Park So Dam: "100% energy, looking forward to tomorrow"

Actress Park So Dam has returned to her daily life and acting sets after a period of hiatus. After focusing on self-care following surgery for papillary thyroid cancer, she spent 34 days traveling Europe alone to gain new experiences. She revealed that she has regained a new energy, stating, "Today is fun, and I am looking forward to tomorrow."

Through the September issue of the fashion magazine 'GQ KOREA', Park revealed a deeper atmosphere and solid charisma. In the released pictorial, she displayed a wide image spectrum, emitting an intense presence with deep gazes while also expressing restrained elegance through a black off-the-shoulder dress.

In an interview conducted after the pictorial shoot, Park looked back on her hiatus.

"I spent time letting go of work a little to take care of the real Park So Dam," she said. "Now, I am happy both as an actress and as a human being." She continued, "I am in a state where my energy is 100% filled, making today fun and tomorrow something to look forward to."

After undergoing surgery for papillary thyroid cancer in the past, Park took time to reflect on her life. Given the nature of being an actress, which requires constantly standing before works and the public, the time spent stepping back from work seems to have meant more than just simple rest.

In particular, her 34-day solo trip to Europe served as an opportunity to expand her own boundaries.

"I took courage with the thought of trying things I had never done before," Park recalled. "After accomplishing the things I was afraid of, I gained the confidence that I can do anything in the future."

The process of moving through unfamiliar spaces alone and encountering new people and environments provides a type of sensation that is difficult to experience within planned shoots or scripted works. For Park, the trip was not only a recharge as an actress but also a time to reconfirm what she likes and what she fears as a human being.

Describing herself as an "energetic, tearful, action-oriented eldest child" who is also a "planner," Park said that experiencing the world outside of acting actually changed her perspective on acting.

"Seeing the world outside of acting, there were so many beautiful things," she said. "I feel like I can now act even more enjoyably."

For an actor, life experiences become the raw material for acting. There is an inevitable difference in density between relying on imagination to express a specific character's emotions and projecting emotions into acting after having passed through unfamiliar environments and feelings in real life. What Park gained through her hiatus was not mere rest, but an experience that could expand her sensibilities as an actress.

This change can be seen in her return to the screen.

Park returned to film through the movie 'Gyeongju Trip,' which was released on the 26th, marking her return to the big screen after about three years. In the work, she plays Young-ju, the second daughter and a law school graduate, joining her family's journey.

'Gyeongju Trip' is a family drama about four women heading to Gyeongju for the birthday of the youngest daughter, Gyeong-ju, who did not return after a school trip eight years ago. Lee Jung-eun, Gong Hyo-jin, Park So Dam, and Lee Yeon star as the four women of the family.

Young-ju, played by Park, is a character who faces situations where the emotions and interests of each family member clash. As the film deals with complex emotions of loss, memory, and the relationship of family, it also holds significance for Park as a work to reconfirm her acting world after a long hiatus.

Above all, the reason this comeback is drawing attention lies in Park's attitude toward her hiatus. Rather than defining the stopped time as a deficiency, she accepts it as a time to care for herself and experience a new world.

To an actor, a hiatus sometimes looks like a break in a career, but from the broader perspective of life, it is not necessarily empty time. For Park, the past time was a period to care for her body and mind, to personally pass through things she feared while traveling alone, and to observe the world outside of acting.

As a result, when she stood before the camera again, she became able to look at characters with a different perspective than before. Park's expression, "100% energy, looking forward to tomorrow," is more than just a sign of recovering her health; it is close to a declaration that she has come to view her own life more proactively.

After undergoing surgery, a hiatus, and a solo trip, Park has returned to her place as an actress. However, the person who has returned is not the same Park from the past. She is a new Park, ready to translate the world she experienced into the language of acting after briefly slowing her pace.

With her return to the big screen in 'Gyeongju Trip,' interest is mounting to see what kind of characters and stories she will present through her expanded acting world.