Actress Park Jung-yeon shared her thoughts on meeting viewers through the weekend drama ‘Glamorous Days’ following her role in ‘Try’.
The SBS drama ‘Try: We Become Miracles’, which ended at the end of last month, is a comedic coming-of-age sports drama about an unpredictable eccentric director, Joo Ga-ram (played by Yoon Kye-sang), and the last-place rugby team of Hanyang Physical Education High School racing towards victory in the National Sports Festival.
Park Jung-yeon received attention for perfectly portraying the ace and captain of the shooting team, Seo Woo-jin.
After the show ended, Park Jung-yeon met with Maeil Business Newspaper's Star Today and expressed her gratitude, saying, “I am thankful and happy that ‘Try’ was loved so much,” and added, “I feel like I had a good dream just being able to play this character because the writer wrote Woo-jin as a cool kid.”
Since the story revolves around a physical education high school, the set was always filled with energy due to many senior actors and peers. Park Jung-yeon remarked, “Having many peers on set was a new experience,” and added, “It felt like I made new high school friends and gained good teachers, which made my heart feel abundant,” expressing her satisfaction with the project.
Since she had to portray the ace of the shooting team, the most challenging part was the initial adjustment. She revealed, “I had to hold the gun with one hand, but it was heavier than I thought, and my hand was shaking when I first tried it,” and added, “I practiced not shaking first.”
“I kept lifting a 1.5kg dumbbell at home and practiced with a wrist strengthening device. I was most worried about the visible shaking, but as I practiced, it got better. I was really glad that the posture could be different for each athlete. In the drama, Woo-jin has a sensitive and prickly side, but I think that reflects how he has focused solely on shooting since he was young.”
Her love line with actor Kim Yo-han also became a hot topic throughout the airing. In a previous interview after the show ended, Kim Yo-han praised their chemistry. Park Jung-yeon attributed this to Kim Yo-han's leadership and acting skills.
“Shooting is an individual sport, so there wasn’t much room for leadership, but rugby is a team sport, so the captain's role is very important. Even when they practiced together, they followed Kim Yo-han like a captain. Watching that made me think, ‘That friend is really putting in effort.’ Also, in the scenes with Woo-jin, he acted so well as a pure and innocent friend that their narrative felt cute.”
Regarding Kim Yo-han referring to Seo Woo-jin as ‘Teto-girl’, Park Jung-yeon stated, “That seems to be true,” and recalled the memorable confession scene, saying, “Woo-jin already knew Seong-jun (played by Kim Yo-han) had feelings for him, which is why the scene where he accepts the confession with a smile came about.”
The atmosphere on the set of ‘Try’ was friendly, and even after the show ended, the group chat was quite active. Park Jung-yeon expressed her gratitude, saying, “I can only say how happy I am to be able to work with such a team.”
“Senior Yoon Kye-sang was a great support just by being on set, and he actively participated in team-building during big gatherings. Senior Gil Hye-yeon treated us warmly like a principal. The process of working with our shooting coach, Teacher Lee Ji (played by Lim Se-mi), was also very enjoyable. Watching the seniors made me think, ‘I want to be a good adult like that’ and ‘I want to become a good adult too.’”
In particular, Park Jung-yeon also conveyed a message of support for the character Jeon Nak-kyun (played by Lee Seong-wook), who appeared villainous in the drama.
“Although Nak-kyun was portrayed very negatively, in reality, he is someone who is so kind that you would think, ‘Can someone be that good?’ It’s really the complete opposite of his character in the drama. (laughs)”
If Seo Woo-jin from ‘Try’ was a Teto-girl, the character Park Young-ra, played in the currently airing KBS2 weekend drama ‘Glamorous Days’, is completely different. She has an elegant atmosphere and a calm and gentle personality, being the cherished daughter raised in the arms of her mother, Go Seong-hee (played by Lee Tae-ran).
Regarding taking on such contrasting characters, Park Jung-yeon said, “It’s completely different, which is actually good,” and added, “She is a friend with a very different charm, so it’s fun to explore various aspects as an actress,” expressing her affection for the character Young-ra she is currently portraying.
“Young-ra’s outfit is completely different from Woo-jin’s. Also, while Woo-jin is into shooting, Young-ra is into art, so the colors are entirely different, making it easier to create the character. I’m really looking forward to the events that will unfold in ‘Glamorous Days’.”
This is her first challenge with a long-running weekend drama. Park Jung-yeon began, “At first, the number of 50 episodes felt overwhelming.”
“I’ve never done something this long, so I thought, ‘Can I do this?’ but the seniors around me said, ‘Before you know it, you’ll have completed 50 episodes.’ So far, I still feel a lot of pressure and there are many new experiences. The filming methods and camera settings are all different, and I’ve also done a wrecking scene for the first time. I’ve been busy learning about art and webtoons because of the character, which has made time fly by. I think once I get used to it, I’ll find that I’ve completed 50 episodes before I know it.”(Continued in [Interview②])
[Kim Mi-ji, Star Today Reporter]
