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Park Hye-soo: The next best thing

Her mezzo-soprano vocals filled the atrium of Lotte Shopping Avenue in South Jakarta, lulling fans who gathered at the venue hours before the event started

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, October 31, 2015

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Park Hye-soo:  The next best thing

H

er mezzo-soprano vocals filled the atrium of Lotte Shopping Avenue in South Jakarta, lulling fans who gathered at the venue hours before the event started.

South Korean actress Park Hye-soo belted out '€œRemember Me Only'€, from the original soundtrack of The Gang Doctor drama series in which she made her acting debut.

The song seemed to be an affirmation that the 20-year-old was a born versatile artist.

While young adults of her age are competing to become singers or vocal girl group members under the management of pop idol-makers, Park took a different path.

'€œI would'€™ve tried if I could dance,'€ she quipped in the perfect English she picked up while living in the US in her teen years.

'€œI'€™ve had always wanted to become an actor. I took part in the singing competition as my stepping stone to the entertainment industry,'€ she said.

Born on Nov. 24, 1994, the student of Korean language and literature at Korea University braved herself to join the audition of singing-reality TV program K-Pop Star, although she never took any vocal training.

She didn'€™t pass the selection for 10 finalists of season four earlier this year, but her beautiful appearance and unique vocals grabbed the attention of Sim Entertainment.

That is the same agency managing Joo Won, currently the hottest male actor with worldwide fans, who assumed the role as Park'€™s physician brother in The Gang Doctor, the international title of Yong-pal.

Park said she had to observe a strict diet '€“ although she cheated once in a while, she said '€“ to suit her character as an ailing girl who becomes the main reason for her brother to breach the law to get money for her medication.

'€œMy seniors on the set helped me with my acting and gave me advice and tips on how to stay in the industry. Despite the tight schedule they spent one hour before shooting to talk to me and make me feel comfortable,'€ she said.

Although Park remained unsatisfied with her acting, the drama, which will be rerun on One TV starting Nov. 7, achieved a record-breaking success as the most viewed series this year.

'€œI knew the series would be a huge thing in South Korea, but I never expected it to be so popular in other countries,'€ said Park, who preferred to play a girl-next-door character for her next project.

The drama made her known as the '€œYong-pal'€™s sister'€ by people on the street and brought her and Joo Won on a trip to Jakarta and Singapore to meet their fans.

She had traveled to Singapore and Malaysia, but was still surprised by all the distinctive and interesting houses in Jakarta.

'€œI like Indonesian cuisine,'€ she said.

Looking like most girls who enjoy watching dramas and idol group performances, Park, who idolizes anyone fully committed to what they do, was serious about her choice to become an actor.

'€œI'€™m not going to release an album or single anytime soon, but I would like to contribute to the soundtrack of the drama I would be in.

'€œBoth singing and acting requires emotion, but I can do both at the same time,'€ she added.

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