Park Si Yeon Possibly Returning To Small Screen In New JTBC K-Drama ‘Fantastic,’ After Divorcing Park Sang Hun
It seems 2016 may be a year in which many K-drama stars, those who were on extended hiatuses or sabbaticals, either make their return, or announce their return to the Korean, or Asian in general, small screen. Park Shin Hye, whose last K-drama main role was in the popular late 2014, early 2015 series Pinocchio, made her return in Doctors (also known as Doctor Crush). Yoona, the “face” of Girls’ Generation also made her return to the small screen, three years after her last role in Prime Minister and I, in C-drama God of War, Zhao Yen. Finally, as an example of a K-drama actor or actress announcing their return to the small screen this year, Lee Bo Young, known for her roles in Let’s Eat and I Can Hear Your Voice, may be returning next year in Advance.
Now there is news of another K-drama actor or actress set to make their return on the small screen too. This time, Park Si Yeon is possibly returning in 2017 in the upcoming JTBC K-drama Fantastic. This will also be Si Yeon’s first K-drama acting gig since officially divorcing Park Sang Hun.
“Park Si Yeon is in talks over her appearance in JTBC’s new Friday-Saturday drama, Fantastic. She’s not confirmed.”
If Park Si Yeon does take on the role in Fantastic, it will be the first K-drama she will be a part of since 2014. The last time Si Yeon acted was in The Greatest Marriage (also known as The Best Wedding) starring alongside Bae Soo Bin and No Min Woo. In the K-drama, Si Yeon played Cha Gi Young, a popular news anchorwoman who is smart, capable, glamorous, and nationally loved. She is even ranked as the top of a list known as the “Women I Want To Emulate” by female college students.
Cha Gi Young however suffers a huge fall when her boyfriend, Park Tae Young, the son of leading cheabol group that owns a news corporation but does food and lifestyle coverage, gets her pregnant. Gi Young decides to have the baby out of wedlock and raise it as a single mother. Because of this choice, Gi Young becomes the subject of scorn and scandal.
Nevertheless, The Greatest Marriage did well given that it aired on TV Chosun, one of the cable/pay television channels in South Korea. Taking that fact into account, The Greatest Marriage should have had a relatively smaller audience compared to K-dramas airing on free channels like the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) or Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS). Earning an average viewership over one percent of the population nationwide is considered good, especially in 2014 when K-dramas, or the Hallyu Wave in general, was suffering.
“It is true that Park Si Yeon is currentling filing for a divorce. Since she’s still in the process of filing a suit and it is a private matter, it is difficult to reveal the reason for divorce.
“There were efforts to reach a settlement, but it was difficult to settle thus a suit had to be filed unfortunately. We ask that false rumors and speculations to not be spread in consideration of her young children. We will also take action [against false rumors and speculations].”
The story about Park Si Yeon making her comeback to K-dramas is ongoing and more information will be released as we get closer to the airing of Fantastic. Until then, K-drama fans can enjoy watching, or re-watching, Si Yeon’s last K-drama, The Greatest Marriage, for free, with ads, exclusively on DramaFever.
[Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photos]
