Childhood & Early Life
Park Hyung-sik was born in Yongin, South Korea on 16th November 1992 as the second son in a highly religious family. His Buddhist mother was way too orthodox in following the Buddhist practices and following one such ritual, Park was named by a Buddhist monk.
Park belonged to an upper middle class family and his father worked at a top position in BMW Korea, who also happened to be a keen follower of Korean martial art Gumdo. Both Hyun-sik and his brother were exposed to it since their early days and while he was in sixth standard, Park started practising Gumdo and later earned a certificate in the fighting art.
But Park had some other deeper interests, he was addicted to music and singing and ever since his teenage, he was always looking out for other boys to collaborate and practice music with him. In the Shinghal High School, Park became quite popular as he was the lead vocalist in the school band as a junior high student, and his boy band performed in many concerts around the country.
But there was no response from his household about a probable career in music, and he was expected to follow his father’s footsteps to make a career in business and hence, he was enrolled in Digital Seoul Culture Arts University, where he studied business administration. But he didn’t give up on his musical aspirations and kept practising with his voice and musical instruments.
He has also spoke later in an interview that he had been bullied as a teenager, for a long time and it was the support from his friends and close associates that helped him coming out of the phase.
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Career
Park Hyung-sik started performing in early 2009 as his good looks and pleasant presence got him a gig as the male lead in a music video for Jewellery S’s music video titled ‘Date’. The same year, Park also started modelling and appeared in the campaigns for a few uniform brands. By then, the band ZE:A was formed and the group made their first appearance in the reality show ‘Debut Diary’, where Park appeared with the members of his band.
The band released their debut album in 2010 titled ‘Nativity’ and the single from the album titled ‘Mazeltov’ was particularly loved by the audiences. When the album released on 7th of January, it became the number 1 in many Korean charts and the band embarked on several guerrilla shows across the nation, creating hype about them successfully.
After releasing another successful album titled ‘Leap for Detonation’, the band embarked on an Asian tour in July 2010. In December the same year, the band came out with their next album in Japanese, catering to their Japanese fans, titled ‘Love Letter/My Only Wish’, the album debuted on number two on the Oricon music chart.
The work in the band slowed down with many band members got busy with their other projects, and Park, having appeared in a couple of minor roles in TV shows back in 2010, was looking forward to make his first major appearance in a TV series, which was 2012’s SBS drama ‘I Remember You’. Later in the same year, he played the role of a struggling young singer of an indie band in the series ‘Dummy Mommy’. These two early roles created an aura about him in the Korean youngsters and he became an instant fan favourite.
He rose to further prominence with the roles in ‘Sirius’, a drama which saw Park portraying the role of the younger self of twins with contrasting personalities. His performance received a widespread acclaim.
In March 2013, Park along with four other members of his band, created a supporting group to their band named ZE:A Five. The year turned out to be quite a happening one for Park as his performance in the drama ‘Nine: Nine Time Travels’ exposed him to a nationwide fame and the producer of the show praised Park saying that he was one of the brightest young talents from the country.
In 2013, the most successful year of his acting career, he received further praises for his role in the military drama show ‘Real Men’, where he portrayed the role of an innocent and cute looking army man, earning him the nickname Baby Soldier. He also bagged one MBC Entertainment award for his role. His next venture in 2013 was ‘The Heirs’, another drama series where his portrayal received critical and commercial acclaim.
For the 2014 show ‘What’s with this Family’, Park bagged 3 KBS awards for his performance, and was starting to get established as a bankable actor.
In Mid 2015, Park appeared in another drama ‘High Society’, where he played the second lead character of a store manager who falls in love with one of the part timers working in the store. The series was also aired in Japan and Park became sort of a big deal in the neighbouring country as well. In the 23rd SBS drama awards, Park went home with two awards for his role in ‘High Society’ for his memorable performance.
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His musical ‘The Three Musketeers’ was also gaining a strong following in the regions where it was getting performed, and Park was enjoying the best phase of his career around late 2015.
In early 2016, Park started appearing in a massive budget period drama ‘Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth’, where he played the role of a young and distrustful king, Sammaekjong.
In one of the most successful roles of his career, Park appeared as a CEO in the romantic comedy drama series ‘Strong Women Do Bong soon’. After the show’s gigantic commercial and critical success, Park started getting hailed as the king of romantic comedies.
In mid 2017, Park signed a contract with United Artists Agency, which represents some of the biggest Korean music artists and his band continues to perform songs for the TV series’ the band members stars in.
Facts About Park Hyung-sik
Park Hyung-sik is known for his love of animals, particularly his pet dog named Zero, whom he often features on his social media accounts.
In addition to his successful acting career, Park Hyung-sik is also a talented singer and has released several solo tracks and participated in various musicals.
Despite his busy schedule, Park Hyung-sik enjoys spending his free time practicing archery and has even showcased his skills on variety shows.
Park Hyung-sik is a self-proclaimed foodie and loves trying out new restaurants and cuisines, often sharing his culinary adventures with his fans.
Known for his charming and friendly personality, Park Hyung-sik is actively involved in various charity works and has shown his dedication to giving back to the community.
