(Interview ① continued) Actor Park Seoham talked about his first comeback work after discharge, 'The Murky Stream'.
On the 15th at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, an interview was held with Park Seoham, the lead actor of Disney+ original series "The Murky Stream".
"The Murky Stream" (directed by Chu Chang-min / written by Cheon Seong-il) is a fate-seeking action drama set on the Gyeonggang, where all of Joseon's money and goods gather, telling the stories of people who dreamed different dreams to right a corrupt world and live like human beings.
In "The Murky Stream," Park Seoham plays the examination top scorer turned newly assigned jong-sagwan at Podo-cheong, Jeong Cheon, known for his outstanding martial arts skills. In particular, after his previous drama 'Semantic Error' achieved syndrome-level popularity, Park Seoham had about a three-year hiatus from enlistment to discharge and returned to acting with "The Murky Stream".
Park Seoham frankly admitted about his military service, "To be honest, I'm human too, so it would be a lie to say I wasn't disappointed about the timing of my enlistment. Of course I was disappointed. But I remember 'Semantic Error' did even better after I enlisted. It seemed to gain more popularity toward the later episodes, and I was left dumbfounded. I was disappointed. It was also the first spotlight I received after debut."
He continued, "The reason I keep being nervous at every work event recently is because I'm the same Park Seoham as before enlistment, so I still haven't adapted. But I thought it must be the will of heaven. If I kept regretting it, I would keep regretting it. I concluded that since heaven gave me this opportunity, maybe it's telling me to take more time to learn and work harder. So I wandered looking for teachers during my military life," he recalled.
He said, "So I think I developed a sense of burden about 'The Murky Stream.' I was very grateful that 'Semantic Error' did well. The biggest feeling was wanting to come back in a more developed form. After all, 'Semantic Error' received a lot of love, and I think thanks to that I was able to shoot 'The Murky Stream.' So I wanted to do better, and fans waited a lot. Since there was a two-year span, I often whipped myself to improve accordingly."
He added, "Two years had passed, so of course I had to improve, and I took many lessons. But as I went on set I realized my shortcomings and went through hard times. After discharge, everything was a burden to me. Even when doing photo shoots, I couldn't adapt well. So at first I felt burdened and mentally struggled. What steadied my mind was that each of those opportunities came because 'Semantic Error' was loved and continued to be loved two years later. I felt grateful and decided to work hard. It wasn't good to keep feeling ashamed. I'm still working on it," he said with a laugh.
He also said, "Filming for 'The Murky Stream' lasted about a year, so fans waited for me for almost three years. Also, I barely used social media during that time. I was overwhelmed just by the work. The desire to pull this off, the burden. Those feelings were so big that I couldn't do anything. I really don't think I went anywhere for a year. I attended classes. But at some point senior Ji-hwan told me 'you shouldn't be like that.' I even visited a cafe with the senior," he added.
(Continued in Interview ③)<
[Photo] Walt Disney Company Korea
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