Park Bo-young said her latest role in Disney+'s Gold Land gave her something she had not felt before on set: a chance to sink into greed, dirt and fear without losing her footing. Playing Hee-ju, she said the project let her explore how a person changes when confronted with an unimaginable fortune in gold bars.
"I wanted to show how a person changes when faced with an unimaginable fortune in gold bars and awakens to desire," Park said during an interview on the 28th at a cafe in Jongno-gu. Gold Land centers on human desire around gold bars worth 150 billion won, and Park said the physical roughness of the shoot became part of the appeal. "I actually felt a thrill rolling around in the dirt, shedding blood, sweat and tears," she said.
The role also carried a twist that made the casting more pointed. The director told Park that she has an image that suggests she would hand back gold bars without any greed, even if she stumbled across them. That made Hee-ju a useful challenge for an actress long associated with a warm, approachable screen presence. Park has recently taken on heavier projects, including Concrete Utopia, Unknown Seoul and Daily Dose of Sunshine, but Gold Land pushed her further into genre territory by making desire itself the engine of the story.
It is a meaningful turn for Park as she marks her 20th anniversary as an actress this year, two decades after debuting in 2006 with the EBS drama Secret Campus. The milestone already brought her a major career note this spring when she won Best Actress at the 62nd Baeksang Arts Awards for Unknown Seoul. Park said the prize mattered less to her as an object than as a gesture for the people who have followed her work. "I don't usually place great meaning on awards themselves, but I was happy that it became a nice gift for my fans," she said. "I'm not naturally a confident person, but this award has given me the strength to keep moving forward."
That sense of forward motion comes with a cost. Park said she has been working nonstop lately and has not been able to visit the bookstore she used to frequent in three years. The small confession gave her remarks a different weight than any career marker could. After a run of intense material, she said she wants ordinary days back: bookstores, time with her nieces and nephews, and even a part-time job. For now, though, the next step is already clear. "My next project absolutely has to be a bright romantic comedy," she said, drawing a line under a stretch of darker work and answering the question her recent choices have raised: the bo turn comes next.
