Park Bo-Gum Kim So-Hyun And Lee Sang-Yi Discuss Their Drama ‘Good Boy'

Forbes

02-06-2025

Park Bo-gum plays an Olympic gold medal boxer in 'Good Boy.'
What happens when a team of former Olympians band together to fight crime? That's the question answered by the Korean action comedy Good Boy. Those Olympians includes Yoon Dong-ju (Park Bo-gum), a gold medal Olympic boxer turned police officer, and Ji Han-na (Kim So-hyun), a police officer and winner of a gold medal for shooting.
After their stellar sports careers were unfairly cut short, they each began a second career as a police officer, determined to use their special skills to make the world a better place. The team also includes Lee Sang-yi (No Gain, No Love, Bloodhounds, My Demon) as Kim Jong-hyeon, a former silver medalist fencer. Together these former sports heroes will seek out villains and protect the vulnerable. At a recent press conference Park, Kim and Lee answered a few questions about their upcoming drama and the highly skilled characters they play. A few months ago Park earned a Best Actor nomination at the Baeksang Arts Awards for his role in the TV drama When Life Gives You Tangerines, but he didn't rest for long after completing that role.
"We were shooting Good Boy about two months after finishing When Life Gives You Tangerines,' said Park.
While he wholly immersed himself in his When Life Gives You Tangerines character he didn't require much time to transition to his next role in Good Boy. In general he's adept at stepping into and out of character.
'I'm the type of person who focuses completely while filming and recovers as soon as I leave the set,' he said.
Since his Good Boy character is a champion boxer some special training was in order.
'I took boxing for a short period of time when I was in high school,' said Park. 'For this role, I trained two hours a day for six months.'
His character Dong-ju is named after the Korean poet Yoon Dong-ju, but the character didn't always live up to his esteemed name, getting into fights while he was in school. However, the character eventually turned his life around and tries to live up to the name his mother gave him.
Kim So-hyun plays a gold medal Olympic shooting expert in 'Good Boy.'
'Just like his mother's dying words asking him 'to live up to your name without shame,' Yoon Dong-ju had a time in his life where his meaningful name was cheered by the nation,' said Park. 'You will be able to see Dong-ju with his powerful punches and fearless fighting skills, as he uses his abilities from his athlete days to hunt down criminals as a police officer.'
For Park (Record of Youth, Encounter) every moment he spent acting with the other cast members was fun. 'I had great synergy with the staff on set as well," he said. 'It's a project I'll remember for a long time.'
Kim So-hyun plays a character with expert marksmanship skills. It was the first time she ever needed to handle a gun for a role.
'I had experience with swords and bows in historical dramas, but this was my first time using a firearm,' said Kim. 'Handling a firearm requires both caution and confidence, I was surprised by how often misfires happen, which made it all the more tense.'
As a prodigy, her character experiences early fame, but misunderstandings threaten her career, so she applies for special recruitment to the police force, hoping to be an officer like her father. Kim began her career as a child actress, which made it easier to relate to her character.
'Like Han-na, I experienced early fame, attention, and even envy or jealousy,' said Kim. 'That helped me connect with her on a deeper level.
Despite facing injustice, Han-na is resilient. According to Kim (My Lovely Liar, River Where The Moon Rises and Tale of Nokdu), the character owes her resilience to her father. It's love that helps her persevere.
'Her love for her father gave her the strength to take back everything with her own hands," said Kim.
Lee Sang-yi used his experience as a military police officer to create his character in 'Good Boy.'
Lee Sang-yi had some real life experience as a military police officer. It's a role he filled while serving the mandatory military duty required of all able-bodied Korean males.
'It definitely helped,' said Lee. 'Knowing how to wear a stab-proof vest, use a baton, and understand police radio codes helped a lot.'
He recently starred in the romantic comedy No Gain No Love and its spinoff, Spice Up Our Love, in which he plays a corporate executive who falls for a shy romance novelist. He also has a romantic interest in Good Boy. His character really wants to protect Han-na.
'There's a scene where Dong-ju and I receive a gift from Han-na's mother,' said Lee. 'I think viewers will find it very cute and fun.'
His character became a police officer because of Han-na.
'He got a silver medal as an athlete and wanted to stay close to her," said Lee. "I think Han-na played a large role in him becoming a police officer. Through this role, I indirectly experienced what it's like to be a police officer, and it's truly a tough and admirable job. The overnight stakeouts, the intense training—I have deep respect for police officers everywhere.'
Lee's multi-faceted career has included appearing in musicals and plays as well as TV dramas and films.
'I want to continue challenging myself in various areas,' he said. 'I don't want to be limited to one field; I'd like to cross genres freely. Lately, I've been doing more action roles. I'm interested in roles that involve a lot of physical movement like zombies or dancing, even though they are physically tough.'
Good Boy satisfies those requirements as it naturally includes plenty of action scenes. The drama also stars Oh Jung-se as a civil servant, while Heo Sung-tae and Tae Won-suk play former bronze medalists who join the crime-fighting team. The story was written by Lee Dae-il, who wrote screenplays for the dramas Chief of Staff, Life on Mars and Bring It On Ghost. Good Boy is directed by Sim Na-yeon, who previously directed The Good Bad Mother, Beyond Evil and At Eighteen. The drama airs on Prime.