Park Shi Hoo Returns to Acting with the Release of Indie C-movie Scent with Chen Ran
I find it rather hilarious that every time I post about Park Shi Hoo now there will always be the inevitable slew of comments at either end of the schism. On one side are those who need to comment just to express the sentiment of never ever watching anything of his after his rape allegation legal investigation and media circus. If anyone refrains from posting such a comment after this post, don’t stop just because I’m calling you out. On the other end are die-hard fans who post unlimited and uncensored support for Park Shi Hoo oppar no matter what happened or especially inspite of what happened which you believe was a travesty of justice. I never censor those comments as well. As a drama viewer I am simply entertained by the dichotomy of commentary that accompanies every Park Shi Hoo post ever since the middle of 2013 when the popular Korean actor took an understandable hiatus after dealing with a protracted legal proceeding related to a rape allegation.
The legal investigation was officially closed after both sides reached a closed settlement and since then Park Shi Hoo has spent considerable time overseas whether just traveling or working. He filmed a C-movie last year that is finally getting released on August 15th called Scent. Starring Park Shi Hoo and C-actress Chen Ran, I’m actually way more intrigued by the leading lady after watching the full trailer (below with English subs). Park Shi Hoo is neither a fave of mine nor has he ever rubbed me wrong onscreen so I prefer to judge him by his body of work going forward, though I also understood those who can’t separate the professional from the personal anymore. Scent is the romance story is about a Chinese woman’s romance with a Korean man that starts due to a carrier pigeon that connects them. The movie is really more indie than mainstream but the trailer is really lovely so check it out if you’re curious or interested.
Official Movie Trailer for Scent (English-subbed):
I’m part of those who can’t separate personal from professional when it comes to that specific case. Rape or not, we will never know. What we know is that he doesn’t mind sleeping with random inebriated girls and then sharing said girl with a wingman. I am not able to watch any romantic stuff with him anymore: Disgusting images of the scenery (we learned a lot of unglamorous details about that fateful night) just keep popping before my eyes & it’s not a pleasant feeling.
I can personally separate those when we’re talking certain things. I don’t blame people for drug addictions, visiting hookers, even cheating (the second one being a pretty normal thing in my opinion). Those are not things that somehow hinder my experience, since characters =/= actors to me and it’s their own privacy anyway.
But when it touches upon intentional douchebaggery towards other people, especially when it goes into the murky area of crime and when those involved do not handle it in an honest manner, I am also put off. In this case, Park in any romantic context is ruined for me, especially since I never liked his work much anyway and therefore do not have good impressions from it enough for it to keep me.
As for sides, I think people who condemn him as having malicious intent without knowing the case from within are just as unfair as those who are blinded by oppa-love and dismiss the whole thing as “oppa didn’t mean it”. Oppa did mean it and whether rape or not, whether with intention to do it or not, you are not his lawyer. Just like those condemning him as a monster are not his judge. We all do have our personal take on things, but it’s only that.
The point is, his career will never be the same and people have every right to follow it or not. I personally won’t, but I also will not avoid an interesting work with other actors I like just because he might be in it.
I agree with both of you. I don’t recall posting in too many of his after allegation posts but I neither hate nor love him. In no way do I think that any of the people in the entertainment industry are some perfect saints and some just haven’t gotten caught. But the fact that PSH had this scandal and the details, it just makes it a little more difficult to enjoy his works for me.
I also agree with you. I can separate certain things, others not. Nor do I think we should, because there are lines that should not be crossed and this was one of them.
Sadly I think even post-PSH there are quite a few kdramas which keep having drunken sex scenes that are a-okayed (Marriage Not Dating being one example) which makes me unsure whether the industry has learnt anything from this scandal at all.
I watch plenty of indie films, so I did look up more info about Scent, not that it’s easy to find. It all seems to be reports on Park Shi Hoo doing this film rather than on the film itself. I did however realise that I am familiar with the director Jessey Tsang, as I watched her film “Big Blue Lake”, followed by a Q&A with her. I’m afraid I found “Big Blue Lake” underwhelming (lack of focus in the storytelling, flat characters), and the Q&A did nothing to convince me to try any of Tsang’s films in the future.
So it’s not just PSH that’s making me avoid this film.
P.S. There you go Koala, I’ve aligned myself on one side. I appreciate your policy not to censor anyone though!
@mystisith This is exactly how I feel. Even if he didn’t rape the girl, the confirmed details about his behaviour that night made him seem no less innocent in my eyes.
Also, I don’t think it’s a bad thing that we cannot separate personal and professional life when it comes to cases like these. Entertainers can’t always be role models and they don’t need to be, but there is a thing like human decency and if an entertainer crosses that line for me then I cannot enjoy their work either.
** What I meant was that the confirmed details about his behaviour that night did not make him seem innocent in my eyes.
People make mistake, he got public punishment, but we have to give him a chance . i hope he can be a better person in future. I am waiting his next performance
My own interpretation of the events/guess of what happened is that PSH and the woman were out drinking, and she was flirting with him, which he took to mean that she was interested in him, and more importantly, willing to have sex with him. If that was the case, I can see how PSH would honestly think that HE was the victim in this case, since he genuinely thought the woman was willing to have sex with him.
However, in my eyes, and in the eyes of many legal systems in the world, the only CONSENSUAL sex is that between consenting adults, NONE of whom are under the influence. Anything else is liable to be considered rape – as PSH so unfortunately learned firsthand.
For me, it’s enough to know that 1) the girl was drunk, and 2) PSH had sex with her. That she cried foul the morning after is completely her prerogative, and is also what condemns PSH in my eyes. He might have had good intentions, but his actions demonstrated a clear lack of judgment and wisdom.
Also, my deeper-seated malcontent with PSH is due to my seeing him as the embodiment of rampant Asian male misogynism. Perhaps that’s too strong a term? The Chinese term “男子汉主义” better describes what I mean – it’s the idea that men are the leaders of society and set the rules and women should listen to men, whether at home, at work, etc. That’s just BLERGH.
Thus far, I don’t really see any signs that PSH is TRULY sorry for what he did. Sure, I’m sure he’s learned to not have sex with random women and/or drunk women (I ESPECIALLY hope he’s learned to leave the latter alone), but I haven’t seen evidence that the lesson learned comes from a deep place of sincere regret and apology, and a wish to do better by all women. It seems more to me like PSH just sees this as a mistake/nightmare that he desperately wishes to bury behind him and move forward so that his career can rebound.
Granted, even if he did issue a public apology, who really knows if he’s really sincere about it. But you know what they say, a public apology goes a LONG way in public relations, and his silence thus far is more damning in my eyes.
And to all the young, impressionable girls out there: Even if PSH (or any other hot guy) is your darling oppa, please remember that ALCOHOL AND SEX DO NOT MIX. Not even with a hot guy. Say yes to one OR the other, but NO to BOTH.
Signing off,
Everyone’s not-so-beloved nagging grandma
I think you mean 大男人主义, i.e. Male chauvinism? In Chinese,男子汉 is a positive term, that is you are able to handle or shoulder whatever that comes to you.
Whoops, yes, thank you for correcting me.
I was going to stay out of this whole discussion but I couldn’t help to ask you a couple if question that by no means say u believe him or her….
What do you think a public apology would do for a person that thinks he is already condem by the “public”? What if he was advise NOT to do a public apology?
What could he DO in everyone’s eye to inspire forgiveness or for people to think he has “repent” for what happen!?
And for the girl …
And for the people that think that because she settle out of court makes her guilty or shady … Wouldn’t you want to get this over with or to just go away?
Remember all the stupid stuff you did at the same age she was when this happen? Think, when you did those stupid things if you wouldn’t of had that person to help you to safety or guide you!?
Soo becareful of how you judge people, Because you maybe judge with the same unrelenting condamming human beings.
Thank you for speaking up for someone who can’t do it himself. Isn’t a person innocent till proven guilty?
Around the time of the Park Shi Ho/Miss A incident, one of my young male relatives was also accused of sexual assault by a woman he was drinking and drugging with at her college in the US. He claims she invited him while she says otherwise. Because of the unclear circumstances the District Attorney’s office has not aggressively pursued the case. Both lives are lingering in legal limbo.
As a feminist and a woman, I want to believe her, as his relative, I want to believe him. At 23, if found guilty, he may become a registered sex offender for the rest of his life. Right now he is not and only a few people know about the allegation.
In the Park SH case, I think there is a certain amount of ambiguity about what happened before they had sex including if she agreed and within the Korean legal system the matter was resolved. The same conflicting emotions and opinions sO felt in my relative’s matter, I have in this one. However, Mr. Park seems to have become a “registered sex offender” for life without having been convicted of a crime or a legal decision a crime has been committed to be charged for.
I hope this film makes it to the USA and I look forward to seeing it.
I look forward his work also.
i, too, hope good things for this actor….it is my understanding that before this ‘event,’ he’d always enjoyed a good reputation both personally and professionally..I also never heard that he is a womanizer, either.
surely all the years that comes before this scandal, and all that follows is a truer test of the caliber of Shi Hoo as a man; one mistake should never be the measure of a man.
For me, each is entitled to ones own opinion. But–when it comes to ‘judging’ others, I believe i’ve read a Book that advises that this is an assignment not given to man…for, as is pointed out: we can’t hear thoughts or know motivation, we can never have all the information, and we can never have all the accurate facts.
so it’s good to let even our ‘opinions’ be tempered with a bit of humility in that we too can be wrong.
Lovely, thanks for posting this. I believe he is really talented and it’s a shame that the scandal stalled his career in Korea. Hoping one day he can land on his feet again.
I have liked the dramas i saw him in..but dont think he can get his career back again. Ah well. Pity.
Well, even if not rape he did take advantage of a dead druk girl (video confirms it) he confirmed he wasn’t drunk (so he knew what he was doing) by the text msgs they released it seems the girl liked the other guy no PSH, and PSH dirty media play just made his image worse.. so yeah I can’t really see him in a romantic drama anymore
I like the smile of the female lead. She exhibits a kind of awareness and presence in the trailer, will also be looking out for her.
Lee Byun hyung, the big Korean movie star was also involved in a scandal with a young girl. He is still doing fine. http://netizenbuzz.blogspot.com/2012/09/why-is-lee-min-jung-viewed-as-victim-of.html?m=1
Quite interesting right?
A woman who is 20 in most countries is a not “a young girl”. She is a young woman in the US and Korea, she is legally an adult. In sexual discussions, I think one needs to be careful about saying “young girls”or “young boys” are involved because in all Western Countries (only ones I am familiar with),sex between children and adults is illegal unless married.
Seriously Sophie.. seriously…. using NB as absolute reference?!
That young Woman LBH was with was agreed upon by both parties when they were both sober. Relationship did not work, too bad for her, but at least she made the decision to go to Korea to be with LBH, and she only has herself to blame to give up everything to go after a man. PSH situation is different, the Woman he “raped” was not sober and was not in a situation to think clearly to even give consent, yet he went ahead and did what he did anyways because he “liked her very much.” The two are totally different situations.
I am not a fan of PSH nor am I an Anti, but as a Woman, I don’t think I can ever see him in a drama and believe in him at all when he does innocent love scenes. Too bad, because, he was cute, but that doesn’t excuse what he did. Regardless if the the courts already closed on the case, what he did was wrong and he knew it.
Im reading all this comments how they condemning him that he will never make it again in korea but look what happened to LBY. Even tho i dont condone what he did but watch and see this man is talented enough to making it big again…
To compare LBH with PSH…just BIG NO !!!
LBH is super talented and charismatic actor…one of the best Korean actors that ever born…
He can act in all kinds of genres superbly and very convincing !!!
While PSH, all he know is just to acts as a romantic guy that even only his character in FH which impressed me…his acting in TPM and COM are just so-so while in PP, QOR and CDDA are bleeh !!!!
He has to thanked his fans very very much…so far only them who contribute his success and popularity !!!
Some of these actors do stuff that, if known to the public, will be shock to their bones.
They just have powerful PR on duty 24/7 to clean up their mess because the industry is all about IMAGE.
I, for one, would never believe that these actors are their “image”.
I agree, I tend to have a very jaded and cynical view of celebrities of all stripes. I don’t see any of them as role models, I get irritated and annoyed when they decide to go on some political crusade – they usually just end up displaying their massive ignorance – and I want them to just be quiet and private and do their jobs.
I think that being in entertainment is a rather poisonous occupation: too much obsession about the self, to much compromise and frantic struggle and selling of yourself (in many ways) on the way up, too much indulgence of all sorts at the top, and more selling of yourself, your morals ideals etc. on the way down.
So in Park Shi Hoo’s case, I believe that he still doesn’t get what went wrong – when you have hundreds of women willing to fling themselves at their beloved oppa, and think that sex with you would be their dream come true, how do you relate to and respect the one that doesn’t? How difficult it must be, to not believe the hype, to follow the same rules as Mr. Everyday Joe when your handlers are constantly telling you how special you are. For those with weak constitutions, or weak morals, this is just deadly.
But even though I understand his rather sordid little history, I still can’t watch him. I know I must watch hundreds of other actors who have done this much and far worse, but I don’t know about it. Ignorance really is bliss, and when I know the person I can really no longer enjoy the performance.
Well, your prophecy of a slew of comments was certainly fulfilled! For me, watching movies and Drama is about entertainment, and if there’s something that inhibits my ability to be immersed in that entertainment, I won’t bother with it. His behaviour fits that bill for me, so I won’t bother with his work.
Dear Stuart, I couldn’t agree more to your whole comment!
BTW, most of the time I’m just reading different blogs/ forums around k-entertainment. And for quite some time now I’m recognizing your well written comments and appreciating your insights (especially on soompi drama forums). I hope this doesn’t come off odd – if so, it’s only due to my lack of English proficiency – but I wanted to let you know
Many thanks for your kind words, which were written in English as good as mine but with FAR fewer typos! 🙂
Thank you… and LOL
I love typos! I make them all the time. Especially in my mother tongue. Probably, I’m trying harder to avoid them in a foreign language than in my own… with more or less success 😉
Never really been a fan of PSH. The only drama I liked him in was Prosecutor Princess. However, I did check out some of his later works such as The Princess’ Man and Cheongdam-dong Alice, though I never finished either. Not because the actors themselves were bad but because I didn’t like how the story was going. The scandal itself…well none of us really knew what actually happened. Some people saying PSH is not sorry or feeling guilty about this whole thing, but I also remember reading an article about how the ‘victim’ was texting to a friend and I think they were talking about to get lots of money from PSH because of this scandal. To me, that didn’t sound like a victim but a person who was aiming for money. But then again, I don’t actually know what happened but I think that the person wrong can be either of them so it sucks that PSH is getting all the blame. And so because this is not a confirmed thing I won’t be affected by this scandal and still check out his works, but whether I finish any of them is another story haha…
I can seperate between artist works and their personally matters in some conditions…but i can’t accept if its touched ” morality issue ” just like what was happened in PSH case…
So for me, being able to enjoy his works after his scandal is BIG JOKES !!!!
By looking his bed scene in ” Scent ” trailer with the actress, CH…already provoked my bad memories about his scandal before…really disgusting…
He may always get VIP treatments from his worldwide fans but not with Koreans…
All the comments left here seem to imply :-
1) wow all of you are so pure, so unblemished
2) most if you never make mistakes. And if mistakes were made, never forgive and never forget the sinner
3) most of you believe that everyone must remain innocent all the time
4) most of you believe 100% in all that was reported in the news
5) the sinner is guilty, don’t need second thoughts about his innocence
6) the sinner is not to be forgiven. And hence is not allowed to start a new life. He must be forever punished. So don’t stop him in his acting career
7) the sinner who is an actor, belongs to the public. He is the property of the public. The public has the right to dictate his life, acquit/condemn him, select his sexual partner or marriage partner, etc etc
Now what if PSH incident happens to me. Nobody wants to understand the turmoil I go thru? Why? Why am I not allowed to continue my professional career? Even if I had done wrong, why am I not allowed to act? Blah blah
Not ALL the comments, some are routing for him to succeed. You should read them more objectively.
LOL…You’re logical enough to study law. For me it’s a simple matter. In the US, we give defendants benefit of the doubt if no substantial evidence is found for his wrong doings against the law. This is because there have been shown many false conviction in the history of litigation. So PSH by standards here is presumably innocent. It doesn’t bother me to continue to watch his dramas because he’s talented in acting and I look forward to his K drama comeback, although not easy nonetheless. I hope he would have chance to get back on his feet very soon.
*convictions*
typo – *convictions*
Right..!!!
Yeah he needs to starve, hide in a hole somewhere is Siberia, RIGHT!!?
They both came to a settlement, they both used the law best suited them. What he did was wrong!? Of course!!!! Should he pay for what he did? According to you some people…. He should pay for life.
(Even though he&she settle out of court)
Does that make her a bad person!? Of course NOT!! But according to some of you, shes a lying skeezer.
Yes, I do hope/ pray they’ve both learned from what happen and they both have the right to continued their life’s in the best way they can.
Who am I to judge? I’m just a human being.
And YES I’ll probably watch the movie because I LOVE asian movies/dramas!!