[Dispatch=Reporter Tae-Yoon Jung] "It's like winning the lottery to play a character who appears from beginning to end."

Manager Park Hyun-sook (played by Park Bo-gyung) is not warm, but she does her work incredibly well. A woman for whom her children are not an excuse. It's natural that she holds that position because she's good at what she does.

Actress Park Bo-gyung's path was somewhat different. She spent a long time raising her child and set aside her work as an actress. Then she returned and, like Park Hyun-sook, proved herself through her abilities.

She revealed, "There was a time when I thought I might not be able to act anymore. Because my husband was doing well, I thought that was enough. Doors gradually started opening, and I never thought this day would come."

Dispatch recently met Park Bo-gyung after wrapping up tvN's "Lotto 1st Prize, See You at Work" on Tving. She shared the time and effort she invested to land a role with a named character.

◆ "Can I Really Act?"

Park Bo-gyung graduated from the Korean National University of Arts and began her acting career on the Daehak-ro stage. Starting with the film "Pure Romance" in 2008, she appeared on screen.

Most were unnamed minor roles or parts like "Woman 3." She met Jin Sun-gyu while working in a theater group and married him, and they had two children. While her husband went to film sets, she took care of childcare.

She took a break from acting for nearly 8 years. She said, "By my 30s and 40s, I thought acting was not a path for me. I performed on stage for theater, but I thought media would be difficult."

She returned with a two-day shoot at tvN's "Hospital Playlist" (2020). It was a role as the wife of a nameless patient. After filming, she came home and chatted excitedly with her husband for a long time.

"My husband had been on many more film sets and knows much more than me, but I just kept chattering away. About what the set was like, what the actors were like. That day I realized it. 'I am an actress.' It was a work that made my heart beat again."

◆ Becoming Someone's Hope

After that, doors gradually opened. In tvN's "Little Women" (2022), she made an impression as secretary Go Soo-im, and in "Bad Mom," she expanded her presence playing a village chief's wife delivering sharp remarks while wearing a face mask.

The turning point came with Netflix's "Lady Dou-ah," released in February this year. She played Jung Yeo-jin, who gets deceived by Sarah Kim (played by Shin Hye-sun) and even misappropriates company funds. For this role, she received the Best Supporting Actress award at the 5th Blue Dragon Series Awards.

It was her first trophy in 23 years of her career. She said, "The weight of the crown is enormous," and added, "It's great to be recognized and sought out by people, but the best part is being able to buy nice things for my junior colleagues."

She continued, "When I go to the performance venue with delicious food packed up, everyone is so happy as if they've made a triumphant return. It's really a joy to have become a senior who can meet people on set."

"There was an extra on set who said, 'I hope to become an actress who exchanges lines with senior actresses like you someday.' Unintentionally, I became someone's hope, and my heart skipped a beat. I made a resolution to live even better going forward."

◆ A Woman Who Works Well

How did Park Bo-gyung come to play Park Hyun-sook in "Lotto 1st Prize, See You at Work"? Manager Park was a male character in the original work. Director Yoon Young-bin changed the character's gender because she wanted to capture the stories of working mothers in South Korea.

She said, "Manager Park is a unique character in the company, like a wilderness. I heard the director saw me in 'Queen Sondok' and thought that kind of character would suit me well."

She's something of a fantasy boss. She's a working mother, but she's professional. She's not someone who exerts authority over others, but rather someone people naturally respect.

Director Yoon directed Park Hyun-sook as: "She doesn't need to be warm. She's a woman who works incredibly well, and I wanted everyone to have trust in her. A woman for whom her children are not an excuse. I wanted her to be a woman for whom holding that position is natural because she's good at what she does."

For this, the back-and-forth with her counterpart was crucial. Park Bo-gyung said, "When having conversations with Deputy Manager Jang (played by Lee Hyun-gyun), since they would have spent a long time together at the company going through ups and downs, even if hurtful words are exchanged, it would feel different."

She explained, "The director told me, 'Don't look at Deputy Manager Jang much. Let Deputy Manager Jang look at you, and Park Hyun-sook should only look when she really has something to say.' With those words, the character came together perfectly."

◆ Delivering Each Word with Power

Park Hyun-sook doesn't unleash a hundred words. She throws out one word, and the rest is filled in by Deputy Manager Jang. Park Bo-gyung put power into that single word. Above all, the strength of the clearly written script was significant.

Park Bo-gyung explained, "I thought the writer had a reason for giving this dialogue to this character. Most importantly, it was so clear. I thought if I deliver the lines as written, I could become that person."

Park Hyun-sook became clearer through the mouths of surrounding characters. "When Deputy Manager Jang says things like 'The boss sees two steps ahead of you' to Kong Eun-tae (played by Lee Jun-hyuk), it gave Park Hyun-sook breathing room," she said.

"All the relationships were revealed in the dialogue. When Executive Director Go calls Manager Park a 'spooky woman' and acknowledges her, and with a single word like 'kid,' you feel not momentary emotions but the long history between these people. I really liked that kind of subtle rapport."

◆ "Because of Those Times...."

Park Hyun-sook adheres to principles while boldly leading her team and clearly shows why "that woman holds that position." In the episode 8 post-credit scene, she also revealed her face as an ordinary mother.

She cherishes time with family, but there are urgent work matters that make it difficult to keep promises. The moment she misses celebrating her daughter's birthday and turns the car back toward the office was reality.

Park Bo-gyung recalled, "That scene was hastily added. The director asked, 'Did you look at the kids sleeping before coming out? Isn't it hard?' and I remember answering, 'They'll sleep fine on their own.'"

It took time to be able to answer that way. She said, "When my children were young, they would grab my legs when I said, 'Mom's going to film,' and not let me go. But now, when they say, 'I'm going to school,' they greet me properly."

"I think I am where I am today because of that time. Now I'm able to focus more completely on my work. I look at the script one more time, think about it, and the time I spend on set is accumulating. That's how there will be the next project."

After receiving an award, she no longer has to attend auditions, but her mindset remains the same.

Park Bo-gyung said, "Having work is better than winning the lottery. I hope I keep getting work," and added, "If I'm being greedy, I want to hear someone say, 'This role was written with Park Bo-gyung in mind.' I want to become someone who can express my own emotions."

<Photo source=Tving, Elzouleyn Entertainment>