Jaehwa Bernardo

Park Bo-young during the press conference for 'Gold Land' in Seoul, South Korea on April 27, 2026. Photo courtesy of Disney+ Philippines

Article (news)

Why Park Bo-young chose ‘Gold Land’ for first foray into crime genre

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:633px;display:block" width="633"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177734801164427_1107GOLD08125 (1).jpg" style="width:633px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="633"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Park Bo-young during the press conference for &#x27;Gold Land&#x27; in Seoul, South Korea on April 27, 2026. <em>Photos courtesy of Disney+ Philippines</em></span></span></span></div><p>K-drama audiences are likely familiar with Park Bo-young for her youthful, baby-faced visuals, which lend her an endearingly sweet image, as seen in romance and comforting series such as “Oh My Ghost,” “Strong Woman Do Bong-soon” and “Daily Dose of Sunshine,” among others.</p><p>But the 36-year-old actress is seeking to veer away from that image with the Disney+ series “Gold Land,” which also marks her first foray into the crime genre.</p><p>“It was a genre that I wanted to try. I had a meeting with director Kim [Sung-hoon] and he told me that people would think that I’m the type who wouldn&#x27;t want to seize gold and just return it,” Bo-young recounted during a press conference ahead of the series’ premiere this Wednesday, April 29.</p><p>“So if someone who isn&#x27;t the type to chase their desires ends up chasing their desires then people would feel differently about this story. That’s why I wanted to be part of this show,” she said through an interpreter.</p><p>In “Gold Land,” Bo-young portrays Kim Hee-ju, an airport security screening agent who unexpectedly comes into possession of gold bars worth 150 billion Korean won (approximately P6 billion), which are linked to a smuggling organization. This forces Hee-ju to go on the run from some of the country&#x27;s most dangerous men.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hKxv9FfAMY0?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div><p>The words “greed” and “desire” were frequently mentioned throughout the press conference, suggesting they are key themes in the series, along with the complexity of human morality.</p><p>As director Kim explained: “If you watch the show you&#x27;ll be able to feel this — the big thing is that a person is not just good or evil. Sometimes your goodness becomes bigger, sometimes your evil side becomes bigger, so there is a complex web of emotions at play inside of you.</p><p>“And there’s sometimes a part of you, which is desire, and sometimes that desire becomes very big and takes over your entire heart,” he said.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:633px;display:block" width="633"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177734878465127_1112GOLD08385 (1).jpg" style="width:633px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="633"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">(From left) Kim Sung-cheol, Moon Jeong-hee, Lee Hyun-wook, director Kim Sung-hoon, Park Bo-young, Kim Hee-won and Lee Kwang-soo</span></span></span></div><div><strong>PREPARATION</strong></div><p>In preparing for her role, Bo-young shared she lost weight and barely wore any makeup.</p><p>“Hee-ju is a character who did not have a happy family and when she is on the run with the gold, she would be very nervous and always on edge so [director Kim] wanted me to look drained and worn out,” Bo-young said.</p><p>“He said that maybe having no makeup would work better so at first I thought, maybe I needed a little bit of makeup... but later on, I put almost no makeup on myself.”</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/10/16/23/park-bo-young-park-hyung-sik-reunite-in-strong-girl-nam-soon"><strong>READ: Park Bo-young, Park Hyung-sik reunite for &#x27;Strong Girl Nam-soon&#x27; cameo<br/></strong></a></div><p>Director Kim, for his part, praised Bo-young’s performance, particularly her portrayal of Hee-ju’s character development throughout the series.</p><p>“Showing your greed is not something that you can do from the outside because it’s something that happens on the inside and she (Bo-young) pulled off a very nuanced portrayal of her evolution, her emotional evolution,” he said, adding that fans can also expect to see action scenes involving the actress.</p><p>“You&#x27;re going to see a whole new facet of Bo-young,” he added.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177734891945027_1108GOLD08177 (1).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Kim Sung-Cheol and Park Bo-young</span></span></span></div><div><strong>OTHER STARS</strong></div><p>The series also features Kim Sung-cheol as Jang Wook, who discovers that Hee-ju is in possession of gold and deliberately approaches her; Lee Hyun-wook as Lee Do-gyeong, Hee-ju’s boyfriend and the catalyst of the unfolding events; and Lee Kwang-soo as Director Park, the series’ antagonist who is also intent on recovering the missing gold.</p><p>The cast also includes actor and director Kim Hee-won as Kim Jin-man, as a detective who is “held hostage by desire,” and actress Moon Jeong-hee as Yeo Seon-ok, Hee-ju’s mother.</p><p>Kwang-soo, best known as a former cast member of the variety show “Running Man,” returns to playing a villain, as he did in “The Manipulated,” another Disney+ crime thriller. But the actor said there are differences between Director Park and his past villain role. </p><p>“This is my very first time playing a character who is good at fighting so I have a lot of action sequences and I loved being in them. There are also different types of greed and I have never been a character with this much greed, so this is definitely a different villain from the other villain roles I&#x27;ve played,” he explained.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2025/11/5/ji-chang-wook-out-for-revenge-against-doh-kyung-soo-in-the-manipulated-0800"><strong>READ: Ji Chang-wook out for revenge against Doh Kyung-soo in ‘The Manipulated’<br/></strong></a></div><p>The series also reunites Kwang-soo and Bo-young, who previously worked together in the 2015 film “Collective Invention.” Kwang-soo, who is also close to the actress, acknowledged that, “You could feel a little bit shy to work in front of your good friend.”</p><p>“[But] I felt at ease around her so even if I do this or that, I have confidence and trust in her that she&#x27;d be able to play off my energy so I was very satisfied with chemistry with Bo-young,” he said, a sentiment echoed by the actress.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177734895254727_1109GOLD08216 (1).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Lee Hyun-wook and Park Bo-young</span></span></span></div><p>Speaking about her chemistry with the two male leads, Bo-young said: “Together with Sung-cheol, it’s very hard to see what kind of dynamic the two have because it’s very layered.”</p><p>“On set, Sung-cheol had a lot of ad-libs and he surprised me with his different performances, and thanks to his variety of ways of performing, I think it kept our dynamics very interesting until the very end,” she said.</p><p>With Hyun-wook, who plays her lover, she added, “He’s a very sweet guy. He would always ask me, ‘Would this work better for you or would that work better for you?’.”</p><p>“I could feel that he’s being very nice to me, and I think you could feel that on the screen as well,” Bo-young said.</p>

<p>Park Bo-young hopes to surprise audiences by shedding her usual image, taking on the role of a woman who comes into possession of gold bars in the crime series 'Gold Land.'</p>

Park Bo-young hopes to surprise audiences by shedding her usual image, taking on the role of a woman who comes into possession of gold bars in the crime series 'Gold Land.'

Why Park Bo-young chose ‘Gold Land’ as first foray into crime genre

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

Movies & Series

Why Park Bo-young chose ‘Gold Land’ as first foray into crime genre

Jaehwa Bernardo,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 29, 2026 08:11 AM PHT

|

Updated April 29, 2026 08:23 AM PHT

Read More:

K-content

K-drama

Disney+

Gold Land

Park Bo-young

Kim Sung-cheol

Lee Hyung-wook

Lee Kwang-soo

Moon Jeong-hee

Kim Hee-won

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.