Park Eun Bin has one of the most recognizable faces in South Korean dramas. Having debuted at the tender age of five, she is definitely no stranger to the spotlight with a 25-year acting career under her belt. Having starred in more than forty dramas, the former child actress has evolved into a full-fledged leading star! Fans witnessed her talent after taking on different roles across various genres, and it seems that she can pull off any character.
So if you are interested in binge-watching some of her work, here are 10 interesting dramas to add to your watchlist!
Operation Proposal (2012)
In this 2012 remake of a Japanese drama, Eun Bin plays Ham Yi Seul, a selfless young lady who harbored romantic feelings for her best friend Kang Baek Ho. They have been friends since they were young, and she always loved him for over two decades. Unfortunately, when the latter realized his own feelings for her, it was already way too late. Yi Seul was set to be married, and on her wedding day, Baek Ho met a conductor who offered him a chance to travel back in time and change the course of his relationship with Yi Seul.
Secret Door (2014)
Secret Door is a historical biopic that tells the tale of the tragic conflict between King Yeongjo of Joseon and his son, the Crown Prince Sa Do. Yeongjo is a shrewd man who is hungry for more power, while Sa Do opposes this way of ruling the kingdom. Instead, he advocates for an equal society that stays away from hierarchical division. Eun Bin plays the role of Lady Hye Kyung, Sa Do’s wife who is also a writer. Her relationship with him is slightly hostile as she tries to win over his heart but to no avail. She realized that her husband’s ideals of a society with equal rights trample over her dreams, so she decides to abandon him to protect their son.
Choco Bank (2016)
Choco Bank is a rom-com web drama about a man named Kim Eun Haeng (Kim Jong In) who hopes to have a lucky start. His father deliberately gave him a name that meant “bank”, in the hopes of giving him a good lease on life. Now that he’s about to join the workforce, he comes across Ha Cho Co (Kim Eun Bin), a girl his age who is about to start her own business. As they got to know each other, they slowly grew closer as they wade through the financial service industry.
Hello, My Twenties!/Age of Youth (2016-2017)
This coming-of-age drama centers around five girls in their twenties who become housemates at Belle Epoque. Each of them has different personalities and personal issues, and they take audiences for the ride as they navigate the ups and downs of life. For her part, Eun Bin, plays the role of Song Ji Won, a 22-year-old journalism major. She’s cheerful, quirky, and offbeat, and even claims that she can see ghosts. But as the season progressed, we see a different side to her character due to a traumatic encounter.
Father, I’ll Take Care of You (2016)
Just when Hyung Seon and Jung Ae thought they would be empty-nesters, all their four children decided to come back into the fold. They bring with them a whole new set of problems which they try to manage with love and affection. One of their sons, Han Sung Joon (Lee Tae Hwan), is a general manager who met a girl named Oh Dong Hee (Park Eun Bin) during one of his business trips. They unexpectedly reunite in Korea, but Sung Joon was in for a surprise when he found Dong Hee living with his parents. Now that they live under one roof, they eventually grew closer and started to catch feelings for each other. This drama shows us the common setup in South Korea where young married couples are forced to live with their parents due to exorbitant housing costs.
Judge vs Judge (2017)
For this 2017 legal drama, Eun Bin transforms into an ill-tempered judge at the Seoul District Court. She’s a feisty young woman who doesn’t mince her words when venting her anger out on shameless defendants. But when her brother was murdered after he was framed for a heinous crime, she stops at nothing to prove his innocence. She leaves no stone unturned while tracking down the people who are responsible for his death. This was a memorable role for Eun Bin having shared that it was enjoyable portraying the role of a judge in a different light. As a reflection of her dedication to this character, her performance helped Eun Bin get nominated for an Excellence Award by an Actress for a Wednesday-Thursday Drama in 2017.
The Ghost Detective (2018)
This mystery thriller is about a former military man Lee Da Il (Choi Daniel) who becomes a detective after being discharged. He handles supernatural cases who have to deal with a crime that hits close to home. It all started when Jung Yeo Wool (Park Eun Bin), who is his assistant, found out that her younger sibling died a mysterious death. As the two work together to uncover the truth, they repeatedly cross paths with a mysterious lady in red who keeps on appearing at their crime scenes. Things spiraled out of control when they realized that the culprit they’d been looking for was actually a ghost! More than the twists and crazy thrills in this drama, fans are also smitten by the palpable chemistry between Choi Daniel and Park Eun Bin. So if you’re looking for heart-stopping mysteries with a tinge of horror in the mix, this drama should be on your list!
Hot Stove League (2019)
This is a sports drama about a professional baseball team that placed last for four seasons straight. So they decided to hire Baek Seung Soo (Nam Goong Min) as their new manager to help them climb out of the rut. But the catch is that even though Baek Seung Soo is known for making champions out of the many sports teams he handled in the past, he never had any experience in baseball. However, he uses his expertise to get the struggling team back on track with the goal of winning their first trophy. Eun Bin plays the team’s operations manager, Lee Se Young. She remains positive and passionate for her team, despite all their misfortune all these years. This underdog drama is arguably one of the most memorable ones that were released that year and won the Best Drama category at the 56th Baeksang Arts Awards. Even if you’re not a fan of baseball, you’ll find that there is more that this storyline has to offer!
Do You Like Brahms? (2020)
Chase Song Ah (Park Eun Bin) is a timid yet steadfast young woman who pursued her dreams to be a professional violinist despite her family’s protest. While studying at university, she meets Park Joon Young (Kim Min Jae), a nationally acclaimed pianist whose career is slowly waning. When Son Ah realized that she’s starting to gravitate toward the young man, she finds herself neck-deep in the cutthroat world of classical music. Park Eun Bin shared that this role was special because it was the first time where she played someone who was the same age as her. Do You Like Brahms serves up a good slice of melodrama and it manages to hit most of the right notes that make it worth checking out!
The King’s Affection (2021)
Back in the Joseon age, giving birth to twins was bad luck, which is a belief that holds biased, particularly the female twin. So when the princess consort gives birth to twins, she sneaks her daughter out of the palace and orders to have the baby killed. Apparently, fate has a funny way of bringing the two royal children back together. The female twin, now named Dam-Yi, becomes a court maid and meets her twin brother, Prince Lee Hwi by accident. The pair were caught off guard seeing how they looked so much alike. At the behest of the young royal, they swapped clothes so Hwi can step out of the palace undetected. Tragedy strikes when Hwi is killed while dressed in his sister’s clothes and Dam-yi was forced to assume his identity to save her own life, as well as those who conspired to steal her away from death years ago. This interesting drama showcased Eun Bin’s embattled character to conceal her real identity as she steps into the prince’s shoes.
Which among these series sparked your curiosity? Are there some dramas you want to add to this list? Share them in the comments and we would love to hear about your suggestions!
