[HanCinema's News] Park Joo-hee Talks About "Happiness - Drama"

In the recently concluded "Happiness - Drama" actress Park Joo-hee plays Ji-soo, a military officer working to contain a cataclysmic plague called madness rabies. The drama ended with ratings of 4.2%, with 2.6% of that total deriving from tvN's target demographic of people aged 20-49. "Happiness - Drama" is also available on the domestic streaming platform TVing and internationally via Rakuten Viki. In a recent interview, Park Joo-hee discussed her experience.

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Though not mentioned directly in the drama itself, Ji-soo is an exceptionally qualified officer. She holds a nursing license as well as international dispatch experience. Yet even she struggles to maintain composure as she assists Colonel Han, who was played by Jo Woo-jin, in containment. Park Joo-hee received vocal coaching to make her voice sound both low and appropriately militaristic. Park Joo-hee said she agonized over getting this aspect of the character correct even for brief, functional lines.

Hair was another aspect of concern for Park Joo-hee, who agreed with production staff that she needed a haircut to a shorter style more in line with that of soldiers. Park Joo-hee thought her final hair was actually still too long. While Park Joo-hee had hoped shorter hair would improve her charisma she found that in practice the style just made her look younger and cuter. Park Joo-hee was relieved she had not gotten an even shorter haircut, which may have further intensified the effect.

Ironically, Park Joo-hee is now keeping that hairstyle, which may be more appropriate for other roles. Park Joo-hee also attributed some of this impression to her chemistry with Jo Woo-jin. Park Joo-hee claims that she invested a lot into her own personal backstory with her character's superior officer, to expain why she could tolerate abrupt changes in his decision-making process. Park Joo-hee noted that Jo Woo-jin expressed intimidation through gestures as often as he did through dialog.

This created an ambiguous dynamic between the characters with Colonel Han finally referring to Ji-soo by her actual name showcasing surprising intimacy in the context of Colonel Han's ultimate request. This was one of many ad libs from the original script. Apparently the matter had been discussed early in production, although Park Joo-hee had forgotten about it by the time Jo Woo-jin actually did it, giving her reaction genuine surprise.

Written by William Schwartz