Actress shares tactics to attract men

Park Bo Young, star of Korean TV drama Oh My Ghost, says that both coy and aggressive approaches work for her

Actress Park Bo Young and her love interest in Oh My Ghost, actor Cho Jung Seok. ST PHOTOS: DIOS VINCOY JR
Actress Park Bo Young and her love interest in Oh My Ghost, actor Cho Jung Seok.

South Korean actress Park Bo Young switches seamlessly between two contrasting personalities in the television drama Oh My Ghost.

One minute, she is a timid assistant chef harbouring a secret crush on her celebrity chef boss Kang Sun Woo (Cho Jung Seok).

The next, she transforms into a man-hungry woman when possessed by a virgin ghost who is desperate to have sex with Kang.

When it comes to snagging a guy in real life, Park, 25, says she has tried both the coy and aggressive approach.

She bashfully admits to Life that she has succeeded when using either tactic.

But she adds: "When I was being very forward with the guy, I wasn't as aggressive as my possessed character."

It is no surprise that guys will fall for the star, who has been acting since her teens and has appeared in hit movies Scandal Makers (2008) and A Werewolf Boy (2012).

Her co-star Cho seemed smitten with her when they were in town last Friday to promote the drama.

Citing Park's adorable antics at an earlier press conference, he says: "A reporter asked her to act cute and she couldn't do it. She was apologising while smiling. That was really cute."

"She doesn't think she's cute because she can't act cute on cue. But her pure existence is sweet and lovely. That's why I keep telling her that she's cute," adds Cho, 34, a former theatre actor who has starred in dramas The King 2 Hearts (2012) and You're The Best, Lee Soon-shin (2013).

Talking about his ideal girl, he says: "I don't have a fixed idea. I like cute girls and sexy, chic girls. What's most important is that she has her own personality."

The self-professed shy guy says he would be terrified of aggressive women chasing after him.

But there are exceptions, he says with a twinkle in his eye. "I don't like aggressive girls. But if a girl like Park Bo Young is aggressive with me, I'll be okay."

He says he was drawn to Oh My Ghost because of its "quirky and provocative" story of the assistant chef being possessed by a virgin ghost.

If the two leads could possess someone for a day, who would they choose?

Cho says he would possess a tough guy. "A lot of people have the impression that I'm not so manly or macho. I would like to try something different."

Park says she would want to possess a man. "I am a woman and it would be fun to see what a guy's life is like. I want to know about the things guys talk about, try out their macho activities."

One thing the duo did get to try their hand at while filming the TV drama was cooking. A big part of it is set in a kitchen.

Cho says: "The director didn't want us to use doubles. We practised using the wok and knife. We practised in between takes too."

He has since learnt to cook carbonara and tomato sauce pasta. And all that training has piqued his interest in cooking. While most Korean stars who try chilli crab in Singapore only rave about how good it tastes, he was even curious about the recipe.

"I had chilli crab with Park Bo Young. I wanted to know the chilli crab recipe. It seemed like tomato sauce was used. The dish was unique, interesting and delicious."

• Oh My Ghost airs every Sunday at 10pm on VV Drama (StarHub TV Channel 855). It is also available via VV Drama On Demand (StarHub TV Channel 857)

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 07, 2015, with the headline Cho Jung Seok says co-star Park Bo Young is cute. Subscribe