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"It's time for me to do really well." Actress Park Min-young, who played the honest Kim Nana in SBS TV series "City Hunter," spoke honestly of herself as well, almost resembling her past characters who have acted according their own convictions. Park, who made a splendid debut through "High Kick 1" and then landed the main female lead in KBS series "I am Sam," looked back on that time as when she thought "someone was placing me on a cloud." But she went into a slump after "Princess Ja Myung Go," which was when she was most thirsty for acting. She is now thankful for whatever opportunity comes her way and acts with love for her characters. Park excitedly spoke of her next series "Young-gwang's Jae-in" (tentative title) which will follow immediately after "City Hunter" although three days is the most time she has rested in a row the past year and three months.


How would you score your acting as Kim Nana in "City Hunter"?

Park Min-young: Maybe 40 or 50 points because I wasn't satisfied with it. There were times that I wished her romance with Yoon-sung was depicted in more detail and in a ways, their emotions moved forward too fast, without enough of a foundation. And I had a lot of concerns and had difficulty playing her in the latter half of the show because Yoon-sung and Nana's emotions kept getting repeated. I think I could've done better with controlling the dynamics of her emotions. Well okay, I tried, so 50 points.



Of you, Lee Min-ho said, "I had an easy time acting with her because she took in whatever I expressed myself in however way." What do you think your chemistry with Lee Min-ho was like?

Park: Our acting styles are similar -- we'll react only after listening to the other person's words and be endlessly serious when we're serious but also be playful when we're playful. Lee's acting is considerate. That's why he's better with the scenes he reacts to someone and the same goes for me too. As much as we had good chemistry because of our similar styles of acting, I also got a lot of help from him.



You've taken on the role of the tough and energetic nurse's aide Jae-in in your upcoming TV series "Young-gwang's Jae-in" (tentative title). How are you preparing for it?

Park Min-young: I'm in the process of adding life to my character in my own way. Jae-in has to take her exam to become a nurse's aide so she'll eat fastfood for her meals to save on time and talk fast as well. And she needs to take care of patients so she'll be quick with her hands and have a high-toned and loud voice. She'll be very cheerful in the beginning but probably go to another extreme when the secrets to her birth start getting revealed.



Jae-in and Kim Nana are somewhat similar in the sense that they're both tough and energetic main female characters.

Park: I think it's up to me to make different characters out of them even if they may seem similar. Viewers may think 'She's playing that type of character again?' in the first two episodes of the show but I'm hoping they'll start seeing just Jae-in in the episodes that follow. That's why I'm trying not to feel too much pressure over that. And I think we'll be okay since we have a good screenwriter.



You've also said you place your full faith in the screenwriter when you choose a project and act in it so I'm guessing it must be important for you to meet producers you can trust to have that faith throughout.

Park: That was the main reason I chose "Young-gwang's Jae-in." I won't have much time to rest after "City Hunter" because of it but I wanted to do it because I was convinced of it. To start with, I trusted screenwriter Kang Eun-kyung. The thing I like most when I first met her was that she knew my style of acting and recommended what would suit Jae-in the best. She has such a clear picture of what she wants Jae-in to be like. So I figured that I'd become Jae-in if I follow the Jae-in she has in her mind.



What sort of Jae-in did screenwriter Kang Eun-kyung say she wants to create?

Park: She knew my voice was on the lower to mid range so she told me that I'd probably suit the role better if I change the tone of my voice. That it'd be better if I raise my tone by a notch or two. And she also told me that it'll be better if I talk quickly, as if I'm rapping, and maintain that speed in my interactions with Young-gwang (Chun Jung-myung). She's made things so much easier for me by telling me what she thinks will suit Jae-in. It's up to me to pull it all off but all I need to do is add life to it so I'm happy that she has made it easier for me to play my character.



You've been working nonstop -- from "SungKyunKwan Scandal" to "The Cat" to "City Hunter" and "Young-gwang's Jae-in." But you have to work your emotions to act so aren't you concerned about getting burnt out?

Park: Thankfully, they're of different genres so that's one of the reasons I chose to do them. And up till "The Cat," acting was so much fun that I wanted to keep going, as if I had a motor attached to me. And it was because I kept getting increasingly curious about acting. I wanted to leave some time in between "City Hunter" and "Young-Gwang's Jae-in" but the circumstances wouldn't allow it. And I was split on whether I should do them or not but I wanted to be in good projects so I decided that I should. These weren't projects I'd be handed at a later time.

How do you become your characters though when you have so little time to do so because you're always working?

Park: Well the first thing I do when a drama ends is send off my character thinking she will live happily ever after. And at the same time, I fill that emptied spot in my heart. It actually takes a longer time for me to let go of my character if I try to do the two separately. So I just let go of my characters and let in the next without too much haste. I don't think I'll be Jae-in completely for the first script reading of the drama either. I might be a kid who's trying to impersonate her. So I said this to the screenwriter as well. "I'm the type that goes slow with this." And she told me to just do what I need to get done before we go into shoot. (laugh) I'm also not the type that acts well technically. There are times my pronunciation is bad and sometimes, I just can't speak well when I need to talk fast because my body won't move as fast as my brain. There really just isn't much that I'm good at. But I do tend have more affection for my characters than what I have. So I really love the characters I play and try to understand them.



What type of scripts are you usually drawn to?

Park: I tend to think that if I have a good script in front of me, I'll find myself drawn to the emotions of a character and if it's a bad script, I won't be drawn to the emotions of any character, regardless of whether I'll be playing that character or not. In the case of "City Hunter," I was drawn to Lee Yoon-sung's character and it was fun. On the other hand, there were many characters in "SungKyunKwan Scandal" yet I couldn't help myself from being drawn to Yoon-hee's character, from beginning to end. Whether it's my character or someone else's, it's easier to empathize with the project when I'm drawn to someone's emotions and it becomes easier for me to approach the project as well because I get to think of what that character means to me.



Your career has been on a relatively fast growth track since "High Kick 1."

Park: I've been very lucky. From getting into college to getting into my agency to getting cast in "High Kick 1" and that sitcom doing well. And then I immediately landed the leading role in "I am Sam" so imagine how excited I must've been. I thought someone was placing me on top of the clouds. But that was as far as my luck went. After flying in the clouds without a sincere attitude toward acting, I felt myself run into a brick wall. So when I really wanted to act and be in projects, I had to take a break because I ran out of luck. If I hadn't gone through that phase and never gained that earnestness to act, I may have gone looking for something else to do. But I was handed "SungKyunKwan Scandal" after going through many ups and downs so I became keen to act because I poured forth everything I had saved up on. I become curious when I act and it's fun finding the answers to them on the way. I have good luck right now. I'm being handed roles that are larger than what I can do and I've achieved a lot as well.



I think you're strict on yourself or have high standards to feeling satisfaction.

Park: Only time will pass if I worry about things like, 'What should I do with having been given a role that is too good for me?' That's why I look for the roles that I can play. All I'm thinking is that I should be grateful for what I've been given and do well with it because I might run into that wall again if I don't do a good job. I rarely waver after being through a slump once. A lot of people may be saying nice things about me right now but I know that all that can change if I don't work hard so I try to maintain composure. And I know working hard won't be enough anymore. That's why I'm going to torture myself even more now. Because I know that now's the time for me to do really well.



It seems that you know what you want to do. Do you know what you want to do in the future?

Park: I'd like to be called by my name which would happen if I played my character really well but I try to do my best within the current situations I'm in than move according to plan. I think I tend to be on the simple-minded side. There was a time when I had too many thoughts but ridding myself of those thoughts has helped me focus on my acting quicker. I don't know what'll happen in the future but I try to go on the path that'll be fun and make me happiest right in the immediate future because nobody knows what'll happen next.



Korea demands a lot from actresses. You need to be a fashionista yet act well and at the same time, have a lot of limitations to what you can do. What does it mean to live as an actress?

Park: I had a hard time in the beginning with the things I have to bear with because I thought, "To this extent?" But I've rid myself of such thoughts because I just focus on my acting now. I think I'd think such things once I go on a break. I guess I could also start thinking, 'Till when will I be able to maintain this busy life as an actress?' but as of now, I'm happy and thankful that I have projects to do and have people rooting for me. There are many people who don't have what I have right now and I used to be one of them.


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