Edited by Seo Hayne
Translated by Esther Lee
Park So Dam made her acting debut in the 2013 short film No More No Less. Following this, she starred in more than ten independent films, establishing her presence as an actress early in her career. She then garnered attention for taking her first lead role in the mystery film The Silenced (2015). Park So Dam played Yeon Duk, a lead character who neglects the mystery of disappearing girls at a Gyeongseong boarding school during the 1930s.
Park So Dam captivated the audience by playing the possessed girl in the Korean exorcism movie called The Priests (2015). She had been reportedly offered to play the role because of her “most Korean-looking face,” and she actually nailed her role as the girl who undergoes this unique eastern-themed exorcism. She received positive responses for flawlessly digesting the difficult role by constantly changing her voice to sound like different people speaking different languages. She also shocked many for shaving her head for real for the role. She took home numerous awards for her performance in this film, including the 2016 Blue Dragon Film Award for Best Supporting Actress and the 2016 Baeksang Arts Award for Best New Actress. That same year, she also starred in The Throne and Veteran.
She reached another turning point as an actress in 2019 with the film Parasite. She revealed that she had hit a slump after she was thrown into the spotlight for her role in The Priests. It was just then that she received the script for Parasite. She showcased the cunningness of an aspiring art student who lives in a moldy semi-basement apartment. Her scene of reciting her fake resume (Jessica jingle) for memorization practice to become the Park family’s art therapy tutor went extremely viral on the internet. She also drew attention for her resemblance to Choi Woo Shik.
Park So Dam, who is usually seen in films, starred in a TV series after Parasite. In tvN’s romance drama Record of Youth (2020), she played an aspiring makeup artist named Ahn Jung Ha. She gained sympathy from viewers for portraying a girl who overcame her difficult childhood and emerged into a successful woman.
Park So Dam is currently starring in the female-led action movie Special Delivery. She is playing a professional delivery expert named Eun Ha to showcase fabulous car chase scenes and wild physical fights that will quench our long-waited thirst for action films. Park So Dam was diagnosed with thyroid cancer ahead of the movie’s premiere and is currently actively promoting Special Delivery on her Instagram.
Park So Dam had to take a break from her acting in order to recover her health in 2022. I wish her a speedy recovery and I look forward to seeing her on the big screen in near future.
Editor Seo Hayne: I like actors as they faithfully lead through their long running-time. I also like idols who accomplish everything on stage within 3 minutes.
Translator Esther Lee: I’ll be providing you with up-to-date, reliable Korean entertainment news. Enjoy!
