Park Shin-hye is one of the best actors in South Korea, and it is still incredibly frustrating to watch her in shows like The Heirs, Pinocchio and Memories Of The Alhambra.
One of the most prolific actors in South Korea, Park Shin-hye’s has an astounding global fan-base, that even kept track of her recent wedding with Choi Tae-joon. With numerous successful shows and films under her wing, she has established herself as one of the leading actors in South Korea. For those who have seen her in films and shows like Stay Alive, Doctors and Sisyphus, the teenage drama Heirs almost feels like a gross injustice to her—which ironically is what cemented her position as one of the most promising actors of the Hallyu wave.
The Heirs is one of the shows that spurred on the Korean wave. The show stars Lee Min-ho, who had starred in just another high-school drama a few years before this, Park Shin-hye and Kim Woo-bin. You don’t expect to go wrong with a cast like that, it sounds like a dream come true. You expect that Lee Min-ho’s smouldering looks and Park Shin-hye’s fresh wide-eyed innocence would blend perfectly, and the teenage drama would wring your heart like other K-dramas.
Throwback: When 'the Heirs' Co Star Kim Woo Bin Awarded Best Couple To Lee Min Ho And Park Shin Hye
Also Read | 7 years of Pinocchio: When Park Shin-hye actually cried during break-up scene with Lee Jong-suk, said show left her weak
Unfortunately, it was incredibly frustrating to watch Park Shin-hye being tossed around between two men in the show, and it was even more so to know that she played a similar role in Pinocchio, which released a year after Heirs. Both these shows received international fame and cemented Park Shin-hye’s status as one of the most prolific actors in South Korea, but truth be told, she deserved so much more. It’s almost upsetting to watch her constantly wait, cry and sacrifice for a moody lover in her shows.
The Heirs had some engrossing plotlines about torn and dysfunctional families—a woman relegated to just being her husband’s mistress, two warring brothers, marriages of convenience, and the burning problem of inheritance. Park Shin-hye’s character, Cha Eeun-Sang is thrown into the middle of all this, as she falls in love with Lee Min-ho’s Kim Tan. She is the housekeeper’s daughter, and so of course, any relationship with her is frowned upon. Of course, his evil father (who has a change of heart later), doesn’t want her anywhere near his son and is is concocting schemes against her. And so, a majority of Park Shin-hye’s screen-time goes in looking apologetic and miserable about herself, asking for forgiveness from everyone.
Park Shin Hye, Kim Woo Bin, Lee Jong Suk: Three Friends Dominate Weekday Dramas @ Hancinema
What makes matters worse, is his enemy, played by Kim Woo-bin is in love with her too. For a majority of the series, Cha Eun Sang walks with this permanently nervous gait, watching while two men fight over her—literally shove her aside, while exchanging heated words with each other. In fact, in several scenes Kim Tan almost treats her like his badly behaved pet and even uses instructions like, “Go!” as he engages in verbal battles with Kim Woo-bin. There are several fistfights over here, and she remains a terrified spectator, watching while two men decide her fate. It’s astounding at the number of times that Kim Tan drags her off if he finds her in a place that she isn’t supposed to be, and she follows him meekly. What’s more infuriating is, that Kim Tan asks Choi Young to ‘take care’ of her, when he can’t, owing to his own family troubles, as if she’s a hapless woman who needs constant care and attention.
There’s no other way to put it, but Kim Tan literally stalks her at points and coerces her to fall in love with him, sometimes even reading her Facebook messages. For a majority of the series, she has no will of her own and is constantly trying to sacrifice her happiness for everyone—painfully reminiscent of Hindi serial bahus. Kim Woo-bin’ Choi Young is no better, he bullies her mercilessly and then her overt sweetness warms his cold heart.The show believes in the age-old adage ‘the woman will change a man’, and it was almost painful to watch Park Shin-hye, who had already established herself as an actor of mettle in The Heirs. But sorry, your sympathies must lie with Kim Tan and Choi Young, two victims of broken families. Cha Eun-sang’s issues of poverty and absconding sister, are all secondary—if at all, they feature.
Till the last episode, you’d hope that she would have more spine and fire, but no, you’re robbed of that hope as well, as it boils down to a battle over property.
Park Shin Hye & Kim Woo Bin At Anhui Tv Drama Awards 18 December 2013
Shortly after The Heirs, Park Shin-hye starred in Pinocchio, another show that cemented her as the carrier of the Hallyu Wave—and another show that didn’t do justice to her. Ironically, the title of Pinocchio is based on Park Shin-hye’s character In-ha, a girl, who develops violent hiccups whenever she tries to lie. However, the story follows Lee Jong-suk’s revenge quest to oust the anchor who destroyed his life. The anchor’s daughter happens to be In-ha, the girl he has grudgingly fallen in love with. While her character is a tad more outspoken and feisty than Cha Eun Sang, the essence is still the same. You would think that In-ha would have a powerful role to play in the show—but again, she seems like a plot device—as a love interest, who just wants to make her seething boyfriend happy. She sacrifices for him consistently, and is ignored, dismissed and even publicly humiliated by him, till of course he learns her worth and has achieved his revenge.
In 2018, she starred in the sci-fi drama Memories Of The Alhambra, alongside the ever-reliable Hyun Bin. The series focussed on a mysterious augmented reality game that seeps into reality, inspired by stories of the Alhambra palace. The drama is one of the highest-rated Korean dramas in cable history—-and yet, Park Shin-Hye has hardly a role to play in it, for the majority of the series, except to yearn for a seemingly indifferent man and be at his beck and call.
Injustice has been done to Park Shin-hye over the years in several of her big-budget shows, where she has played just second fiddle to the male lead, who has full ambition and backstory, while she exists to validate his existence. She deserves a lot more.
Humanimal,” The Other Side Of The World
Shortly after The Heirs, Park Shin-hye starred in Pinocchio, another show that cemented her as the carrier of the Hallyu Wave—and another show that didn’t do justice to her. Ironically, the title of Pinocchio is based on Park Shin-hye’s character In-ha, a girl, who develops violent hiccups whenever she tries to lie. However, the story follows Lee Jong-suk’s revenge quest to oust the anchor who destroyed his life. The anchor’s daughter happens to be In-ha, the girl he has grudgingly fallen in love with. While her character is a tad more outspoken and feisty than Cha Eun Sang, the essence is still the same. You would think that In-ha would have a powerful role to play in the show—but again, she seems like a plot device—as a love interest, who just wants to make her seething boyfriend happy. She sacrifices for him consistently, and is ignored, dismissed and even publicly humiliated by him, till of course he learns her worth and has achieved his revenge.
In 2018, she starred in the sci-fi drama Memories Of The Alhambra, alongside the ever-reliable Hyun Bin. The series focussed on a mysterious augmented reality game that seeps into reality, inspired by stories of the Alhambra palace. The drama is one of the highest-rated Korean dramas in cable history—-and yet, Park Shin-Hye has hardly a role to play in it, for the majority of the series, except to yearn for a seemingly indifferent man and be at his beck and call.
Injustice has been done to Park Shin-hye over the years in several of her big-budget shows, where she has played just second fiddle to the male lead, who has full ambition and backstory, while she exists to validate his existence. She deserves a lot more.
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