'Queen of Tear's actor Park Sung-hoon reveals he contemplated name change after villain roles' success

The Saturday-Sunday drama ‘Queen of Tears’ has concluded with an astounding viewership rating of 24.850 percent. This series portrays the tumultuous love story between Hong Hae-in, played by Kim Ji-won, a third-generation chaebol heiress of Queens Group, and Baek Hyun-woo, played by Kim Soo-hyun, the son of farmers from Yongdu-ri. In this show, Park Sung-hoon delivered an excellent performance as an obsessed villain. Prior to his role as Yoon Eun-sung in ‘Queen of Tears’, Park Sung-hoon had portrayed a villainous character - Jeon Jae-joon in ‘The Glory’, another hit drama.


Reflecting on his experience, Park Sung-hoon expressed gratitude for the overwhelming support from viewers, “We filmed for almost a year. The atmosphere on set was great and the script was fun, so I had some expectations. I want to thank viewers for the love they showed. I’m happy and honored to have been a part of ‘Queen of Tears’”, as quoted by Kbizoom.


Park Sung-hoon’s versatility as an actor shines through in his portrayal of antagonists, each with distinct nuances. He explained the differences between his characters, Jeon Jae-joon and Yoon Eun-sung, ensuring unique performances in each role, “Coincidentally, the works where I played villains became very popular. Since Jeon Jae-joon and Yoon Eun-sung would inevitably be compared, I paid attention to my tone and styling. While Jae-joon had a rough look, I aimed for a more gentlemanly appearance for Eun-sung. I wanted Eun-sung to have a more threatening feel when angry, unlike Jae-joon”.


However, Park Sung-hoon’s convincing portrayal of villains has earned strong reactions from viewers, including profanities and challenges on social media. “I get a lot of comments and messages on SNS, including various profanities and challenges like ‘Get lost’ and ‘Fight me’”, he shared. Yet, he takes these responses in stride, understanding the nature of his characters, “I don’t feel upset or hurt because it’s natural for a villain to be hated. I think of it as people showing interest because they love the dramas, which makes me happy.”


Despite his success in portraying iconic characters like Jeon Jae-joon, Park Sung-hoon humorously revealed an amusing incident on the set of ‘Queen of Tears’, where people mistakenly called him by his character’s name. He quipped, “I almost considered changing my name to Jeon Jae-joon”.


Looking ahead, Park Sung-hoon hopes to be remembered by his real name, Park Sung-hoon, beyond the characters he portrays. He expressed, “People sometimes call me ‘Park Jae-joon’ (Park Sung-hoon + Jeon Jae-joon) or ‘Yoon Jae-hoon’ (Yoon Eun-sung + Jeon Jae-joon + Park Sung-hoon). I’m a bit confused with all these names. But it feels good that when people think of Jeon Jae-joon, they think of Park Sung-hoon. I hope one day people will remember me by my real name, Park Sung-hoon, over my characters’ names”.