Park Jeong-min, left, and Hwasa / Captured from Blue Dragon Movie Awards
Actor Park Jung-min is rising as one among Korea’s most influential cultural figures of 2025, driving a wave of acclaim that spans movie, publishing and even viral award present moments. A video of Park reacting to singer Hwasa’s efficiency on the forty sixth Blue Dragon Movie Awards has surpassed 7 million views, and when mixed along with his follow-up response clip, the whole simply exceeds 10 million views. As one touch upon the video places it, “Is anybody else nonetheless watching this on Dec. 1?”
Singers historically take the stage on the Blue Dragon Awards, however this yr’s second grew to become unforgettable when Hwasa carried out “Good Goodbye” barefoot, drawing reward for her vocal efficiency and charismatic presence. For the finale, she invited Park to recreate his look in her music video for the tune, immediately igniting on-line buzz. Viewers say the sudden reunion between the 2 delivered one of many ceremony’s standout highlights.
The curiosity has not pale. Hwasa’s music video has climbed to the No. 1 spot on YouTube’s music video rankings, amassing greater than 53 million views, whereas the tune has surged again to the highest of main Korean charts reminiscent of Melon and Bugs.
Park’s presence extends far past a single viral second. His movie “The Ugly,” launched in September, grew to become one of many yr’s most stunning field workplace tales. Produced on a finances of about 200 million gained ($145,000), the low-budget undertaking earned 11 billion gained in income, a return exceeding 50 instances its price. Park performed two roles, portraying a visually impaired man’s innocence in addition to his hidden darkness, whereas additionally anchoring the narrative because the son in search of the reality behind his mom’s dying. Followers praised his efficiency all of the extra after studying he appeared within the movie with out pay.
A scene from “The Ugly” / Courtesy of Plus M Leisure
Park can be gaining recognition as a writer. After founding the publishing home Muze in 2020 following the success of his personal essay assortment, whose Korean title interprets as “A Helpful Individual,” he stated he aimed to showcase robust writers and significant tales with out overturning the normal practices of established publishers. His dedication paid off this yr when Muze launched creator Kim Geum-hee’s novel “My First Summer season, Wanju” and exhibited on the Seoul Worldwide E-book Truthful in June. On the opening day, greater than 100 folks lined up on the Muze sales space, resulting in stock shortages; images of Park personally managing the sales space shortly unfold on-line.
Regardless of increasing into a number of fields, observers say Park’s regular, grounded perspective is what units him aside. On the peak of his reputation, he unexpectedly introduced he would take a break from appearing in 2025. On the YouTube channel “Fairy Jaehyung,” he stated he had “formally determined to relaxation from appearing in 2025” and was declining all presents, selecting to not be swept up in movie star momentum however to comply with what he believed was the correct path. Though the break didn’t final the total yr, the initiatives he delivered in 2025 are broadly considered as significant ones.
Park is subsequent set to fulfill audiences within the stage manufacturing of “Lifetime of Pi.”
This text from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Instances, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Instances.
