Park Eun Bin - Allure Korea 2026 Interview

August 2026 Issue

Disclaimer: Article is roughly translated. It may contain inaccuracies. Please pardon any mistakes.

QUITE CODE

Like the character in <Spooky in Love> who is connected to the invisible world, actress Park Eun Bin reveals yet another side of herself, embracing an air of mystery and unfamiliarity.

Q: I recently saw on social media that your fans were revisiting your very first Allure photoshoot during your college days. It was in Seoul Forest, right? Back then, it was such a pretty quiet place.

A: This is our fourth shoot together, right? Oh my goodness! It feels like it wasn’t that long ago, but it also feels like it’s been a while. Please tell me how you think I changed over the years. (laughs) I’m curious!

Q: Should we do a week-long coverage? Like a documentary. (laughs) It’s been a while since we last met around the time of <Extraordinary Attorney Woo>. How have you been?

A: It’s been quite a whirlwind. (laughs) I’m grateful that even as time passes, I still meet the people I’m destined to meet. Today, our video director told me we met in New York. And I still remember the day I first met you and Allure at Seoul Forest.

Q: Photoshoots and interviews last just as long as projects themselves.

A: Sometimes I think, “So this is what I was thinking back then.” And I also wonder, “What memorable questions will they ask me this time?” Today, I want to take my time and think through my answers. At some point, I started feeling like I had to respond as quickly as possible whenever I’m asked a question, so I end up rushing my answers. With so many short-form clips these days, there are certain clips that become hot topics in unexpected ways that I sometimes feel a bit of pressure.

Q: This interview may also fill a single page, but only a part of it may go viral. When something goes viral in a way you never intended, how do you deal with it?

A: I think, “I messed up. I should’ve expressed myself better…” (laughs) How do you learn to let it be? Lately, I’ve been asking myself, “Am I really mature enough?”

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Q: In that case, you can just ask. If the Park Eun Bin of the past could see who you are today, what do you think she would say?

A: I think she’d ask, “How is it? Are you happy?”

Q: What would your answer be?

A: I think I’d tell her, things are still the same. Looking back, the worries I had aren’t all that different from the ones I have now. Some things have gotten better, some things have gotten worse, so in the end, it all balances out. I never imagined I’d become the person I am today. Back then, I only had a vague dream of what my future might look like.

Q: What kind of dream was it?

A: I hoped I’d grow up to become a good adult. And that if I were ever to receive the Daesang (Grand Prize), I wanted to be a kind of person that was deserving of the award.

Q: By a unanimous vote, you ended up winning the Baeksang Arts Awards Grand Prize for <Extraordinary Attorney Woo>. And you were only twenty-nine years old.

A: It feels a bit embarrassing to be the one bringing it up now. (laughs) But it was something I was truly grateful for.

Q: After achieving that dream, did you develop a new dream?

A: I’d never acted with the goal of winning awards, so if anything, receiving one made me think, “Maybe it’s time to listen more closely to what I really want to do.” For quite a while, people kept asking if winning the Grand Prize felt like a burden. Thankfully, I was filming <Castaway Diva>, so I didn’t really have the chance to let the pressure weigh on me. I told myself to keep doing what I’ve always done. (The award) was simply an incredible stroke of luck, a blessing, that came to me one day. It’s a bit regretful I didn’t have the time to savor it. It might have been a kind of happiness I’ll only experience once in my life.

Q: One blessing has led to another. You keep taking on new challenges.

A: I always choose projects that I genuinely want to do, but every time I jump in, I realize how difficult they are. (laughs) I think the order of things are different. I go into each project with a pretty light heart thinking of trying something new, but once I’m in, it becomes something I have to accomplish. It’s probably my biggest source of motivation.

Q: From <Castaway Diva> to <Hyper Knife> to <The Wonder Fools>, you’ve continued to show different sides of yourself. None of those could have been easy choices. One project after another, moving forward in a way that is “strange and peculiar, yet meaningful and beautiful,” like you mentioned in your Grand Prize acceptance speech.

A: For <Castaway Diva>, I had to learn the guitar and the regional dialect. In <Hyper Knife>, my character was both a doctor and a murderer, two completely opposing sides. As for <The Wonder Fools>, I chose it because I wanted to work with Director Yoo In Shik again after <Extraordinary Attorney Woo>. These days, the audiences have endless options to choose from. Every time a new project is released, it reminds me to stay humble.

Q: After <Castaway Diva>, you’re returning to tvN with <Spooky in Love>, which is set to premiere soon. Of the four projects Allure is featuring this month, yours will be the first to be released. You’ve mentioned that creative intent is an important thing you look for. What is the creative intent behind this drama?

A: “From lonely isolation back into this world.” I think my role is to lower the anchor for this intent to be convincing. It’s a 12-episode series, which means viewers are spending their precious twelve hours on it, so I sincerely hope those hours will feel worthwhile. That’s why I always give it everything I have, so I won’t have any regrets. I still want each project to show a different side of me, and that’s what keeps me energized. Looking back, I feel like every project I’ve done was somewhat destined for me. <Spooky in Love> is a project that slipped through the cracks and caught my eye, almost as if it was destined to find me.

Q: You’re slowly becoming a believer of fate, aren’t you?

A: I think I am! Sometimes, “fate” is the only word that can explain how certain things happen.

Q: In this drama, you’re working with Yang Se Jong and Ong Seung Woo. What was it like sharing the same boat and creating this bit of fate with them?

A: Se Jong and I are the same age, and it’s my first time working with a partner that is the same age. Seung Woo is also around our age, so it was a new and fresh experience. We each came in prepared with different ways to have fun with our roles.

Q: Your character this time, Cheon Yeo Ri, seems to have it all. Did you have fun creating her style?

A: This is the first time I’ve played such a stylish, fashion-forward character! Because (Yeo Ri) has the ability to see ghosts, she wears gloves a lot. But since my hands are pretty small, a few gloves were custom-made or ones I bought myself. Thankfully, we wrapped filming before the peak of summer. Since using my phone was a hassle (due to the gloves), I ended up setting a bunch of shortcut functions.

Q: We’ll soon get to see how you portrayed Cheon Yeo Ri, a woman fated to see ghosts. How do you approach each new character?

A: Even if I play a hated character, I constantly am in the mindset of “As the person playing this role, I should be the one who loves myself the most.” Whenever I meet a character, I have to fall in love with that character first. Then I start thinking about different ways to shape the character so that others might come to love them too. I found Mok Ha, Eun Chae Ni, and Se Ok all lovable, and I truly loved each of them. Even if some people can’t understand them, I want to pour everything I have into my characters, so that someone else can’t help but be drawn to them. That is always my goal whenever I take on a role.

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Q: This year marks the 30th anniversary of your debut. You’ve spent so much of your life as an actress. Do you feel like you finally understand what it means to be one?

A: I think I’ve spent the past 30 years captivated by the endless possibilities and uniqueness of acting. Not once has acting ever been easy. It teaches me something new about myself, yet ultimately, I have to set my own identity aside for seven to eight months and immerse myself in someone else’s life. And every time I wrap up a project, there’s always something that stays with me. Sometimes I ask myself, “If I ever had to leave acting today without any regrets, is there anything else I could love just as deeply?” Even now, I don’t have an answer. The one thing I still want to dedicate myself to with all my might, body and mind, is acting. Professionally, it’s being an actress. So far, I haven’t found anything beyond that.

Q: I think your passion is conveyed to the audiences as well. Maybe that’s why people continue to love actors?

A: That’s right. I’m influenced by the fans’ appreciation. Even when I have personal regrets about a certain project, if even one person tells me, “I really loved that work,” it becomes like a black and white film that suddenly fills with color. That’s when I realize just how powerful love can be. I’m always healed by that love, too.

Q: Which of your projects has stayed with you in the most vivid, colorful way?

A: Emotionally, I enjoyed <The King’s Affection> the most. <Extraordinary Attorney Woo> was the role that earned me the greatest honor. <Castaway Diva> gave me so many wonderful memories, so I’m also very fond of it. I’m still close with the music team, and they continue to send me songs. So for me, good stories keep being created. It may have ended for the viewers, but for me, it continues alongside these characters. I think to myself, “This has become a project that overlays yet another memory to the old ones, and adds more color to who I am.”

Q: It’s wonderful to see those happy memories continue also for the people who loved those projects. You’ve probably received countless congratulations on your 30th debut anniversary. What does this milestone mean to you?

A: “When did it come to this?” (laughs). When I was a child, and they asked me to imagine myself in 10 years, I don’t think I ever pictured myself as I am today. One thing I’m certain of is this: I’m living a future that’s even better than the one my younger self ever imagined.

Q: We’ve spent this whole interview talking about acting. Do you have any hopes for your personal life as well?

A: I wished some things would suddenly pop in my life, in a good way. Now, I think I prefer to enjoy a peaceful everyday life over having one unpredictable event after another (laughs). My goal this year was to share two projects, and make the most of the year by staying busy and doing well. If <Spooky in Love> is warmly received, I think I’ll be able to call this year a success.

Q: Did you buy yourself a gift?

A: I bought a wallet. An expensive one. (laughs) I justified the gift by telling myself, “Well, it’s my 30th debut anniversary.” I still haven’t unboxed it, though. I guess it doesn’t really count until I start using it.

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