Park Eun-Bin On Why ‘Castaway Diva’ Was A Turning Point In Her Career

A look back at Park Eun-bin’s illustrious acting career so far

A former child actor who has grown into one of Korea’s most respected actresses of her generation, Park debuted as a child model at the age of four before landing her first acting role just a year later.

She appeared in many hit K-dramas throughout her childhood and teens, including Glass Slippers, My Love Patzzi, The Legend (a.k.a. Taewangsasingi), Queen Seondeok and The Iron Empress (a.k.a. Empress Cheonchu), for which she won Best Young Actress at the 2009 KBS Drama Awards.

Her star continued to rise into her twenties with roles in internationally beloved K-dramas like Hello, My Twenties!, Hot Stove League, Do You Like Brahms? and The King’s Affection—the last of which she credits with bringing her many of her most devoted fans today.

Then, of course, came the blockbuster series Extraordinary Attorney Woo, in which her compelling portrayal of a brilliant attorney on the autism spectrum catapulted her to global stardom and earned her numerous domestic and international accolades.

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How ‘Castaway Diva’ became a turning point for Park Eun-bin’s career

Having focused on acting for virtually her entire life, singing (or songwriting, for that matter) had never really been in the cards for her—that is until she was offered the role of aspiring singer Seo Mok-ha in the 2023 series Castaway Diva. It was at that point that she discovered a talent she hadn’t known she had—and began to hone her vocal abilities.

“Before that, I’d never really had a reason to sing,” Park says. “I think Castaway Diva was a wonderful project that was like a turning point for me. Because of that project, I was able to sing and create my own repertoire [of songs].”

She took singing lessons for the first time while preparing for the series, though she credits much of her improvement to the countless hours she spent inside the recording booth.

“Honestly, more than the lessons, I think I improved a lot while actually recording, because I had to,” Park says.

“The composers had a certain level they needed me to reach, and they worked very hard with me throughout the whole process to bring me up to that level,” she adds.

“I couldn’t sing very well at first,” she admits. “But the more I did it, the better I gradually became. Thanks to them, I think my skills improved inside the recording booth.”

Park Eun-bin on making her new album ‘Shooting My Love’—and trying songwriting for the first time

Park credits the music producers she worked with on Castaway Diva with helping make both her new album and fan concerts possible.

“I’m still working with the same music team from back then,” she says. “That’s why I’ve been able to do things like this now.”

Even after Castaway Diva ended, Park continued collaborating with the show’s music team to release her own singles. Within just a couple of years, they had accumulated enough songs for an entire album. So as Park approached the 30th anniversary of her debut, they decided to package them into a full-length album and “use it as a milestone” to commemorate the occasion.

In addition to nine previously released songs, Shooting My Love also features three new ones—“Dreams Come True,” “태양은 떠올라” (meaning “The Sun Comes Up”) and “PRISM.” Park wrote the lyrics for all three new tracks, marking her first attempt at songwriting.

“Originally I had no intention of doing it,” she reveals.

At the same time, however, she had found herself looking for another outlet to express herself creatively.

“I was living my life every day as an actress,” she says. “But I wanted a space where I could step outside that routine.”

So she began asking herself what she wanted—and what she wanted to convey to her fans.

“I began thinking that maybe I could try this,” she says. “In a way, writing song lyrics gave me the chance to listen to myself and say the things I wanted to say, so it felt rather refreshing.”

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While Park says she’s “very grateful” that opportunities can arrive “unexpectedly at any point in your life,” she’s also quick to point out that fans shouldn’t expect her to trade acting for a singing career.

“My main profession is acting,” she says. “I don’t think that’s going to suddenly change. This was just me trying to find a good balance and giving it a shot.” [Laughs.]

Park Eun-bin will be holding her fan concerts at Seoul’s KBS Arena on September 5, Taipei’s Legacy TERA on September 13, Tokyo’s Tachikawa Stage Garden on November 15 and Osaka’s NHK Osaka Hall on November 17.