Park Bo-gum

Park Bo-gum (Hangul: 박보검; Hanja: 朴寶劍; born June 16, 1993) is a South Korean actor. He gained acclaim with his diverse range of roles in film and television, notably, a psychopathic lawyer in Hello Monster (2015), a genius Go player in Reply 1988 (2015) and Joseon's Crown Prince Lee Yeong in Love in the Moonlight (2016).

Early life and education

Born in Seoul on 16 June 1993, Park is the youngest of three siblings. "Bo-gum" means 'precious sword' (寶劍).^[1] His mother passed away when he was in fourth grade.^[2] He started learning to play the piano when he was five and was a pianist and choir member at church.^[3]

Park was in the swimming varsity team of Seoul Mokdong Middle School.^[4][5] During his sophomore year of high school he sent a video of himself singing and playing the piano to prominent talent management agencies which led to several offers.^[6] Park, who initially wanted to be singer-songwriter, later changed his career path after a suggestion that he would do well acting.^[7][8] After graduating from Shinmok High School, he enrolled at Myongji University's Film and Musical Studies Department. In 2015, he represented his university's cultural overseas exchange program where he traveled to cities in England, France, Italy and Switzerland.^[9]

Career

2011–2013: Beginnings

Park debuted as an actor under Sidus HQ, playing a supporting role as Kim Ha-neul's little brother in the thriller film Blind (2011).^[10][11] He then joined Blossom Entertainment and featured in the action-comedy film Runway Cop (2012), one-off KBS drama special Still Picture (2012) and the period drama Bridal Mask (2012).^[12][13] In 2013, he landed his first major role in the weekend drama Wonderful Mama playing the playboy son of Bae Jong-ok's character.^[14]

2014–2015: Rising popularity and acclaim

In 2014, Park played the teenage version of Lee Seo-jin's character in the melodrama Wonderful Days and played a prodigy cellist in the KBS2'S Cantabile Tomorrow, an adaptation of the Japanese manga Nodame Cantabile.^[15][16] The roles earned Park "Best New Actor" nominations in both the KBS Drama Awards and the APAN Star Awards.^[17][18]

At a fan-signing event for Reply 1988, February 2016

He next featured in the critically acclaimed box-office hits A Hard Day (2014) which screened at the Cannes Film Festival and The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014) which grossed over US$132 million in South Korea.^[19]

In May 2015, Park joined Music Bank as a co-host alongside Red Velvet's Irene. They both gained attention for their chemistry as well as singing and hosting skills.^[20] The press called them one of the best partnerships in the show's 18-year history and Park was awarded the "Best Newcomer Award" at the KBS Entertainment Awards.^[21][22]

A departure from his previous roles and public image, Park gained rave reviews from audience and critics with his scene-stealing role in crime drama Hello Monster (2015).^[23] The portrayal won him the "Popularity" and "Best Supporting Actor" awards at the year-end KBS Drama Awards.^[24] The same year, he featured in Coin Locker Girl which screened at Cannes Film Festival.^[25] The role earned him a nomination for "Best New Actor in Film" at the Baeksang Arts Awards.^[26]

He was then cast as one of the leads in the third installment of the widely-known Reply series of cable network tvN. Set in 1980's Seoul, Park played the genius, socially-inept Go-player Choi Taek in Reply 1988 (2015). The series was a hit with audience ratings peaking at 18.8% making it the highest-rated show in Korea's cable television history. It catapulted Park to fame not only in Korea but also made him known as an emerging Korean Wave star, with the Top Chinese Music Awards presenting him with "Best International Artist Award", the American-based DramaFever Awards giving him the "Best Rising Star Award" and tvN10 awarding him "Asia Star Award".^[27] He was also nominated for the "iQiyi Global Star Award" at the Baeksang Arts Award and won the "Best New Actor" trophy at the APAN Star Awards for his work in Reply.^[28]

2016–present: Mainstream success

At the press conference of Love in the Moonlight, August 2016

Post-Reply, Park became an in-demand advertising model and had earned an estimated US$3.4 million in 2016 solely from filming commercials.^[29][30][31] In January 2016, he held his first ever fan-meeting in Seoul which was attended by a sold-out crowd of 3,500 fans.^[32] This was followed by his first overseas fan-meeting in April 2016 in Taipei.^[33]

At the beginning of 2016, he starred in tvN's travel program Youth Over Flowers: Africa.^[34] He also guested in 2 Days & 1 Night after being invited on-air by labelmate Cha Tae-hyun. His appearance recorded a 19.9% audience share– the show's highest rating in two years.^[35] After more than a year as Music Bank host, he left the show in June 2016.^[36]

In August 2016, he starred in KBS2's coming-of-age, youth sageuk Love in the Moonlight alongside Kim Yoo-jung. The drama marked Park's first leading role in a public broadcasting station.^[37] A domestic and international hit, Moonlight achieved peak audience rating of 23.3%.^[38][39] Its popularity was called "Moonlight Syndrome" and Park's pop culture influence as "Bogum Magic".^[40][41][42] The drama solidified Park's status as a top star as well as a versatile leading actor.^[43] He also released his first soundtrack for Moonlight's OST entitled "My Person". The song topped Melon, Mnet, Bugs, olleh, Soribada, Genie, Naver and Monkey3 charts upon its release and debuted at #3 on Gaon Music Chart.^[44][45]

In the media

Considered a new generation Hallyu Star, Park is also known for his upstanding persona.^{[46][47][48][49]} Colleagues describe him as kind and polite with the Korean media dubbing him the "National Man of Good Influence".^[50] He has also been affectionately called the top candidate for "Nation's Son-in-Law" due to his diverse fan-base, from teens to grandmothers.^[51][52][53] In addition, advertisers often cite his "boyishness and manliness", "easygoing and high-class image" and "bright and positive vibe".^[54][55]

Filmography

Film

Television series

At a film premiere, April 2016

Variety show

Music video

Hosting

Discography

Soundtrack

Endorsements

The "Park Bo-gum Effect", coined by the Korean Business Research Institute, refers to the Park's consistent high brand reputation ranking indicating his effectiveness as an endorser across different demographics.^[62]

Fan-meeting

Date	City	Country/Region	Title	Venue
January 16, 2016	Seoul		Our Exciting First Meeting[63]	KBS Arena
April 23, 2016	Taipei		Close to U[64]	Taipei International Convention Center
December 10, 2016	Kuala Lumpur		Oh Happy Day: 2016-2017 Asia Fan-meeting Tour[65]	Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre
December 17, 2016	Hong Kong			AsiaWorld–Expo
January 13, 2017	Jakarta			Kota Kasablanka
January 22, 2017	Taipei			National Taiwan University Sports Center
February 4, 2017	Tokyo			Tokyo International Forum
February 11, 2017	Bangkok			Thunder Dome, Muangthong Thani
February 18, 2017	Singapore			The Star Performing Arts Center
2017	Seoul			TBA

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Park Bo-gum.

• Park Bo-gum on Twitter
  
• Park Bo-gum on Sina Weibo
• Park Bo-gum at Blossom Entertainment
• Official Korean Fansite
• Official Japanese Fansite
• Park Bo-gum at the Internet Movie Database
• Park Bo-gum at HanCinema
  
• Park Bo-gum at the Korean Movie Database