On December 23, a video titled “08. The Turning Point Called Park Jung Min” was released on the YouTube channel IVE CORP. In the episode, Park Jung Min spoke openly about his journey into acting, how he first dreamed of becoming a film director, and the personal conflicts he faced along the way.
Asked when he first dreamed of becoming an actor, Park Jung Min replied that there was no single defining moment. Instead, he explained that his path unfolded gradually. “At first, I wanted to become a film director because I didn’t want to study,” he said. Ironically, that dream pushed him to study harder, eventually leading him to work as a small staff member at a theater troupe in Daehangno. Watching senior actors perform on stage, he began to think, “Maybe I’m someone who wants to stand in front and act too.” He recalled that this realization came when he was around 19 or 20 years old.
Before that, he described himself as a student who simply dreamed of becoming a film director. Preparing for the film department entrance exam at Korea National University of Arts’ School of Film, TV & Multimedia, he said, helped him begin to understand himself better. “From then on, I slowly started to dream of becoming an actor, and after finishing my military service, around the age of 22, I made up my mind for real,” he added.
Park Jung Min also cited the film Waikiki Brothers as a major turning point. He shared that watching the movie sparked his admiration for people who create stories. “It felt like the first time I truly found something I wanted to do,” he said honestly. “Before that, I didn’t really have a dream. I was good at studying, so the career my parents wanted for me naturally became my dream.”
He explained that, like many Korean parents, his hoped for traditional prestigious professions such as doctor, lawyer, or high-ranking civil servant. However, after watching Waikiki Brothers, he became determined to make films. When a short screenplay he wrote won the Gyeonggi Student Literary Award, he gained confidence that he might actually have talent in storytelling.
Despite this, conflicts with his parents were unavoidable. Looking back on his school years, Park Jung Min admitted, “My relationship with my parents throughout all three years of high school felt like hell.” Still, he refused to give up on his dream. He revealed, “I took the Korea National University of Arts exam and failed. But since I still needed to go to college, I studied hard with the goal of entering a good university and ended up at Korea University.” He added, “People might say, ‘You just needed to go to college and ended up at Korea University?’ But I really studied hard.”
He went on to say that getting into Korea University became a kind of “proof” that eased tensions at home. “Once I had that credential, my parents were relatively more willing to let me try for other universities later,” he recalled.
Park Jung Min is an alumnus of Gongju Hanil High School, a prestigious private school known for its academic rigor. Although he entered Korea University as a humanities student, he eventually dropped out to pursue acting more seriously. He later reapplied to Korea National University of Arts’ film department and was accepted. In 2011, he officially debuted as an actor through the film Bleak Night, marking the beginning of a critically acclaimed career built on persistence and self-discovery.
Sources: Daum
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