Kim Hye-jin, and I even had a nameplate on my desk. So, I think it’s a more memorable work."
He continued, "Thank you for watching 'My Perfect Secretary' until the end. Although it's a character with many shortcomings, I want to ask the viewers to forgive CEO Kim Hye-jin." He added, "I will return as 'Tommy Mom', a mother of the top student in Daechi-dong, in Genie TV's 'Riding Life', which will be released in March. I think I will receive a lot of criticism again, but I hope you will also keep an eye on my other works."
[Lee Da-gyeom, Star Today Reporter]
