Park Seo Joon Sheds ‘Hwarang’ Hanbok and Transforms Into Taekwondo Master In ‘Fight For My Way’

It hasn’t been long since Park Seo Joon played Sun Woo in the historical k-drama, Hwarang, with Park Hyung Sik and Go Ara. Now, he stars opposite Kim Ji Won in KBS2’s new rom-com, Fight For My Way.

Fight For My Way is a story about achieving one’s dreams despite difficult circumstances and forging friendships and finding love along the way. The story revolves around childhood friends Go Dong Man (Park Seo Joon) and Choi Ae Ra (Kim Ji Won).

Dong Man is a Taekwondo athlete who will turn into a mixed martial arts fighter. He is neighbors and has been friends since childhood with Ae Ra, who has always dreamed of becoming a news anchor but ends up as a front desk clerk at a high-end mall. Joining them are actors Song Ha Yoon and Ahn Jae Hong, who play Baek Seol Hee and Kim Joo Man, a couple that has been dating for six years. Actor Kim Sung Oh completes the main cast with his role as Dong Man’s teacher and mentor, Hwang Jang Ho.

During the press conference for Fight For My Way, main director PD Lee Na Jung said that she wanted to do a refreshing comedy to reflect the feeling of the end of spring transitioning into the beginning of summer.

“I wanted to tell a story that was realistic and sincere, rather than a story about those who are at the top,” Soompi reports PD Lee as saying. “I focused on trying to portray stories that are refreshing and actually reflect the lives of young people around us.”

Seo Joon meets expectations in his portrayal of Dong Man, a cheerful and over-protective underdog who is quick to lose his temper when provoked and who can’t quite seem to catch a break in his career. The only thing he knows and excels at is Taekwondo, but an event in 2007 holds him back from pursuing his path to the national team. Only in its second episode, Fight For My Way has yet to reveal the mystery of why Dong Man doesn’t want to go back to his beloved sport.

Park Seo Joon is known for completely going into character in his k-drama roles. He was exceptional in his past roles as novelist Oh Ri On in Kill Me, Heal Me, and as a fashion magazine editor-in-chief in She Was Pretty. In Fight For My Way, Seo Joon was said to have even attended actual martial arts matches and went into training with Road FC fighters for his role.

“I had originally wanted to do a role where I could sit and talk more, since my previous projects contained more action scenes. But I changed my mind when I came across this character,” Park Seo Joon said. “Since my character is really bright and refreshing, I’ve been trying to channel an optimistic energy on set.”

Meanwhile, k-dramas would often promise its fans something to make them happy if ratings reach a certain number. It can be remembered that Jo Woo Jin who played Secretary Kim in Goblin, promised to dance to TWICE’s TT if they surpass the 20-percent mark in ratings. Goblin‘s final episode achieved an average viewership of 20.5, with a high of 22.1 percent, prompting the actor to perform his promised dance on the k-drama’s February 3 special episode.

Park Hyung Sik and Ji Soo also promised a special free hugs event during the press conference of Strong Woman Do Bong Soon months ago. The actors then stated that if their first broadcast marked over 3 percent in viewership ratings, they would both be giving out free hugs. The drama hit 4.04 percent, and as promised, both Hallyu actors gave away free hugs to 100 randomly pre-selected fans during White Day last March 14.

Fight For My Way has an extreme ratings promise though. At the press conference, actor Kim Sung Oh declared that if the ratings pass 30 percent, lead stars Park Seo Joon and Kim Ji Won can marry. However, if the drama fails at 30 percent, but goes above 20 percent, Ahn Jae Hong and Song Ya Yoon could marry each other instead. The ratings promise is of course only a joke, but Seo Joon offered a more realistic alternative. If the drama surpasses 30 percent, he promised to go on a Busan tour with fans since most of the scenes in Fight For My Way were filmed in Busan. So far, the drama has opened with a 5.6-percent rating on its first episode and increased to 6 percent on Episode 2. With 18 more episodes to go, the drama is off to a good start, as is Park Seo Joon’s promising career.

Fight My Way airs every Monday and Tuesday at KBS2.

[Featured Image by KBS2]