For nearly two decades, Park Bo-young has charmed audiences with her bubbly, bright image — a persona that has become synonymous with her name.

But as many seasoned actors demonstrate, the true challenge lies in revealing the new facets of oneself. In Netflix's latest series, “Melo Movie,” Park takes another step toward showcasing a more mature side, an opportunity she calls "lucky.”


“As I get older, I’ve wanted to take on more realistic and slightly more mature romance stories, and Mu-bee in ‘Melo Movie’ was exactly that,” Park said during an interview with reporters at a cafe in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Tuesday. “I even asked if they were really giving me the role — because it was something I had truly wanted to do.”

The 10-episode series was released on Valentine’s Day and follows four young individuals navigating their lives and dreams while also falling in and out of love.

The series features actor Park playing Kim Mu-bee, Choi Woo-shik as Ko Gyeom, Lee Jun-young as Hong Si-jun and Jeon So-nee as Son Ju-a. It was also directed by Oh Choong-hwan, who was behind the TV series “Hotel del Luna” (2019) and “Start-Up” (2020), and written by Lee Na-eun, who penned the SBS series “Our Beloved Summer” (2021-22).

Debuting in 2006, Park first gained public attention as a child actor when she played the younger version of the deposed Queen Yun in the SBS period drama “The King and I” (2007-08). However, it was the 2008 film “Scandal Makers” that catapulted her to stardom, earning her numerous rookie awards for her role as a young single mother.

Since then, Park has been actively working across both television and film, often portraying bright and lovely characters in romantic comedies — roles that closely reflect her real-life personality.

For this series, however, despite being a romance story, it had a more realistic tone, prompting Park to tone down her energy for Mu-bee.

"Actually, if my usual tone sits somewhere in the middle, like when I worked on romantic comedies before, this was on the higher end,” she said. “Mu-bee had a slightly lower tone than my usual one. But if I tried to lower it too much beyond what naturally felt like me, I thought it would seem forced. So, I focused on keeping it just a little lower than my usual tone.”

Though she tried to maintain her tone, there were moments when she would slip back into her more energetic self, according to Park, and the director was the one who kept her in check during those times.

“He would remind me and tell me to bring Mu-bee back, helping me find the right balance on set,” she said.

She also admitted that she wondered — and was concerned — about how viewers would react to her "toned-down" performance, as it was an unfamiliar side to show the audience.

"I did have a lot of concerns about my tone, wondering how people would react if I lowered it a bit. But from what I’ve seen, it doesn’t seem like they took it negatively or found it unfamiliar. Just that alone, I consider to be huge personal growth."

The actor, who is now 35 years old, is not only famous for her bright personality but also for looking younger than her age. While watching her scenes, she particularly enjoyed noticing that she "looked more mature" compared to her previous roles.

“I do say that looking young is an advantage, but at the same time, I’ve always been concerned,” she said. “So, when I get the chance to show this [mature] side of myself, I’m really glad and hope that many people get to see it."

Since the series has a more down-to-earth narrative, its dialogue also resonates with many viewers. For Park, one particularly meaningful scene was when her character comforts Gyeom, saying, "You're not alone. I am in love with you. So, we will never be alone from now on." She connected deeply with this moment, as she saw parts of herself in Gyeom.

“When we’re struggling, we usually think that there’s no one around us,” Park said. “But when looking back, I realize there were actually many people, or even just one or two, who were really by my side, which I didn’t know at the time. That scene made me think about myself.”

“It felt like Mu-bee was communicating with me, Bo-young, too,” she added. “It was as if the current me was talking to the past version of myself.”

Though the series is a romantic story between young people, the actor emphasized that it has more than just a simple melodramatic plot.

"'Melo Movie’ has its romantic elements, but it also includes family stories, and I really want to emphasize that it’s a coming-of-age work as well. Also, many people cry during episode seven. For those who started the series just based on the title, I’d like to highlight that there’s also a lot of growth in the story.”

The series is currently sitting at No. 1 on Netflix's Top 10 TV series list in Korea as of Wednesday.

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]