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Park Eun-bin, who recently wrapped up Disney+ series Hyper Knife with success, shared her thoughts in an interview at a café in Samcheong-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, on April 15. “I’m good at distinguishing when to spend energy and when not to, both on and off set,” she said, showcasing the seasoned composure honed through her 30-year acting career. / Courtesy of Walt Disney Company Korea

For many actors, it’s not easy to shake off a role after filming ends—especially when portraying intense characters like psychopathic criminals. The emotional toll can linger, prompting growing interest in post-shoot therapy, even in Korea. But for actress Park Eun-bin, who recently starred in Disney+’s Hyper Knife, that’s not the case.

Meeting with reporters at a café in Seoul’s Samcheong-dong on April 15, Park beamed with her signature smile and spoke calmly about her experience. “Someone once told me that after acting for 30 years, I’ve developed a kind of manual for separating my characters from my real self. Thanks to that, I’m doing fine,” she said, showing the poise of a seasoned veteran.

In Hyper Knife, which concluded last week, Park took on the role of Se-ok, a genius surgeon with antisocial personality disorder—a stark departure from her previous roles in warm-hearted series like Extraordinary Attorney Woo and Castaway Diva. The eight-part medical thriller gained attention both for her transformation and the unsettling dynamic between Se-ok and her equally brilliant mentor Deok-hee, played by veteran actor Sol Kyung-gu.

“I was playing a series of sunny, wholesome characters when the Hyper Knife script landed on my desk. The description—‘a surgeon who saves but also kills’—piqued my curiosity. I asked the creators why they thought of me for the role, and they said they were confident the story would feel fresher with me in it. I didn’t choose it just to change my image, but I was intrigued by the unfamiliar plot and character.”

Beyond expanding her range, Park described working with Sol Kyung-gu as one of the project’s most rewarding experiences. Their characters, both mirroring each other in brilliance and darkness, clash in hatred yet secretly recognize and even love one another—a complex emotional web that she said was a joy to perform. While she hoped to lean on Sol as a junior actor, he surprised her.

“When I heard he was considering the role, I literally shouted, ‘No way!’ I’d only seen him in films and had never met him. I was so excited and ready to rely on him, but he didn’t fully ‘open his shoulders’ to me,” she laughed. “Later I realized he was treating me as an equal—like a fellow actor, not a junior. I actually asked him tons of questions and eventually, we became close. He even gave me permission to call him my closest senior colleague.”

Park’s next project is a comic action series titled The Wonderfuls, which she said she’s currently filming with great joy. As for the much-speculated second season of Extraordinary Attorney Woo, she offered a cautious response: “No one knows what the future holds. I think a second season should only happen if there’s a clear sense it can surpass the first. I haven’t received any contact about it.”