Unveiling Park Shin-yang: The Actor’s Bold Shift to Art and His Latest Exhibition Insights

Kim Ju-ha’s Day & Night / Photo: MBN capture

By Jeong Ye-won, Sports Today

Park Shin-yang reflected on his career as an actor during an appearance on MBN’s Kim Ju-ha’s Day & Night.

The show’s 16th episode, which aired on the 14th, peaked at 2.5% nationwide, according to Nielsen Korea.

The episode opened with a parody of the drama Lovers in Paris performed by Moon Se-yoon and Jo Jazz, titled \”Day-Night Lovers.\” When the hosts egged Park on with \”Come on, baby, let’s go,\” he hesitated — and Kim Ju-ha, channeling the female lead, leapt up, grabbed Park’s wrist and delivered a spirited \”Okay, let’s go,\” prompting big laughs.

Park, who has been painting for 13 to 14 years, said that after the film Three Days he stepped away from acting for six years to focus on his work as a painter. For the exhibition running at the Sejong Center Art Museum since March 6, he even recreated the same large set in Andong and effectively moved the museum’s installation there.

He described a visceral artistic awakening he experienced at a museum while studying in Russia, likening it to \”mint candies pouring into me.\” The public initially met his shift to painting with skepticism. Addressing rumors that he took up painting as an escape, Park dismissed the idea: \”Calling it an escape doesn’t fit. This is serious work.\” He also rejected suggestions that he was using his fame to sell paintings, arguing that art can’t be reduced to money. \”Right now, my responsibility is to show the work,\” he said, explaining why he isn’t selling his pieces at the moment.

Park also reflected on his acting career, admitting it was often grueling. \”Everything was hard. I gave each role my all,\” he said. He confessed that some of the iconic lines from the hit drama Lovers in Paris — which reached a 57.6% peak rating — made him feel self-conscious. To bring the famous confession to life, he said he amplified the emotion on the line that became a female-fan favorite: \”Why can’t you speak! That man is my man! That man is my lover — why can’t you say it?!\” He joked that he had considered singing \”My Way\” instead of the well-known \”Can I Love You?\” and said he studied Elton John’s live performances while preparing the confession-song scene.

Park revealed he has endured four spinal fractures over the course of his career and faced thyroid problems in 2020 that left him bedridden for a time. \”I now have a titanium disc implanted,\” he said. He recalled filming Lovers in Paris while relying on crutches for the entire shoot, removing them only for takes. Recounting tough moments on other projects, he described the discomfort of watching a cadaver dissection while filming Jang Hang-jun’s Sign — Jang later directed a film that drew 13 million admissions — and experiencing a shamanic clapping ritual during Park Su Geondal. He drew a clear line on retirement: if good films or dramas come along and he has the opportunity, \”I can do them anytime.\”

Park, who has also published books, said he used to spend nine to ten hours explaining his work to visitors in his studio. When rumors later circulated that he hadn’t actually painted the works — \”You didn’t paint that, did you?\” — he was hurt by how his sincerity was distorted, which motivated him to start writing. Now on his third book, he presented signed copies to the three hosts, and Kim Ju-ha posed for a photo at Park’s exhibition.

Next week, judges Nam Jin and Jo Hang-jo from the program Legend of the Unknown are scheduled to appear on the show.

The 17th episode of Kim Ju-ha’s Day & Night will air on the 21st at 9:40 PM.

[Sports Today reporter Jeong Ye-won ent@stoo.com]
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