♥ PSH Interviewed by SOHU ~ June 2010 ♥

Park Si Hoo interviewed by SOHU ~ June 2010

In the last Internet survey conducted by www.sohu.com, the winner of the most popular Korean drama was neither "East of Eden " nor "Boys over Flowers", but two long-running family dramas: " Temptation of Wife" and "Family Honor". At the Sohu’s Film and Television site, these two dramas have received high ratings and are very popular with Chinese netizens. Some Korean fans have even posted in the guest comment section asking, "Do Chinese people also like Park Si Hoo?" 

Who is Park Si Hoo? 

You probably have some vague impression of this name, but you may not recognize him right away. He does not exude a memorable star-like quality like some celebrities, and he is not the kind of person that will catch you off guard with first impressions. If we tell him that he is our chosen Sohu Focus Celebrity for the current issue, he may be surprised, but he’ll just flash a bashful smile and say nothing. In his own words, "It took ten years to let the world know these three words: Park Si-Hoo." 

We met Park Si Hoo on the set of "Family Honor".

It was about 4:00 PM, and he was covered in a thin shirt underneath a thin blanket just outside of the freezing cold emergency room shooting. Although there is no dialogue for the scene, we’ve seen Park Si Hoo lying on the emergency stretcher, being carried up and down the ambulance for countless times for two hours. And, in-between the filming; there were several real ambulances came in to drop off real patients. So, we just watched Mr. Park being tossed in and out of the ambulance to make way for the real emergency patients.
For such a simple scene, the crew did not just shoot far shots, close shots and special shots: there were several re-takes. It took almost two hours to finally finish the two-minute scenes (which turned out to be less than 30 seconds in episode 42).

We were told that in the past few months, in order to meet the shooting schedule, Park Si Hoo has less than 3 hours of sleep a day. And, not long ago, he was injured on location when he was violently attacked by local gangsters that tossed blocks of concrete at the shooting team. Therefore, he hasn’t had any time for an interview

Earlier, we have heard that there were Japanese media that wanted to interview this promising future Korean Wave star, but they weren’t successful due to his tight schedule. However, our timing is perfect. This time, most of his scenes were hospital scenes, so he was able to squeeze out some free time to meet with us at the SBS studio. So, we were able to begin our dialogue.

This is how things work in this world. Some people achieved instant fame and peaked at early ages; while others, well, when you finally turned around and noticed him, you are amazed at how long the shadow (of experience) has developed behind him. Park Si Hoo is surprisingly calmed (when quoted) : “Didn’t all say a man’s career officially start at age 30?” In 1998, Park Si Hoo started acting in theatrical dramas/plays at age 20.

Often, when asked about his period of obscurity, “When I first decided to become an actor, I was only aware of one acting place, the Seoul University Road’s Theater. Therefore, I started my acting career at the theatrical stage. 

And just like that, without considering much, he relocated to Seoul, not only to studying drama, he also worked as stunts person. “Just audition alone, I have tried out for several hundreds, but never seized any good opportunity.”

Q :: Then, at that time, did you regret choosing this path? Have you ever regretted to chose this road? 

PSH :: Even if I was in the worst states, I never regretted. I believe I will succeed some day. Now I often ask myself that if I didn’t make such a choice, what I am doing now. But I can’t find the answer. 

Finally, in 2005 Park Si Hoo debuted in a cameo appearance in “Sassy Girl, Chun hyang.”. Then he was casted in “Let’s Get Married” and “Which Star Are You From,” he did not stir up much interest. It was until he started to give lesson on screen teaching “How to Meet a Perfect Neighbor”, that he was actually given the Best Supporting Male Actor during the SOHU’s Annual Korean Entertainment Award. Judge’s reason for awarding him, “A rare incident when the supporting star actually beat the leading star in the “love” competition. This one reason alone is good enough.” 

Park Si Hoo said: “ I feel I still lacks the acting skill to portray a character perfectly. If I must give it a number, then in this drama, I acted well only about 70% to 80%, the rest was not acting, I was just being myself.”

In April 2008, Park Si Hoo co-starred with Lee Jun-Ki in Iljimae (A Branch of Plum Blossom) as brothers. The Iceberg Prince and Lee Jun-Ki formed such a contrast --- Actually, in our visit to Korea, we interviewed the “Iljimae Brothers,” and similar to their characters images in the show, one is like the quiet ice, and the other is like the burning fire.

Although many said that family drama are popular in Korea because it is a suitable program for the whole family to watch together. But young audience never like the long-winded family stories.

The biggest success of "The Glory of Family" is it actually make the statement "the whole family watch together," into reality. According to an internet survey conducted on audience age, the audience of “The Glory of Family” actually crossed from people in their 20’s to the 60’s, and the main viewers are concentrated in the age groups between 20’s and 30’s. Generally speaking, we see a very different demographic breakdown of the viewers in comparison with the viewer groups of other family dramas. That is why "The Glory of Family" has enjoyed high attention and popularity at present time.

Park Si-Hoo is the major contributor for the success of attracting the young female audience for this drama. Although many people criticized that his acting or his personality to be a bit static, or “not lively or zesty”, but his balanced performances inject the feeling of security and responsibility; therefore, actually won more likes and supports from others. Therefore, his character in the show, whether from his coldness in dealing with others, or his heated persistence in love, is highly praised and supported because his acting was felt to have his own “Park Style”.

Q :: You have portrayed many perfect lovers successfully in TV dramas, what is your ideal female like?

PSH :: I like a woman with the right feeling, someone who is charismatic.

Q: Watching your drama, it seems like you are very athletic, what is your best/favorite sport? 

PSH :: I like swimming very much, then working out at the gym (acting as if he is lifting a dumbbell), and skiing. But, recently because I've been too busy working. I haven't had the time to do much exercise.

Q :: In most of the characters you've portrayed, the ones that leave the most lasting impression are all the characters with a callous, cool personality. Next time, if you could try a new character, what kind of character would you be most interested in trying out?

PSH :: I want to try a very reserved person who goes through an emotional change to become a real villain—a character like that. That means I really would want to try to be the antagonist.

Q :: A while back, bad thing happened during the filming. With regards to the "stone tossing" incident with a local gang, did that make you feel uneasy?

PSH :: At that time, I was injured here (pointing at his right side of face). But, now it is much better—very healthy now. Please do not worry.

Q :: Now that you've become so popular and have become a skilled drama actor, do you have any thoughts of acting in films/movies?

PSH :: Of course I am interested to try movie roles. But right now, I must concentrate on TV drama. Maybe later, if I am offered good movie roles, I would definitely like to take on the challenge of movie acting.

Q :: Recently, "Family Honor" has become very popular. As the cool and romantic male lead, some of your lines require you to be both charming and corny at the same time. Did this present any challenge to you as an actor? 

PSH :: (Shaking his head after thinking about it) Actualy, no. I've always specialized in romantic characters.(Big Laugh) I am joking!!!

Q :: "Dreams" are a common theme in Korean dramas. What is your dream? This is a question that we always ask in our interviews. What was your dream when you were a child?

PSH :: "When I was very young, I wanted to be a scientist. Later, I wanted to be an interior designer.” And at 20, Park Si-Hoo dreamed of being an actor.

Q :: After 11 years of acting, what is his goal now and far is he from this goal?

PSH :: "I feel as if I have just recently begun, and my goal is that as I become older, I can continue to improve my acting skills and talents, and be even more recognized and accepted by others. If I can be like Sean Connery at age 60, yet still attract a young audience that would be the best."

After playing several roles with similar characters, Park Si-Hoo expressed an interest in trying some something new. So the desire to be the villain or the comic have become common themes in his interviews.

PSH :: “I really want to play the kind of character that is originally very nice, but one day suddenly becomes a very frightening person. Don’t you think Christian Bale’s portrayal in the movie “American Psycho”let people feel a sharp pain? A character that suddenly turns from normality to pure evil is very alluring.”

Q :: Which Korean star would you most want to work with? 

PSH :: “Hwang Jung Min. I want to learn acting from him.”

Q :: What do you most want to do when you are on vacation? 

PSH :: “I want to go travel. Even if I cannot go abroad for vacation, within Korea, going hiking in the mountains is good.” He laughed and added, “But now that I am older, it will be much tougher than before.”

Q :: If you travel, where would you most want to go?

PSH :: “I want to go to see South America, or Africa. Before, out of all the places I’ve been to, Turkey’s Istanbul gave me the most lasting impression. While there, I could feel both the Eastern and Western cultures.”

Q :: And if you ask where he would like to go with a girlfriend, his reply would be to go backpacking with her around the world.

Low-key introvert with rarely any rumors or gossips, and even asked for his past love story, he would only smile without answering. But, asides from the busy life of a star, there are still the lonely time, “Always feel lonely during autumn.”He has partnered up with Bae Doo-Na, Jung Ryeo-Won and Han Hyo Joo in his works, but in real life, does he not have the time to fall in love? 

PSH :: No it isn't because I don’t have time, then I don’t fall in love. But I always feel lonely in autumn, I am not the kind of person that will not fall in love easily, but once I am in love, I do not give up easily. As for marriage, I do not want to consider it at this time. After all, at this time, my career is more important. Marriage will probably be after 35. “ 

Q :: What kind of person you are looking for in a wife? 

PSH :: "If I say that I do not care about her appearance, then I must be lying. But rather than appearance, I care more about my first impression, and I think good character/integrity and common language is more important than beauty.”

Mr. Park Si-Hoo is not a smooth talker that makes big speeches, he often answers question with smiles and silence. When asked about his past love relationships, he even blushed and said "I’ve had a few, but these are my personal valued secrets."

Although Mr. Park Si-Hoo often mentioned a discontent with his own acting in the previous interviews, but his quote: "Men start from 30” showed us his perseverance for many years and good attitude and spirit.

Q :: Of all roles you’ve ever played, which character you feel is most similar to you?

PSH  :: It is the character role in the drama "Let's get married". I would not say it is 100% like me, but has many similarities. Because I am same as this character, always give people the first impression of being cold. 

Q :: Please use one sentence to describe yourself, what kind of a person is Park Si Hoo?

PSH :: A little embarrassed to say this about myself, I'm an easy person to get along with.

Q :: Please use one sentence to describe your life from between your age 20 to 30?

PSH :: Filled with passion, to become an actor, for better acting skill, really full of passion for everything!

Q :: What kind of actor do you wish to become in 10 years?

PSH  :: Compare with being a Star, I’d rather wish that I am an good actor in the heartof the viewers. Although I still have many deficiencies, but I think for the next ten years I will worker harder to polish myself, and let more audience to recognize and accept my acting

Q :: With regards to your rapidly rising popularity, do you feel any pressure?

PSH :: I’ve been an actor for almost 11 years. Although I’ve taken few years of breaks due to military service and etc, but it took me 11 years to achieve the current result. For an actor, it may be kind of slow. But, in the past 11 years, I’ve acted in the main roles and supporting roles. I’ve matured through these roles and experiences; therefore, I do not worried too much. And, didn’t everyone say, men’s career starts officially when he reaches 30? 

As the Sohu Korean Wave’s Special Interview Reporter, I’ve met Mr. Park Si Hoo at the “Family Honor” shooting location. We’ve met at the warm SBS studio at our appointment time. Before the interview, while chatting with Mr. Park, I’ve found that although he is very cool and direct, he is also very easy going and down to earth. He seems to be quite happy and excited to find out about his popularity in China. He even mentioned that if there is a chance, he would like to go to China to meet his Chinese fans.

While waiting for the interview, I’ve had the opportunity to chat with his co-workers and the drama staff. We’ve found him to be especially popular with his team. His popularity is not only because of his nice personality and friendliness, but most importantly, his professionalism and his relentless efforts. This is apparent by all. But what is most surprising is that although Mr. Park says that he is an introvert and an actor that is not good with words, in reality he just needs time to get warmed up. Once you get to know him, you’ll find that he actually has a really good sense of humor. A striking handsome man that says jokes; it is not just your ordinary sense of humor, he is FUNNY!

In his past interviews, Mr. Park mentioned his own dissatisfaction with his own acting skill.“Isn't there the saying that a man’s career officially start when he turns 30?”He once said. That lets us have a peak into his good positive attitude of perseverance and persistence for many years.

PS. Mr. Park Si-Hoo has naturally wavy hair; therefore, hair is something that is especially troublesome for him. For this special modern day drama, he has a hair makeover done specifically to show the cool and collected personality of his character. However, when he’s being himself, I understand that he normally just wears baseball caps as a solution for his hair-do dilemma.