Park Ji Hyun is drawing attention after her impressive academic background and family story were revealed on “You Quiz on the Block”.
The actress appeared as a guest on episode 345 of the tvN variety show, where viewers learned more about her so called “elite” background.
During the broadcast, it was revealed that Park Ji Hyun scored 900 on the TOEIC test while she was still in middle school. She later graduated from Chuncheon Girls’ High School, a well known school in Chuncheon, before entering the Spanish department at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
Park Ji Hyun also shared that her father is a doctor, adding more attention to her image as someone with both an elite education and a strong family background.
However, despite her academic path, Park Ji Hyun said she originally wanted to study theater and film. She explained, “When I thought about what I wanted to become, I realized I wanted to be an actress.”
Her parents were worried about her sudden change in direction. Park Ji Hyun recalled that they told her, “You have studied this much, so going to a theater and film department at this point seems like too much of a risk.”
After entering university, Park Ji Hyun only attended classes until the first semester of her first year before taking a leave of absence to pursue acting. She later went to many auditions and said, “It may have been over 100 times.”
Park Ji Hyun also opened up about preparing for her role in Netflix’s “You and Everything Else,” where she played Sang Yeon, a character living with terminal cancer. She said she fasted for around 3 weeks while drinking only water or coffee to better understand the character’s pain.
The actress revealed that the role reminded her of her father, who had undergone stomach cancer surgery. She said her family had a difficult time when her father was diagnosed around the time “Reborn Rich” was released.
Park Ji Hyun shared that after her father recovered, she asked him about the pain. She said, “I asked my father, ‘What kind of pain is that level of pain?’ and ‘What does it feel like?’”
She continued, “My father said that if he did not have his family, he would have wanted to die. The moment I heard that, I understood what Sang Yeon’s heart felt like.”
From her top academic background to her emotional acting preparation, Park Ji Hyun showed a new side of herself on “You Quiz on the Block”, proving that her path to acting was built with both talent and determination.
