Will actress Park Eun-bin emerge as the savior of the struggling 'Disney Plus'? Park Eun-bin, who has become a truly insane psychopath doctor, and Seol Kyung-gu, who has a love-hate relationship with her, are ready to present their cruel fairy tale 'Hyperknife' to viewers.
On the morning of the 17th, a production presentation for Disney+'s original series 'Hyperknife' was held at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul. Attending the event were actors Park Eun-bin, Seol Kyung-gu, Yoon Chan-young, Park Byung-eun, and director Kim Jung-hyun.
'Hyperknife', which is gaining attention as Disney+'s first original medical thriller in 2025, depicts the fierce confrontation between 'Seok' (played by Park Eun-bin), a once-promising genius doctor, and her mentor 'Deok-hee' (played by Seol Kyung-gu), who brought her to ruin. The intense conflict between the mentor and the disciple, who hold each other's lives in their hands, is expected to explode within the genre of 'medical thriller', making it a key point of interest.
After a year and a half of filming, director Kim Jung-hyun expressed, "I'm nervous. I'm looking forward to seeing how viewers will react." Regarding the unique directing points, he said, "Our drama is a bizarre story that unfolds as various characters meet. Each character is not ordinary. They are characters that are hard to find in Korean dramas, and it feels very much like a cruel fairy tale," adding, "I hope you look forward to the bizarre story and relationships between Seok and Deok-hee, who are both mad in their own ways. I hope you will watch how the characters will unfold and what kind of relationships they will develop in the drama."
"This is a work that had a long wait even after filming ended," said Park Eun-bin, who described 'Hyperknife' as "During the filming, I couldn't predict how it would turn out or what kind of reactions it would receive. It will be revealed to the world in two days. I hope many stories will be shared," adding, "I lived fiercely while meeting Seok. There were many intense moments. I can only express it as 'intense'. I feel like I lived passionately without giving up until the end. I can't believe it's finally being released. On one hand, I wanted it to be released quickly. I want to let Seok go and receive evaluations."
Seol Kyung-gu also shared, "I feel worried, curious, and excited; a mix of emotions has built up," stating, "I tried to be cold. I tried not to get swept away by emotions. I wanted to be cold and indifferent, but as the release approaches, I find it hard to remain indifferent."
'Hyperknife' centers around the intricate relationships of its characters, which drive the extreme tension of the story. The chemistry created by the country's top actors and the characters they portray is expected to be a must-see point in this work.
Seol Kyung-gu, who becomes a mentor to Park Eun-bin, remarked, "The chemistry was great. There are moments in the drama where I am often at the mercy of Park Eun-bin. At those times, rather than feeling dopamine, I strangely felt more pleasure myself. It's a relationship where we harm each other. The interesting aspect of this work is the three-dimensional and unique mentor-disciple relationship. Don't just focus on that; it would be fun to also see the inner emotions."
Park Eun-bin commented on her acting chemistry with Seol Kyung-gu, saying, "There wasn't much need for words. I requested a lot of conversations to enjoy the moments of acting with my senior. He shared a lot of stories with me. I wonder if I could have completed this work without him. Thanks to him, I was able to fully express Seok's character."
Park Eun-bin plays 'Jung Seok', a genius doctor who falls in love with the brain and is willing to do anything for surgery, but after being stripped of her medical license by her mentor 'Choi Deok-hee', she lives as a shadow doctor. After perfectly portraying the character 'Woo Young-woo', a lawyer on the autism spectrum in 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo', and winning the Grand Prize in the TV category at the 59th Baeksang Arts Awards, she is set to showcase a 180-degree transformation in her acting through 'Hyperknife'.
"It was my first time encountering a genre and character I had never experienced before, and I felt intrigued when I first met them," Park Eun-bin shared her thoughts on playing the character, adding, "I met Seol Kyung-gu for the first time in this work, and every scene with him was like dopamine. I received good stimulation in every scene and experienced glorious moments as an actor."
Regarding Seok, she said, "'Hyperknife' is a genre where a character with antisocial tendencies becomes the protagonist. Rather than functioning merely as a villain, I must drive the story forward with the character of Seok. Even if it may be difficult for viewers to understand, I hope by the end, they will be persuaded that 'there could be such a person'." She added, "I don't expect understanding. I hope viewers will experience the emotional changes as they see that such people exist in the world and confront good and evil at the end of their paths."
Seol Kyung-gu, who has been loved for his unmatched acting skills across various genres such as 'The Outlaws: The Bad Guys' and 'Kingmaker', plays 'Choi Deok-hee', a top neurosurgeon who cruelly cast away his once-favored disciple 'Seok'. He will portray the complex relationship changes and emotional amplitudes that unfold when he unexpectedly reunites with the disciple he abandoned after six years.
Seol Kyung-gu revealed that he decided to join 'Hyperknife' after hearing about Park Eun-bin's casting, stating, "There are characters that are set and pushed through to the end, while there are characters that evolve during filming. 'Hyperknife' was the latter. It was challenging to show eight episodes with one character. I tried to show a clumsy side when opposing Seok. I am confident in my brain skills, but I wanted to portray a somewhat naive and childish side outside of that, which I developed for the character."
Yoon Chan-young, who has established himself as a next-generation actor through works like 'All of Us Are Dead' and 'Boys Flight', and Park Byung-eun, who has shown a unique presence in various works including the film 'Citizen Deok-hee', the drama 'Seonsan', and Disney+'s original series 'Moving', will each play the roles of 'Seo Young-joo' and 'Han Hyun-ho', adding vitality to the drama.
Yoon Chan-young expressed, "It is an honor to work with seniors I personally respect and to share the experience. I wrote a lot in my diary during filming. There were many regional shoots, and I remember gathering my feelings from that day when I returned to the accommodation. Many people are looking forward to it, and I hope there will be good results as expected."
Park Byung-eun shared, "While working on the project, I saw my colleagues acting and thought they were really good at acting. Sometimes I could feel their focus, and sometimes I couldn't, but even though I have been acting for a while, I learned a lot from the three of them, who are still amazing actors when it comes to expressing lines, gazes, actions, and emotions. It was an honor to work with such excellent actors, and it helped me a lot."
Director Kim Jung-hyun described 'Hyperknife' as "a story that is both realistic and unrealistic. I put effort into maintaining a mysterious tone in between. I worked hard to maintain that mysterious tone." This 'mystery' could be a point of contention for the work. Aware of this, Park Eun-bin expressed that while she felt no burden in playing a mad doctor, she did feel pressure regarding viewers' reactions after the release, stating, "There are people who think that only their way is the right answer. I hope you look forward to how these people leave scars on each other and what traces they leave as they reach their conclusion. The two struggle to continue on their desired paths. I hope you will watch how they turn their mistakes into their own answers in the eight episodes."
She also mentioned her emergence as a savior for 'Disney Plus'. Disney Plus, which has experienced a rapid loss of subscribers in Korea, is in a situation where about 2 million have left compared to September 2023, when it rebounded with the original content 'Moving' (4.33 million), and is facing the 'Kim Soo-hyun risk'. Kim Soo-hyun is under scrutiny for allegedly dating Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor, just before the release of Disney Plus's original series 'Knock Off'.
As the exodus intensifies, Park Eun-bin, who has joined as a new face for Disney Plus, stated, "I don't choose works thinking about box office success. When working on a project, as the production period has become longer, there are many staff members involved, and during this time leading up to the release, I recall past memories," adding, "We struggled during the filming, but we aimed to create a good response and a good work. I hope you will watch it until the end, regardless of the reactions."
Meanwhile, 'Hyperknife' will be released on the 19th.
[Geum Bit-na, MK Sports Reporter]
