Actor Park Jung-min Expands His Influence Beyond the Screen into K-Pop

Actor Park Jung-min is making a name for himself in the K-pop industry beyond the silver screen. Not only has he appeared in music videos for artists like Hwasa, but he also recently lent his voice to rapper JUSTHIS's track 'XXX'.

Park Jung-min contributed narration to the song 'XXX' from JUSTHIS's album 'LIT', released on the 20th. The track begins with Park's concerned voice asking, 'Why haven't you been in touch?' His narration reappears midway through the song, where he humorously remarks, 'I saw you walking with someone. It was that guy we drank with. How did I not know?' He concludes with a bittersweet farewell, wishing them happiness.

The public's response to his performance has been overwhelmingly positive. On platforms like X, comments such as "You can tell it's Park Jung-min even if you listen while doing somersaults," "Is this singing rap while talking?", and "He must have learned rap from Jang Ki-ha" have been posted.

On November 19th, Park Jung-min also made headlines by appearing on stage with singer Hwasa at the 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards. Together, they performed 'Good Goodbye', captivating audiences with their portrayal of a long-term couple facing separation. The YouTube video of this performance garnered 540,000 views within a day of its release.

Park Jung-min and Hwasa's collaboration in the music video for this song has been praised for their sweet yet composed chemistry. Fans have reacted to Park's 'ex-boyfriend' portrayal with comments like "I want to date and break up with him for real" and "He's so sexy." Since its release last month, the music video has amassed 42.18 million views, boosting the song's popularity to reach as high as third place on Melon's 'TOP100' chart.

Park Jung-min has showcased his charming acting in numerous music videos over the years. A notable work is IU's 2018 song 'With the Heart to Forget You', where he starred as the male lead in a tribute video for the late Kim Kwang-seok's 22nd anniversary. Set in the late 20th century, he portrayed a past love of IU, enhancing the song's poignant emotion.

He has also appeared in music videos for artists like Lee Seung-hwan, Code Kunst, Kang Min-kyung, Choi Jung-hoon, BIBI, Park Won, and the group (G)I-DLE, covering genres from romance to action noir. The public has responded positively, stating, "Any K-pop music video featuring Park Jung-min becomes a masterpiece," and even creating 'Park Jung-min Music Video Collections'.

Even when not directly involved in album production or appearing in music videos, Park Jung-min has shown a consistent interest in music creation. He launched the 'Listening Novel' project with author Kim Geum-hee's 'First Summer, Wanju', for which he planned the OST and music video.

In June, Park appeared on the YouTube channel 'SBS News', where he shared, "When I decided to do a listening novel, I thought I should create an OST and music video even before contacting the author," adding, "There wasn't a specific reason. At some point, I just believed it was something I naturally had to do."

By Min-kyung Lee, Ten Asia Reporter 2min_ror@tenasia.co.kr