Park Bo gum

Early life and education

Born in Seoul on June 16, 1993, Park is the youngest of three siblings. "Bo-gum" (寶劍) means 'precious sword'. His mother died when he was in fourth grade. He started learning to play the piano when he was in kindergarten and was a pianist and choir member at church. He was also in the swimming varsity team of Seoul Mokdong Middle School.

During Park's sophomore year of high school he sent a video of himself singing and playing the piano to prominent talent management agencies which led to several offers. Park, who initially wanted to be a singer-songwriter, later changed his career path after a suggestion that he would do well acting. He graduated from Shinmok High School in 2012, and enrolled at Myongji University as a Musical Theater undergraduate in March 2014. Despite his acting career, Park maintained an active collegiate life and represented his university's cultural overseas exchange program in Europe. He has also directed a one-act play based on Anton Chekov's works, and served as music director in his graduating class's production of Hairspray.

2011–2013: Beginnings

Park debuted as an actor under Sidus HQ, playing a supporting role in the thriller film Blind (2011). He then joined Blossom Entertainment and featured in the action-comedy film Runway Cop (2012), one-off KBS drama special Still Picture (2012) and the period drama Bridal Mask (2012). In 2013, he landed his first major role in the weekend drama Wonderful Mama playing the playboy son of Bae Jong-ok's character.

2014–2015: Rising popularity and breakthrough

In 2014, Park played the teenage version of Lee Seo-jin's character in the melodrama Wonderful Days and played a prodigy cellist in the KBS2'S Cantabile Tomorrow, an adaptation of the Japanese manga Nodame Cantabile. The roles earned Park Best New Actor nominations in both the KBS Drama Awards and APAN Star Awards.

He next featured in box-office hits A Hard Day (2014) which also screened at Cannes Film Festival and The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014) which became the highest grossing Korean film of all time.

In May 2015, Park joined Music Bank as a co-host alongside Red Velvet's Irene. They both gained attention for their chemistry as well as singing and hosting skills. The press called them one of the best partnerships in the show's history, and Park was awarded the Best Newcomer Award at the KBS Entertainment Awards.

A departure from his previous roles and public image, Park gained rave reviews from audience and critics with his scene-stealing role in crime drama Hello Monster (2015). The portrayal won him the Popularity and Best Supporting Actor awards at the year-end KBS Drama Awards. The same year, he featured in Coin Locker Girl which screened at Cannes Film Festival. The role earned him a nomination for Best New Actor in Film at the Baeksang Arts Awards and won him a Rising Star Award at the 11th MaxMovie Awards.

He then starred as one of the leads in the third installment of the Reply series where he played the genius Go-player Choi Taek in Reply 1988 (2015). The show was a hit with audience ratings peaking at 18.8% making it the highest rated Korean drama in cable television history, and earned Park the nickname "Nation's Little Brother". The role catapulted him to fame in Korea and made him known as an emerging Korean Wave star, with the Top Chinese Music Awards presenting him with Best International Artist Award, the American-based DramaFever Awards giving him the Best Rising Star Award and tvN10 awarding him Asia Star Award.

2016–present: Mainstream success

In February 2016, Park featured in tvN's travel program Youth Over Flowers: Africa. After more than a year as Music Bank host, he left the show in June 2016.

In August 2016, he starred in KBS2's historical drama Love in the Moonlight alongside Kim Yoo-jung. A domestic and overseas hit, Moonlight achieved peak audience rating of 23.3%. Its popularity was called "Moonlight Syndrome", and solidified Park's status as a versatile leading actor. He received several accolades for the role including a Best Actor nomination and Popularity Award at the 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards, as well as the Top Excellence Award at the 30th KBS Drama Awards. Park also released his first soundtrack for Moonlight's OST entitled "My Person" which topped Melon, Mnet, Bugs, olleh, Soribada, Genie, Naver and Monkey3 charts upon its release and debuted at #3 on Gaon Music Chart.

He embarked on his first Asia-wide fan meeting tour in the tail-end of 2016, visiting eight cities and meeting more than 30,000 fans in the continent's East and Southeast regions until March 2017.

In the media

Park, a Hallyu star, is known for his upstanding persona. Colleagues describe him as kind and polite with advertisers praising his "boyishness and manliness", "easygoing and high-class image" and "bright and positive vibe". His pop culture influence has been referred to as "Bo-gum Magic" and after Moonlight, Park has been called the "Nation's Crown Prince". He has also been affectionately called the top candidate for "Nation's Son-in-Law" stemming from his diverse fan-base ranging from teens to grandmothers.

In 2016, by the age of 23, Park became the youngest artist to be named Actor of the Year by Gallup Korea. In 2017, he topped Forbes magazine's Korea Power Celebrity list, making him the first ever actor to do so.

Endorsements

Park is an endorser of a wide range of brands in and outside South Korea. The "Park Bo-gum Effect", coined by the Korean Business Research Institute, refers to his consistent high brand reputation ranking indicating his effectiveness as an endorser across different demographics.