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According to The Chosun DailyPark shared the experience during her appearance on the tvN variety show “You Quiz on the Block” on Jan. 21. She said her family faced significant hardship after relocating from their hometown of Gwangju to the South Korean capital.

“My father drove a taxi, and my mother worked in insurance, school meals and cleaning,” Park said.

Even after she debuted in the entertainment industry, her parents continued working, which placed pressure on her to succeed quickly, the actress said.

“I thought I needed to succeed as soon as possible,” Park explained. “I believed this career would earn a lot of money, and I threw myself into acting with the determination to repay my parents’ sacrifices.”

Now 36, Park’s career began after a teacher encouraged her to audition for the lead role in a music video by South Korean singer-producer Lee Seung Hwan in 2001, according to AsiaOne. A photograph of Park was sent to Lee’s company, and she was selected for the role.

After moving to Seoul, Park initially trained as a singer but later shifted to acting on the advice of her acting teacher. Her first audition was for the 2003 hit drama “Stairway to Heaven,” in which she was cast immediately.

She later starred in the 2013 film “Miracle in Cell No. 7,” the ninth-highest-grossing Korean film as of August 2025, according to data from the Korean Film Council.

Despite her early success, Park said she struggled with uncertainty during her teenage years. As she prepared to enter her second year of high school, she questioned what her future might look like beyond acting.

“Because I started as a child actor, I didn’t study much in middle and high school,” she recalled. “For three to four years, I worried, ‘What will I do if I can’t act?’ and ‘What will my family live on if I quit?’ That fear made me cling to acting even more.”

Park has since achieved mainstream and international recognition through television dramas including “You’re Beautiful,” “The Heirs” and “Pinocchio.” She was named to the Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 list in 2015, 2017, 2021 and 2022.