[TF Interview] 'Dive Into You' Seo Ham Park Lets Go of Impatience and Aims Higher
Played the role of bodyguard Jung Woo-jae in 'Dive Into You'"Curious about the future... I will become an actor who speaks with my eyes"Actor Seo Ham Park recently met with
at a cafe in Jongno-gu, Seoul, to discuss the Disney+ and Channel A weekend drama 'Dive Into You'. /NPIO[THE FACT| Reporter Choi Soo-bin] Actor Seo Ham Park is shining at his own pace, using the past 10 years of silent perseverance as a stepping stone. There were times when he was impatient about the uncertain future, but he walked his own path without giving up. The time accumulated has made Seo Ham Park stronger and expanded his potential as an actor.Actor Seo Ham Park recently met with at a cafe in Jongno-gu, Seoul, for an interview commemorating the release of the Disney+ and Channel A weekend drama 'Dive Into You' (written by Kim Bo-geum and Lee Eon, directed by So Jae-hyun). Playing the role of Jung Woo-jae, he shared various stories related to the work.'Dive Into You' is a first-love rescue romance about twin siblings Yoon Ha-na (played by Kim Ji-yeon) and Yoon Ha-ru (played by Jang Se-hyeok) who travel back in time to save Jung Woo-jae (Seo Ham Park), after discovering they can go back to the past through an old camcorder. It is a 12-episode series, with 10 episodes currently released.Jung Woo-jae, played by Seo Ham Park, is a bodyguard with a tall physique, a trustworthy impression, a taciturn and cool personality, and national-level judo skills. He was once a promising judo prospect, but due to a certain incident, he quit judo and was tragically killed while staying by the side of Yoon Ha-na, whom he had loved since his school days.Although everything seemed to end with Jung Woo-jae's death, the story takes a new turn when Yoon Ha-na and Yoon Ha-ru go back in time to save him. Jung Woo-jae's present changes depending on Yoon Ha-na's choices. In the process, Seo Ham Park portrayed Jung Woo-jae living different lives as a judo athlete, bodyguard, delivery person, and actor. Seo Ham Park said, "It was very attractive because various professions appeared," and "Before filming, I thought about how to express each aspect differently.""I thought that the styling had to be different for each time period to distinguish them clearly. I tried to express myself more strongly as a bodyguard. I felt a lot of pressure wearing a school uniform as a high school student. But the director didn't give me any specific directions. I think he wanted me to act as comfortably as I do now. Thanks to that, I think I improvised a lot in the high school scenes."Seo Ham Park led the drama in 'Dive Into You' as Jung Woo-jae, Yoon Ha-na's (Kim Ji-yeon) first love. /Dive Into YouIn particular, expressing Jung Woo-jae, who was a promising judo prospect, required actual training. Seo Ham Park recalled, "After deciding to do the project, I practically lived at the action school. Judo was a sport I had never tried before, so it was very difficult at first.""At first, it was unfamiliar and didn't go well, but I felt that the results of action depended on how much effort I put in. So, when I was learning judo, I tried to go as much as possible and even visited actual judo gyms. Also, Se-hyeok, who is actually a judo practitioner, helped me a lot during filming."Among the various professions, the most difficult to portray was the bodyguard. This is because he had to maintain a strong and cool impression while also revealing his tender feelings for Yoon Ha-na and Jung Woo-jae's inherent good nature. Seo Ham Park said, "The director told me that as a bodyguard, I needed to have a sharp feel, but Jung Woo-jae's goodness had to be expressed within that," and "I filmed while asking the director and Ji-yeon if this tone was okay."The emotional line of Jung Woo-jae was as complex as the professional changes. Jung Woo-jae depicts a tender first love while having a long-standing unrequited love for Yoon Ha-na, and also experiences unexpected confusion when Yoon Ha-na's and Yoon Ha-ru's souls are swapped during the time slip.The scene where he feels affection for Yoon Ha-na while seeing her in Yoon Ha-ru's body was a situation that could have become awkward if expressed exaggeratedly. Seo Ham Park focused on the emotions Jung Woo-jae felt rather than defining the situation as a special relationship."I thought that if I felt repulsion or discomfort in such scenes, the viewers would feel it too. So, I tried not to have such thoughts in the first place. In the scene between Yoon Ha-ru and Jung Woo-jae, I approached it as an identity crisis rather than thinking of it as BL (boys' love). I think I tried to delve deeper into Jung Woo-jae's feelings."Seo Ham Park said, "There were times when I felt a lot of pressure and anxiety about the future," and "Now, I'm not impatient and I'm thinking about how I can improve further." /Dive Into YouIn this way, 'Dive Into You' was a new challenge for Seo Ham Park in many ways. He had to portray various professions and time periods within one work, and express everything from a fresh first love to complex emotions. In the process, Seo Ham Park reflected on 'how he treats himself'. He said, "My personality is such that I push myself a lot, but I realized that's not always good," and "I took the director's advice to heart and tried to gain a little more confidence from it."The attitude of constantly reflecting on himself and trying to fill in the gaps aligns with the path Seo Ham Park has walked for the past 10 years. Seo Ham Park, who debuted as a member of the group KNK in 2016, is celebrating his 10th anniversary this year. Although he took his first step as a singer, not everything went smoothly from the start. There were times when he didn't achieve the expected results, and in 2017, he sought another opportunity by challenging a survival audition program.Seo Ham Park said, "I was a trainee for 5 years, and I wonder how I endured that anxious period and debuted. I'm proud of myself for enduring that time," and "Even now, when things are tough, I look at old photos a lot. No matter what era it is, there are always difficulties, but when I look back, I think, 'Why was I so stressed about it?' So, even now, I endure by thinking, 'It won't be a big deal once it passes.'""Because I didn't achieve great success when I debuted, I feel a lot of gratitude now. I feel grateful for being able to go out for a schedule, and for the fans coming to see me. And fortunately, I met a good project, which became an opportunity for me to be active like this."The thought of starting later than others sometimes made Seo Ham Park impatient. He said, "My friends who trained with me had already debuted and were in their second or third year, and had released many albums, but I only released one album," and "I struggled with the thought that I was getting older and running out of time. I also felt immense pressure and anxiety about the future.""There was a time when I was really anxious thinking that I didn't have much time left. I think that broke around the age of 29. At that time, I put everything down and filmed the project with the mindset that it was my last, and fortunately, it received a good response. I realized then that if I do my best, opportunities will come eventually. Thanks to that, I've been able to stay active until now. So now, I'm not impatient about being a 'slow starter.' I think about how I can improve further."Seo Ham Park expressed his determination, "I want to become an actor who speaks with his eyes." /NPIOThe time he has quietly walked has begun to bear fruit little by little. Seo Ham Park gained attention through the BL drama 'Semantic Error' in 2022 and has since expanded his acting spectrum by appearing in various works such as 'The Turbulent Flow', 'I'll Give You the Universe', 'Work Later, Drink Now', and 'Dive Into You'.Seo Ham Park said, "I've done so many things in the past 10 years. I even participated in a survival show, and I don't think any of those experiences were in vain," and "Each of those experiences seems to have shaped my current thoughts and mindset."Now, Seo Ham Park's gaze is directed towards the future, not the past 10 years. Seo Ham Park emphasized, "In this project, I learned judo for the first time, and I was so happy when I succeeded in an osoto gari. The feeling of accomplishing something makes me live more diligently.""I'm more curious about the future than the past now. I want to become forty quickly too. (laughs) When I turned 25, I felt like something was falling apart. I debuted at 24, so I worried about what I would do in my 30s. Back then, I couldn't even imagine celebrating my 10th anniversary. I'm still anxious, but I'm grateful that I can be active like this after celebrating my 10th anniversary."Therefore, Seo Ham Park's dream for the future is filled with anticipation for growth rather than impatience. Seo Ham Park aims to become an actor with his own unique expressiveness, rather than simply appearing in more works."I received a lot of compliments on my eyes this time. Those words gave me a little more confidence in my acting going forward. My dream is to become an actor who speaks with his eyes. The director always emphasized, 'An actor must be able to speak with their eyes.' In the future, I want to be an actor who people say, 'He really speaks with his eyes.'"subin7134@tf.co.kr[Entertainment Department | ssent@tf.co.kr]
