Park So Dam Gets Emotional As She Talks About The Pressures Of Her Acting Career

Oct 20, 2020

On the October 20 episode of JTBC’s “Camping Vibes,” Park So Dam opened up about feeling pressure about her acting career.

“Camping Vibes” is a new variety show in which Park Na Rae, Ahn Young Mi, MAMAMOO’s Solar, Apink’s Son Naeun, and actress Park So Dam visit places in South Korea with scenery that is similar to famous tourist places abroad.

In this episode, the five members set out camping with guest Song Seung Heon. After dinner and games, the cast members sat around to have an honest talk. Park Na Rae said, “We only met yesterday but it seems we’ve gotten close pretty quickly.”

Solar said, “I didn’t know we would become so close so easily. Ahn Young Mi is much more soft than I realized. She seems so tough, swearing and everything, on the outside.” Ahn Young Mi said, “I wanted to look tough and I wanted other people to see me that way. I hated looking weak. But these days I feel like I should show who I really am.”

She added, “I thought from ‘Three Meals a Day’ and other things that Park So Dam was the type to approach other people confidently. But it turns out that she has a lot of worries.”

Park So Dam said, “I was originally the type of person who would get positive energy from meeting other people. As an actor, I got to do the work that I love. I was so happy and grateful, but one day, I suddenly felt a heavy pressure and responsibility. When I’m acting, I can focus on the character and what I have to do, so my mind is easy. But at some point I became afraid of the thought of other people focusing their attention on me. I felt like I couldn’t act like myself but thought, ‘I should be like this’ or ‘I should be like that.'”

She continued, “But I thought that I could act like myself on a camping show. Because I could just be myself. The other members said we should be comfortable around each other, but I feel like I still can’t put this weight down… I want to be myself and enjoy myself but I still feel like I can’t do that. I hate seeing myself like this… I started this work because I loved it.”

Song Seung Heon tried to comfort her with tissues, but unfortunately they turned out to be wet tissues instead. However, this had the benefit of making Park So Dam and the others laugh. She thanked him and said, “Thank you for wrapping things up nicely.” Park Na Rae added words of comfort, saying, “You’re trying too hard to excel. It’s okay to not be good at something sometimes. If you do well, you do well, that’s all. Doing well isn’t something that we need to do here on a show like this.”