[Interview] 'Sweet Home' Park Gyu-young "Practiced Action and Base a Lot, Hoped to Have Girl Crush Charm" (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] Actress Park Gyu-young said that she grew through ‘Sweet Home’ and that it was a turning point.

On the morning of the 4th, Park Gyu-young shared stories about the Netflix original series ‘Sweet Home’ (directed by Lee Eung-bok) during an online video interview.

‘Sweet Home’ is a Netflix original series depicting the bizarre and shocking experiences of Hyun-soo, a reclusive high school student who loses his family and moves into a new apartment. The residents isolated in Green Home, cut off from the outside world, are wary of each other as anyone could turn into a monster at any moment, but they unite to survive and engage in a life-or-death battle against the monsters.

The series is based on the webtoon of the same name, which boasts 1.2 billion views, and was completed by director Lee Eung-bok, known for works such as ‘Mr. Sunshine,’ ‘Goblin,’ and ‘Descendants of the Sun.’ Actors Song Kang, Lee Jin-wook, Lee Si-young, Lee Do-hyun, Go Min-si, Go Yoon-jung, Kim Kap-soo, and Kim Sang-ho also starred.

Released on December 18 last year, ‘Sweet Home’ garnered high interest by dominating real-time search terms on portals throughout the week. It ranked 3rd in the global Netflix TV show streaming rankings and took 1st place in Netflix rankings in 10 countries, including Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Thailand.

On this day, Park Gyu-young said, “I couldn’t believe it when I heard that it ranked first in several countries worldwide. I’m grateful that Korean culture is loved by viewers around the world.”

She continued, “Meeting director Lee Eung-bok, I learned how to approach the script and characters and reflected a lot. The set taught me many things. It was a turning point work,” and added, “After the release, the warm response made it an unforgettable work.”

“After ‘Sweet Home’ was released, my SNS followers increased from 600,000 to 900,000, so I felt the reaction. I receive many messages and read them, which is amazing. I hoped Jisoo would have a girl crush charm and be seen as a cool character, so I’m thankful for the positive response. Especially, the chemistry with Go Min-si received impressive feedback.”

When asked if she had read the original webtoon, Park Gyu-young said, “I’m not usually a fan of webtoons, but I binge-read ‘Sweet Home.’ It was interesting that it’s not just a simple zombie story but that human desires turn into monsters. The monsters’ appearances were diverse and fascinating, and I found the webtoon really scary. Amid that, Jisoo was cool,” she laughed.

Park Gyu-young also expressed satisfaction with working with Netflix, which films all 10 episodes at once. “Previously, I used to monitor and think about what to revise during filming, but this time, all filming was completed at once. I trusted only myself and the director and acted. On the other hand, I was worried and excited about how my acting would turn out. That was new. So, after the release, I binge-watched it for about 10 hours straight.”

Park Gyu-young plays Yoon Jisoo, who hides a sad past but appears more spirited and easygoing than anyone else. She faces monsters with charisma but is kind like an older sister to Cha Hyun-soo (played by Song Kang), who lost his family. She said, “It’s quite similar to my real self. Although my inner self is delicate, I have a strong will to appear easygoing.”

In ‘Sweet Home,’ Kim Nam-hee plays Jeong Jae-heon, a Korean language teacher who fights monsters with a real sword based on his long-practiced kendo skills, joining Yoon Jisoo and other Green Home residents. Park Gyu-young, who acted in a romance with Kim Nam-hee, laughed, “I didn’t know romance acting would get this much attention.”

Park Gyu-young said, “I talked the most with Kim Nam-hee on set. Acting was fun and good, and I’m very satisfied with the positive response after the release.”

The melodrama code embedded in the creature genre is somewhat unfamiliar to viewers. Compared to overseas genre works, the melodrama code in ‘Sweet Home’ is relatively clear. Park Gyu-young said, “It might be the camaraderie, comradeship, and emotions developed through reliance given by the situation. They relied on each other and always stayed together, and at some point, it seeped in. I wanted to express that well.”

Park Gyu-young emphasized again, “The relationship between Yoon Jisoo and Jeong Jae-heon is more about emotions facing situations together than a love line. It’s somewhere between comradeship and mutual attraction as the opposite sex. After the confession, I think they confirmed each other’s feelings.”

In a previous interview, Kim Nam-hee expressed special trust in Park Gyu-young, saying, “I was impressed by her determination to do her best and create scenes until the end. Seeing that, I felt I shouldn’t get tired either.”

Park Gyu-young said, “Senior Kim Nam-hee actually motivated me. He thoroughly studied in the given space and didn’t overlook points he didn’t understand. I learned a lot from that and had many conversations. We learned from each other and gained synergy.”

“I watched ‘Sweet Home’ over 10 hours. The director brought out all the characters well, so there were no disappointing scenes. My favorite scene is when many residents unite and fight in the underground parking lot, a confined space. It was well expressed and cool. I also like Jae-heon’s confession scene; I think I watched it nine or ten times or more. I like it.”

Yoon Jisoo uses a baseball bat as her main weapon and performs bold action scenes swinging the bat fearlessly at approaching monsters in desperate moments. Park Gyu-young said, “Before filming, I received action acting training at an action school for three months. On set, I worked with senior actors in monster makeup. Coordinating action moves and timing was new.”

Park Gyu-young said, “When I first went to the action school, the specific choreography wasn’t decided yet, so I trained in basic action skills like rolling. After the choreography was set, I practiced on set under the martial arts director’s guidance,” adding, “Since acting was based on imagination against a green chroma key background, coordination with the director and seniors was important.”

Wanting to show good movement as an actor, Park Gyu-young said, “I prepared by doing Pilates diligently, but when I actually did action acting, I realized movement and strength were important, so I also did ballet and weight training.”

When asked how she would act if she were isolated like Jisoo and faced monsters, Park Gyu-young answered, “I would try to break through rather than avoid. I have the will to solve and improve rather than hide. I think I would fight against the monsters.”

Park Gyu-young revealed that she put the most effort into preparing for the first scene where she plays the bass guitar. She said, “I wanted to handle the bass, which I spent the longest time with as Jisoo, well, so I learned for three months. It’s also the scene I’m most confident about. I didn’t want to just pretend, so I received the song and practiced hard to actually play. Since the first scene is an important introduction showing Jisoo well, I thought it was important,” sharing behind-the-scenes details.

Also, Park Gyu-young recalled, “I had never played baseball before, but since it’s Jisoo’s main weapon, I wanted to handle it well. I learned the basic way to swing the bat at the action school and practiced at a screen baseball center to prepare.”

‘Sweet Home,’ which ended with an open ending, continues to attract attention regarding the production of season 2. Park Gyu-young said, “In season 1, Jisoo went through ups and downs, and in season 2, she will probably have a strong will to overcome and conquer. I look forward to showing a stronger side. I want to create a character with strong survival instincts who fights and clashes.”

Park Gyu-young said, “I want to live diligently every moment, every day. If I live like that, the year ends quite satisfactorily. This year, I want to think hard and express myself every moment and show a good side. In 2021, I want to be a wonderful person as well as an actor.”

Photo = Saram Entertainment, Netflix

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.