Actress Park Bo-young revealed her biggest rebellion in her 35 years of life. The four-day run away from home was enough to evoke surprise, given that Park Bo-young seemed to have maintained a proper life.
Park Bo-young gave a passionate performance as the twin sisters Yu Mi-rae and Yu Mi-ji, who are completely different except for their faces, in the tvN weekend drama 'Our Unwritten Seoul', which concluded on the 29th (written by Lee Kang, directed by Park Shin-woo, planned by Studio Dragon, produced by Monster Union and Highground).
'Our Unwritten Seoul' is a romantic growth drama about twin sisters who exchange their lives through a lie and search for true love and life. Concluding after 16 episodes, 'Our Unwritten Seoul' steadily rose in popularity after its initial broadcast, receiving praise for relatable dialogues and the ensemble of the actors' performances.
In the drama, Park Bo-young challenged her first dual role since her debut as the twin sisters Yu Mi-ji and Yu Mi-rae, who exchange their lives. Park Bo-young enhanced immersion by precisely navigating the psychological gaps and nuances between the twin sisters' extreme daily lives. By building her characters through actions, glances, and the rhythm of breathing, she flexibly expressed the psychological gap between 'Yu Mi-ji' and 'Yu Mi-rae,' proving her title as a 'trustworthy actor' once again.
Park Bo-young, who challenged herself with a dual role through 'Our Unwritten Seoul,' said, 'I did think a lot about playing a dual role, but it wasn't as easy as I thought. There were stand-ins, but if I asked them to perform a certain way, they had to imitate that performance exactly for me to react accordingly. However, because of the CGI, there were mismatches in perspectives. Sometimes I ended up marking it and performing solo. While playing Yu Mi-rae and Yu Mi-ji in 'Our Unwritten Seoul,' I realized that until now, I hadn't really calculated much in my acting. Until now, I had been more of an actor who absorbs the other person's performance and energy, but trying to act in a calculated manner made it hard to align in the untested combination. Still, I think it was a significant opportunity for growth.'
She added, 'The settings were difficult. Initially, when the director said we would be doing a dual role in our meeting, I mentioned not to just show, 'I am Yu Mi-rae,' and 'I am Yu Mi-ji.' I wondered how to handle it without much range, and that's why there are many details only we know. Yu Mi-ji has a setting of having freckles, so when she was in the countryside, her freckles often showed, but after coming to Seoul, they would come out after washing her face. I tried to make Yu Mi-rae look sharper by filling in more of her makeup. Even the bob haircut was different, and we worked hard to create those differences.'
Park Bo-young explained that she felt closer to Yu Mi-ji than Yu Mi-rae. She stated, 'Both Yu Mi-rae and Yu Mi-ji exist within me, but if I were to quantify it by MBTI percentages, I would say Yu Mi-ji is 60%, and Yu Mi-rae is 40%. Having lived in the countryside and then moved to Seoul for work, I could understand Yu Mi-ji's feelings. I once visited my aunt who lived in Seoul, and I found the subway fascinating. At that time, Seoul felt like an unknown world to me, but as I started working here, I realized it wasn't as easy as I thought. So, I empathized with Yu Mi-ji's feelings while reading the script, making it more enjoyable.'
There were similar aspects with Yu Mi-ji, notably the move from the countryside to Seoul. Park Bo-young remarked on her life in Seoul, saying, 'In the countryside, there were many spaces to walk and reflect alone, and it was quite peaceful. On the other hand, in Seoul, I had to search for quiet places. Like Yu Mi-ji, I enjoy the Han River a lot, and there's a special spot I would go to when I was struggling. I still go there, but while before I went to shake off my burdens, nowadays I find myself telling myself not to come back here again.'
Although the situation is different from Yu Mi-ji, Park Bo-young, the second daughter among the three sisters, found it easier to empathize with her feelings. She shared, 'I feel closer to Yu Mi-ji. Watching Yu Mi-rae reminded me of my older sister. She has a tremendous sense of responsibility and speaks so rationally that it's quite different from my emotional side. So, I think it made it easier for me to understand Yu Mi-ji.'
In particular, Park Bo-young said, 'I experienced adolescence after becoming an adult. I didn't have much of a teenage rebellion as a child. I was a very obedient child, but at 20, I fought with my mom and ran away from home. I never once said no to her, nor did I defy her. However, when I moved to Seoul and started working during a sensitive time, I thought my mom didn't understand me. At that time, I rebelled by saying, 'I need to live socially too,' and the act of leaving home was my biggest act of rebellion. I spent about four days in Gangneung, and the fastest train to Gangneung was the quickest ticket. I collected my thoughts in about 30 minutes, but being alone was very hard, and I felt very sorry for getting angry at my mom.'
Park Bo-young, who successfully performed a challenging dual role and even a quadruple role, stated, 'Every time I filmed, I wondered, 'Can I memorize all this dialogue?' However, there were not many expressions that are rarely used, so the lines stuck well to my mouth. Compared to the amount, memorizing was fairly easy; however, the scenes where Yu Mi-rae and Yu Mi-ji would talk were quite difficult. I thought I could remember the lines as a whole, but I had to memorize them separately on the days I was filming each character. That was a new discovery for me,' and she added, 'I really grew a lot. With many characters appearing, I found myself questioning whether I held any biases towards these kinds of people. Since I share some traits with Yu Mi-ji, I've also rethought my relationship with my mother, and as an actor, having experienced aspects I hadn't before, I feel like I've taken a step up.'
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