‘A different kind of charm’: K-star Park Bo-gum swops love for punches in action-comedy Good Boy

Park Bo-gum in Good Boy. PHOTO: PRIME VIDEO

Joanne Soh

UPDATED Jun 04, 2025, 11:30 AM

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SINGAPORE – South Korean actor Park Bo-gum has exchanged the heart-rending romance of When Life Gives You Tangerines (2025) for boxing gloves in the high-octane action-comedy Good Boy. 

Available on Prime Video, the 16-episode show follows a group of former elite athletes who are recruited to be crime fighters after their stellar sporting careers are unfairly cut short.

The popular K-drama heart-throb plays ex-national boxer Yoon Dong-ju, while Lee Sang-yi is fencer Kim Jong-hyeon and Kim So-hyun, shooting prodigy Ji Han-na. Heo Sung-tae of Squid Game (2021) fame portrays the group’s leader and former wrestler Ko Man-sik, while Tae Won-seok plays gentle giant Shin Jae-hong, an ex-discus thrower.

Playing an action hero is a departure for Park, who has built a career playing charming romantic leads in hit series like Love In The Moonlight (2016) , Encounter (2018) and Record Of Youth (2020).

Park’s recent performance in When Life Gives You Tangerines, in which he portrayed devoted husband Yang Gwan-sik to actress-singer IU’s Oh Ae-sun, saw him receive a best television actor nomination at the Baeksang Arts Awards in May.

The melodrama, which won best drama at the ceremony and is available on Netflix, was a global success and frequently on the platform’s Global Top 10 Non-English Shows list.

Park, 31, was drawn to Good Boy because of the “interesting plot” and the opportunity to try his hand at a new genre.

“The script was such a page-turner, like a comic book,” Park tells The Straits Times over Zoom from Bangkok on June 1, where he attended the Thailand premiere of the series with his co-stars Lee and Kim.

“The action was described in great detail, and I’ve always wanted to try the crime action genre,” Park says, adding that he has never played a police officer or a boxer. “I want to show audiences a different side of me that I hope will be refreshing.”

Park Bo-gum plays a former national boxer in Good Boy. PHOTO: PRIME VIDEO

As Park has many action scenes in Good Boy, he threw himself into preparing for the role by learning how to fight. Every day for six months, he trained with a boxing coach, underwent weights training and rehearsed fight choreography with the production’s action and martial arts team.

However, his enthusiasm got the better of him – he suffered a minor leg injury and had to take a 1½-month break to recover.

While Park is a newbie to action, Lee is on familiar ground , having played a delinquent boxer in the hit action-packed series Bloodhounds (2023).

“In Bloodhounds, I fought with my hands. But in Good Boy, I had to learn sword-fighting. And as a policeman, I don’t carry weapons, so I had to fight with what’s (lying) around, like a broom,” says Lee.

Lee Sang-yi plays an ex-national fencer in Good Boy. PHOTO: PRIME VIDEO

The 33-year-old, who has been acting in South Korean plays and musicals for more than a decade, says Bloodhounds gave him the “action guy” persona. He is currently filming the show’s second season.

Kim, who plays a marksman in Good Boy, has also been bitten by the action bug. 

The 25-year-old, who debuted as a child actress in 2006, is a familiar face in K-dramas, having starred in The Tale Of Nokdu (2019), Love Alarm (2019 to 2021) and River Where The Moon Rises (2021). 

Kim So-hyun is a shooting prodigy in Good Boy. PHOTO: PRIME VIDEO

“I needed to work out a lot to have the strength to hold the guns,” Kim says, adding that she was initially afraid of firearms and underwent months of shooting practices during pre-production. 

She had difficulty memorising action choreography, even though she has the least such scenes among the cast. “I remember being in awe of them. Everyone was so professional,” she says.

Kim adds that their “chemistry is great and everyone got along really well”. Both Kim and Lee credit Park for being the “glue that held everyone together”. 

For instance, Park always initiated and arranged meal gatherings and outings on their days off. Calling Park the “natural leader”, Lee says Park always had a list of good restaurants and cafes at hand. Park even arranged for the main cast to watch a play together. 

Park Bo-gum (left) and Lee Sang-yi in Good Boy. PHOTO: PRIME VIDEO

Lee also praised Park’s work ethic, as he always arrived early on set.

“We have some scenes together in the sea, but I have a fear of water,” Lee says. “Bo-gum kept reassuring me, telling me it’s okay. If it hadn’t been for him, I don’t think I could have pulled it off.”

Park, who will be in Singapore for his Be With You fan meeting at The Star Theatre on Aug 14, has high hopes for Good Boy. Thanking fans for showing “tremendous support” to When Life Gives You Tangerines, he says Good Boy offers “a different kind of charm”. 

The cast of Good Boy: (from left) Tae Won-seok, Kim So-hyun, Park Bo-gum, Heo Sung-tae and Lee Sang-yi. PHOTO: PRIME VIDEO

“It is a show about justice and good deeds, and how we try to create a better society,” says the actor, who made his debut in 2011 and showcases his hosting skills and music abilities in the ongoing South Korean late-night music talk show The Seasons: Park Bo-gum’s Cantabile.

He adds: “Everyone, including the production crew, put in their best efforts. I’m happy and proud to be part of Good Boy, so do give it a lot of love.”

Good Boy is available on Prime Video.

Joanne Soh is a lifestyle correspondent at The Straits Times, with a special interest in entertainment and pop culture.

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