This series looks back at the works that shaped today’s top stars. “Lee Kun-hee’s Fame” introduces signature projects and revisits careers through memorable scenes and lines. <Editor’s note>
Singer-actor Park Ji-hoon, known to many as a former Wanna One member who once leaned on a cute, boyish image, is drawing attention for a darker screen presence. He has reached a new turning point with the film "The Man Who Lives With the King," released on the 4th, where he showcased a more mature range.
According to the Korean Film Council’s integrated ticketing network, "The Man Who Lives With the King" had reached a cumulative 6,733,443 admissions as of the previous day, raising expectations that it could pass 10 million moviegoers.
Though his idol profile is strong, Park is also a 20-year acting veteran. He debuted as a child actor in the 2006 MBC drama "Jumong" and has continued to build his credentials through a range of roles.
"Save you in my heart"
The line most closely associated with Park is “Save you in my heart.” On Mnet’s national audition program "Produce 101 Season 2" in 2017, he finished second at age 17 and went on to promote as a member of Wanna One. The group rose to become a nationwide idol act, winning a large female fan base.
During the show, Park’s delivery of the phrase — paired with a cute, signature gesture — became a viral moment and one of the program’s best-known scenes. While Wanna One’s popularity was built on the members’ skills and chemistry, Park’s impact helped make the group especially accessible to the public.
"Don’t cross the line"
Park’s acting profile sharpened with the webtoon-based Wavve original "Weak Hero Class 1." He played Yeon Si-eun, a student obsessed with studying who also knows how to strike back when provoked. The role highlighted both vulnerability and a chilling intensity, particularly through his controlled gaze and restrained emotion.
In the story, Yeon grows close to Ahn Su-ho (played by Choi Hyun-wook) and learns the value of friendship. In Netflix’s "Weak Hero Class 2," he misses Su-ho while facing new conflicts after a forced transfer, gradually coming to understand what real friendship means.
A scene in Season 2 in which Yeon shouts, “Don’t cross the line,” echoed a Season 1 line in which Su-ho tried to calm him by saying, “You shouldn’t cross the line.” The callback underscored Yeon’s charisma and his longing for Su-ho, who is in a coma.
The "Weak Hero" series not only helped Park gain recognition as an actor, it also influenced his casting in "The Man Who Lives With the King," which has been posting strong box-office results. Director Jang Hang-jun has said he wanted to cast Park after watching the "Weak Hero" series, adding, “His eyes were different from those of an ordinary man in his 20s. I liked that look — anger and emotions sunk deep down, as if they could burst at any moment.”
"Isn’t it you?"
In "The Man Who Lives With the King," Park plays Danjong, a tragic king who surrenders the throne to his uncle, King Sejo, after the Gyeyu coup, is exiled and meets a grim end.
For the role, Park lost 15 kilograms, drawing notice for reports that he did it through diet control without exercise. The reason, according to the article, was that Danjong’s portrayal — refusing food and drink and lacking the will to live — could not convincingly be shown with a muscular physique.
Early in the film, Park’s eyes convey a Danjong who has lost everything, making the character’s occasional flashes of royal authority stand out more sharply.
Danjong is not written as a character known for many quotable lines. Still, a moment in which he makes a decision and asks Eom Heung-do (played by Yoo Hae-jin), “Isn’t it you?” leaves a clear impression of how deeply he cares for him. In another scene, when Eom’s son, Tae-san (played by Kim Min), is in danger, Danjong erupts at the villain Han Myeong-hoe (played by Yoo Ji-tae), saying, “You scoundrel — how dare you insult the royal family?”
Park, once defined by a cute image, has broadened into an actor who can project charisma and a darker intensity through his eyes alone. He is set to return in the first half of this year as Kang Seong-jae, the lead in TVING’s original series "Becoming a Legend as a Cook Soldier," based on a webtoon of the same name. Kang is a newly assigned private at the Gangrim outpost who, as an army cook, accepts a “job-change quest” after following an unfamiliar voice. The series is expected to highlight a softer charm rather than the intensity seen in his recent work.
◇Park Ji-hoon filmography
△Debut — 2006 MBC drama "Jumong"
△Selected works
2017 Mnet audition program "Produce 101 Season 2"
2019 JTBC drama "Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency"
2020 KakaoTV drama "Love Revolution"
2022 Wavve original "Weak Hero Class 1"
2025 Netflix original "Weak Hero Class 2"
2026 film "The Man Who Lives With the King"
* This article has been translated by AI.
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