While most popular South Korean actresses that we know divide their works between television dramas and films, Park Min-young is one of those who devoted almost only on TV series.
The only movie she acted in is a horror flick The Cat back in 2011.
As for her works on television, here are twelve K-dramas to watch starring Park Min-young:
1.Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010)
Based on Jung Eun-gwol’s bestselling 2007 novel The Lives of Sungkyunkwan Confucian Scholars, this historical drama stars Park Min-young alongside Park Yoo-chun, Yoo Ah-in and Song Joong-ki.
Park plays the role of Kim Yoon-hee who disguises herself as her brother Kim Yoon-shik in order to make ends meet.
The drama is set during an era when society does not allow females to be educated nor employed.
Ultimately, the series became a breakthrough in Park’s career and she was nominated for several awards.
These Include Best Actress (TV) in 47th Baeksang Arts Awards, Outstanding Korean Actress in 6th Seoul International Drama Awards and Best Actress in 4th Korea Drama Awards.
Although she did not bring home any of these awards, her performance in Sungkyunkwan Scandal was a proof that she is here to stay in the acting industry.
2.City Hunter (2011)
Based on the Japanese manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Tsukasa Hojo, this drama stars Park alongside Lee Min-ho, Lee Joon-hyuk, Kim Sang-joong and Kim Sang-ho.
In the drama, Park plays the role of Kim Na-na who was forced to take care of herself at young age after her mother was killed in a drunk driving accident and her father became comatose.
Her exceptional skills in martial arts as well as her independent character earns her a job as a bodyguard with the Presidential Security Service.
In a later interview, Park revealed that she was not satisfied with her acting in City Hunter only giving her own performance 40 or 50 points.
Regardless, the series garnered positive reviews from critics as well as became a commercial success.
3.Glory Jane (2011)
2011 was a busy year for Park as she starred in her second drama of the year Glory Jane.
It is a melodrama romance series following the life Yoon Jae-in (Park), a hardworking nurse who does not remember her past.
As she turns out, she is the daughter of the president of a trading company.
Her father Yoon Ill-goo was killed in a car accident orchestrated by his friend Seo Jae-myung (Son Chang-min) because he was to take control over the company.
While fleeing from Jae-myung’s goons, Jae-in got into a car accident and lost her memories.
Jae-myung took this opportunity to get rid of Jae-in by sending her to an orphanage.
Park’s role in Glory Jane (2011) earned her the Excellence Award for Actress in a Mid-length Drama during the KBS Drama Awards.
4.Dr. Jin (2012)
Based on the Japanese manga series Jin written by Motoka Murakami, Dr. Jin (2012) is a historical time-travel drama.
This is the second drama Park starring in which is based on Japanese manga after City Hunter.
The Korean remake of the manga adaptation made some alterations from the original.
For example, the original’s Edo period is changed to the Joseon Dynasty. Meanwhile, the real-life Japanese historical figure Sakamoto Ryoma was replaced with Joseon political figure Lee Haeung.
In the drama, Park played dual roles as the protagonist’s girlfriend in the present modern-day and he doppelganger in the Joseon era.
Her character in the modern day is comatose after a car accident while Park in the Joseon era is a sheltered noblewoman.
On the casting of Park for the role in Dr. Jin, the drama director had this to say in an interview, “I believe that Park Min-young is the perfect fit for the heroine role of Dr. Jin because she’s been in period pieces such as Sungkyunkwan Scandal and Princess Ja Myung Go, and modern places like City Hunter and Man of Honour. She was recognised for her acting skills through a steady career, so I expect her to be great in both modern and period pieces.”
5.A New Leaf (2014)
After taking a break for year, Park returned to the small screen to star in a legal drama.
In the series, Park plays the role of Lee Ji-yoon. She comes from a poor background and worked hard to put herself through a third-rate law school.
Somehow, she still manages to earn an internship at a prestigious law firm after graduating.
Her biggest problem is that she is too idealistic and unwavering when comes to her belief in justice.
In the same time, Ji-yoon’s character is bright allowing Park to act out in a cheery character for the first time.
6.Healer (2014)
“I chose ‘Healer’ because I loved the character of Chae Young-shin”, Park said in an interview about her drama Healer (2014).
Chae Young-shin is a strong-willed and quirky Internet news reporter who dreams of becoming a legendary reporter.
She is also suffering from childhood trauma causing her to have panic attack every time she sees violence.
While the series had moderate ratings in its home country, Healer was popular in China. This earned Park increased recognition in that particular country.
Moreover, Park’s chemistry with her co-star Ji Chang-wook made the series more popular.
They even won the Best Couple Awards at the KBS Drama Awards 2014 and 4th Annual DramaFever Awards.
7.Remember (2015)
This is a story which follows Seo Jin-woo (Yoo Seung-hoo) who has a special condition hyperthymesia which allows him to remember almost everyday in perfect detail.
Meanwhile, his father Seo Jae-hyuk has Alzheimer’s disease and losing his memories.
When Jae-hyuk is wrongfully convicted of murder, Jin-woo vows to prove his father’s innocence.
Four years later, Jin-woo finally becomes a lawyer to find the truth behind his father’s case.
During this time, one person who believes that Jae-hyuk is innocent is Lee In-ah (Park Min-young).
She becomes a prosecutor in order to fight for Jin-woo’s father.
With bribery and corruption going on in the justice system, Jin-woo and In-ah’s journey to free Jae-hyuk is definitely not easy.
Unfortunately for Park, her co-stars completely outshone her in this drama.
Yoo Seung-ho’s performance in the series earned him an Excellence Award for Actor in a Genre Drama at the 2016 SBS Drama Awards.
In the same time, the drama’s antagonist played by Namkoong Min won the Excellence Award for Actor in a Miniseries at the 5th APAN Star Awards.
8.Queen for Seven Days (2017)
For Park’s next work, she returned to historical drama in Queen for Seven Days (2017).
This time, she plays the real-life Queen Dangyeong who was Queen consort of Joseon for seven days in September 1506.
While she was on the throne, she was forcibly expelled from the palace by her political rivals.
The fictionalised version of this history focuses on the love and struggle of a woman who was unwillingly drawn into the political world.
Through this drama, Park reunited with director Lee Jung-sub who previously worked with her on Glory Jane (2011) and Healer (2014).
9.What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim (2018)
This is Park’s first romantic comedy drama in which she stars opposite Park Seo-joon.
In the series, Park is Kim Mi-so who is a highly skilled secretary.
She has worked with Lee Young-joon (Park Seo-joo), the vice-chairman of Yumyung Group for nine years.
After paying off her family debt, she decides to quit her job to focus on herself.
Meanwhile, Lee Young-joon slowly realises his feelings towards his secretary after she tells him she is quitting.
Overall, the drama was a rating success and Park won the K-Star Award at the 6th APAN Star Awards and the Best Actress of the Year Award at the 14th Annual Soompi Awards.
10.Her Private Life (2019)
Based on a Korean novel called Noona Fan Dot Com, this drama is her second romantic comedy.
She plays the role of Seong Deok-mi who works as a curator at an art museum but spends her time outside of work as a passionate fangirl of idol group member Cha Shi-an (Jung Jae-won).
Meanwhile, Ryan Gold (Kim Jae-wok) is a standoffish artist who develops Stendhal syndrome. He later becomes Deok-mi’s new boss as he takes up the post of the new art director.
The duo both form a fake romantic relationship due to some circumstance but later fall in love with each other for real.
11.When the Weather is Fine (2020)
Here is another Park’s drama which is based on a novel.
When the Weather is Fine (2020) is based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Lee Do-woo.
It is a homecoming romance story of cellist Mok Hae-won (Park Min-young) who quits her job in Seoul and goes back to Bookhyun Village in Gangwon Province where she briefly lived when she was in high school.
There, she meets again her former classmate Im Eun-seon (Seo Kang-joon ) who now owns a bookstore.
Overall, it is a heartwarming story about two old friends finding about their pasts and their feelings towards each other.
12.Forecasting Love and Weather (2022)
From finding romance in the rural area in the previous drama, Park now finds love in the office of Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
In the series, she is 35 year-old Jin Ha-kyung who works the general forecaster of the second division of KMA.
Jin is a perfectionist who passed the civil service exam on the first try. However, she makes herself an outcast as she doesn’t like to socialize with her co-workers.
The drama is directed Cha Yeong-hoon who directed When the Camellia Blooms (2019) and written by Keang Eun-kyung, the writer behind Dr Romantic (2016).
The series was on the Global Top 10 weekly list of the most-watched international Netflix TV shows for six weeks in a row from February 21 to April 3.
In May 2022, Park confirmed her role in an upcoming rom-com ‘MonWedFriThuesThursSat’.
The new series is about a helper service that provides wives to single people needing partners to take to gatherings for married couples and school reunions.
