[Interview] Park Jinyoung: "'Unknown Seoul' Is the Story of All of Us With Deficiencies"

Returning as a Lawyer Who Lost His Hearing After Military Service
"GOT7 and Acting Together... I Aim to Be a Good Person"

Actor Park Jinyoung conducted an interview on the 1st in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, to commemorate the conclusion of "Unknown Seoul." BH Entertainment

"As the line in the drama says, 'Yesterday has passed, tomorrow is far away, and today is unknown. So I want to enjoy this moment with a joyful heart.'

Park Jinyoung shared these thoughts during an interview at BH Entertainment in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 1st, reflecting on the conclusion of the tvN drama "Unknown Seoul." After returning from a long hiatus, he said, "I was comforted myself by the warmth on set," and added, "I'm grateful that this warmth seems to have reached the viewers as well."

"Unknown Seoul" started with a 3.6% viewership rating for its first episode and more than doubled to 7.7% by episode 10. As word spread about it being a healing drama perfect for relaxed viewing, the final episode, which aired on June 29, achieved a nationwide average rating of 8.4% and a peak of 9.4%, setting a new personal best for the show.

In the drama, Park Jinyoung played Lee Hosu, a lawyer who lost part of his hearing in a car accident. Although he appears perfect on the outside, he is a character with inner deficiencies. He explained, "He has a minor handicap, but he acts as if everything is fine without revealing it," and added, "I tried to express this by focusing more on the other person's words and carefully adjusting the tempo and timing of my speech."

The process of preparing for the role was not easy. When he first read the script, he was disappointed by Hosu's limited screen time, but as he read further, he became deeply immersed in the character. In particular, he struggled with how to portray the relationship with Hosu's mother, who is not his biological mother. He said, "I thought deeply until the end about how to express a relationship that goes beyond blood ties." After filming, actress Kim Sunyoung, who played Hosu's mother, was moved to tears on one occasion.

Park Jinyoung said that he overcame difficult moments, when he struggled to summon emotions, thanks to the help of actress Park Boyoung. In the drama, Park Boyoung played four different roles. He said, "I was amazed to see Park Boyoung transform completely into different people in such a short time," and added, "Thanks to her acting, I was able to let go of my anxiety and fully immerse myself in my performance on set."

In "Unknown Seoul," Hosu (Park Jinyoung) is looking at Miji (Park Boyoung). tvN

He did not see "Unknown Seoul" as simply a romance drama. The series mainly features characters who have various handicaps.

"I didn't want to limit it to just a story about social minorities. When I first read the drama, it reminded me of social media. On the surface, everything looks glamorous, but if you look closer, everyone has their own deficiencies. It felt like a story about all modern people. It also resembled my own twenties, when I experienced similar shortcomings. I think that's why young people especially could relate to it."

Debuting as a member of GOT7 in 2014, he has honed his acting skills through appearances in dramas such as "My Love Eun-dong" (2015), "The Legend of the Blue Sea" (2016), "He is Psychometric" (2019), "When the Weather is Fine" (2020), "The Devil Judge" (2021), "Yumi's Cells" (2021~2022), and films like "Yaksha: Ruthless Operations" (2022) and "Christmas Carol" (2022). The movie "Hi. Five" and the drama "The Witch," which he filmed before enlisting, were released during his military service and right after his discharge. "Unknown Seoul" is the first project he chose after completing his service.

Park Jinyoung began filming immediately after his discharge. He said, "I wanted to travel for about a month, but I liked the script so much that I started filming just two weeks after I was discharged," and added, "Even while shoveling snow in the military, I desperately wanted to get back to work." Military service was an important turning point for him.

"In the military, I went back to the bottom and experienced feeling utterly insignificant. I kept asking myself, 'Am I a useful person?' It was an opportunity to regain humility and my original mindset. By spending time with younger colleagues, putting aside age and occupation, and living as person to person, I learned a lot and have no regrets. Even in tough times, I started to believe, 'Things will work out in the end.'"

Park Jinyoung plans to continue both acting and music activities. He said, "As a singer, the fans' light sticks give me great strength, and as an actor, I feel rewarded when mothers tell me they enjoyed the drama," and added, "I want to keep working without rest, balancing GOT7 activities and acting." He continued, "When the other members finish their military service, I want to release an album again," and emphasized, "Ultimately, my goal is to become a 'good person.'"