Park Eun-bin's 'extraordinary' run continues in superpowered 'The WONDERfools'

Park Eun-bin has been in the business for 30 years now.

After making her first TV appearance at the ripe age of 5 — she made her start in catalog modeling at 4 — she has appeared as the lead in 15 series, including as a brilliant rookie lawyer in “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” (2022). Her character in her latest series, “The WONDERfools,” allowed her “to let loose and have the time of my life,” Park said, who has often described herself as introverted and reserved.

“I came away with such great energy,” Park said in an interview in central Seoul's Samcheong neighborhood on Friday, a week after the Netflix series' premiere.

“The way she charges ahead without hesitation, with her bulldozer-like personality and a kind of simple, fearless way of thinking, gave me a real sense of courage. Thanks to [that personality], I was able to really let loose and enjoy myself,” Park said.

Park stars as Chae-ni, a spunky 27-year-old working at her grandmother's restaurant in 1999 Haeseong. Though a daring soul with a lot of dreams, she suffers from heart disease, which restricts her from leaving the city. That all changes after she suddenly acquires the ability to teleport. Together with her neighbors Ro-bin (Im Seong-jae) and Gyeong-hun (Choi Dae-hoon), and mysterious civil servant Un-jeong (Cha Eun-woo), all of whom have their own superpowers, they must save Haeseong from an evil organization.

Park said she wanted Chae-ni to feel wholly original, with a certain je ne sais quoi that would keep the character grounded. This was because it was a “difficult” project that required her to pivot quickly between genres: from anger and disappointment in a serious scene to comedy in the next, then into thriller territory.

“There were so many layers of emotion to express within a single character. That’s why I wanted to preserve the chaotic, unruly quality at her core so that whatever she did, Chae-ni was still Chae-ni,” she said. 

Director Yoo In-sik, whom she also worked with in “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” helped her with the development for the character's brashness.

“He gave me this example when he first explained the character of Chae-ni to me: If someone got a bad perm, most people would comfort them and say, ‘Don’t be upset.’”

“But Chae-ni never knows when she might die, so she feels she may never get another chance to tell that person the truth. So she would be the one to say, ‘Your perm looks strange. It doesn’t suit you.’”

After she acquires her powers, that fear begins to lift. “I wanted to capture that sense of freedom and vitality — the feeling that she is finally able to live in a bigger world,” Park said.

Such recklessness doesn’t reflect Park’s own personality, she said, describing herself as more of a “monotone” person who “lives quietly.” Instead, she has built a quieter kind of strength, one that keeps her grounded on set and in life as her acting career continues to evolve.

“I want to live a healthy life,” Park said. “I believe Park Eun-bin’s own well-being has to be protected for me to fully give myself to a character. So I’ve tried to protect my inner peace as much as possible.”

“Of course, there are times when I waver or fall apart, but I feel I’m maturing,” she said. “This year, as I mark my 30th anniversary [since debuting], I want to celebrate myself a little and tell myself, ‘You’ve worked hard. You’ve done well.’”

“I never paid much attention to numbers like that, but seeing how much my fans wanted to celebrate made me want to take time to return that love,” she added. 

“The WONDERfools” ended with a final scene hinting at a possible second season, but both the director and Park said they are waiting to see how audiences respond and are, for now, satisfied with the first season.

And as for a second season for “Extraordinary Attorney Woo?”

“I get this question every year,” Park said with a laugh. “As much as I cherish and love Woo Young-woo, so do the director and writer. We all want to preserve the world of Woo Young-woo as it is. If we can’t protect [what made it special], I think it’s as important to be able to keep it locked away in a treasure chest as it is.”

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]