“I believed Park Eun-bin would find a breakthrough to bring the character to life in her own way, and she did exactly that.”
Director Yoo In-sik of the Netflix series ‘Wonderfools’ expressed his strong trust in Park Eun-bin during a meeting in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 15th.
After creating a massive syndrome with the 2022 ENA drama ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’, the duo has reunited for ‘Wonderfools’, sparking huge anticipation among viewers.
While ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ touched hearts with the growth story of lawyer Woo Young-woo (played by Park Eun-bin), ‘Wonderfools’ brings the laughs with a story about clumsy heroes fighting villains to save the world.
In the series, Park Eun-bin plays Eun Chaeni, the official troublemaker of Haeseong City. Eun Chaeni has suffered from heart disease since childhood and lived each day as if it were her last, until she unexpectedly gains the power of teleportation.
Director Yoo explained, “Woo Young-woo remembers everything at a glance with her photographic memory, but Eun Chaeni is a character who forgets things the moment she turns around, so they seem different at first. However, they both possess a boldness to dive in when everyone else says no, along with a sense of justice and courage. I think those traits are built into Park Eun-bin herself.”
‘Wonderfools’ is a project Director Yoo had been preparing since 2020, even before starting ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’.
He shared that the success of ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ and Park Eun-bin’s interest brought ‘Wonderfools’ to life just as it was fading away.
“Park Eun-bin showed interest in the stories we shared in passing. When I told her, ‘The character is the complete opposite of Woo Young-woo,’ she asked, ‘Could you possibly give me the script?’ I gave it to her on a plane to an overseas awards ceremony, saying, ‘Want to read this for fun?’ and she absolutely loved it.”
Director Yoo praised Park Eun-bin as an actress with “thorough self-management.”
Recalling the filming of ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he praised her, saying, “Since the lead actress couldn’t disrupt the schedule, Park Eun-bin ate alone in her car and went straight home after filming before returning to the set. That’s the level of self-discipline she has.”
He added with a smile that he witnessed Park Eun-bin’s amazing physical abilities in ‘Wonderfools’.
“In ‘Wonderfools’, she had to wear body cams and all sorts of wires, and her physical ability was truly impressive,” Director Yoo said. “Even with stunts available, scenes are much better when the actor handles them, and there were moments where I thought, ‘She can even do this?’ Later, we even had her rotate while hanging from a fan.”
Before the release, there were concerns that the series might be affected by lead actor Cha Eun-woo’s involvement in allegations of tax evasion amounting to tens of billions of won.
Director Yoo confessed, “As someone working in the industry, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t distressed. As a director, my best decision was to create an opportunity for the work to be judged. Many people, including Netflix, were involved, and there are those who staked years of effort on the success of this project, so I hoped it would be presented first and then evaluated.”
He added, “Since (Cha Eun-woo) is currently serving in the military, I couldn’t contact him, but I heard he is very concerned about the situation.”
Director Yoo has presented various humanistic dramas across different genres, including ‘Giant’, ‘Salaryman Chu Han Ji’, ‘You Are Surrounded’, and the ‘Dr. Romantic’ series.
Having dreamed of making hero and adventure films for a long time, he expressed joy that he could finally challenge himself with his dream genre through ‘Wonderfools’.
“Although hero stories have come out recently, when I was preparing this work, it wasn’t a genre with proven success in Korea, so it was burdensome,” Director Yoo said. “However, I haven’t always done things with guaranteed results or success, so I just worked hard, and now I’m waiting for a positive response.”
He added, “I’d love to hear that it’s ‘really fun.’ I’ll be satisfied if people say it’s ‘worth watching’ or ‘pretty good.’ I think those are the greatest compliments an entertainment piece can receive.”
