Park Bo-gum, Kim So-hyun and Lee Sang-yi on training to be athletes

The Hindu

18-06-2025

Early on in the ongoing Korean police procedural show Good Boy, actor Park Bo-gum is cornered by a group of thugs, each looking more threatening than the other. There is however no fear here; With a manic glint in his eye, he snaps on a pair of boxing gloves, has his mouth guard in place, and grins at them, almost encouragingly. If the look of exhilaration is anything to go by, you know that he has been waiting for this.
To say that Bo-gum is probably having the best year would be an understatement. After amassing legions of new fans globally and reminding the loyalists of his onscreen charm as the endearing Gwan-sik in 2025's hit Netflix show When Life Gives You Tangerines, he bursts onto the scene in Good Boy as a brash, impulsive and large-hearted former star athlete who is struggling to find his footing in the police force. Bo-gum here, is joined by an impressive ensemble cast: Lee Sang-yi, Kim So-hyun, Heo Sung-Tae, and Tae Won-seok, all former athletes who, like him, are grudgingly adapting to their new lives as a ragtag team of police officers in a special unit.
'I was so happy I met these good people and was grateful to be shooting with them,' says Bo-gum, speaking to The Hindu in a roundtable interaction, where he was joined by Sang-yi and So-hyun.
There is something truly special about seeing an ensemble cast come together onscreen. If the big moments onscreen are exciting (think 'Avengers Assemble'), you can't help but wonder about the chemistry offscreen. Stars, are they just like us? Do they hang out after work?
'We always tried to eat together between shoots and we would talk about what happened during the shoot, ad lib, and take pictures of each other,' laughs Sang-yi. For So-hyun, she recalls a warm and friendly atmosphere on set. 'We all had similar senses of humor, and everyone laughed a lot,' she says.
Having filmed for the show over ten to eleven months, all the actors had to intensely train in the sports their characters are champions in.
As a former boxing gold medalist in Good Boy, Bo-gum trained for over six months, often working out with his fellow actor Sang-yi to build up his stamina for a role that promised to be both physically and mentally challenging. 'I learnt boxing to accurately portray and embody this role,' he says. So-hyun, meanwhile, worked on embodying the calm and precise persona of Ji Han-na, a former champion shooter. 'I want to show a more rough and tough side of her when she shoots, and also try my best to make the gun-related action scenes look natural and energetic for the audience,' she explains.
A former fencing champion, Good Boy's many action sequences see Sang-yi charge into the chaos wielding a police baton like a sword. 'I have been learning fencing for over six months now and I practice consistently everyday. Using a baton instead of a fencing sword to subdue criminals meant that I had to separately train on baton techniques with the action team as well,' he explains.
As former high-achieving athletes who have stepped away from the limelight and currently face workplace discrimination and scrutiny, the protagonists of Good Boy are all layered, smartly-written characters who do more than just pack a punch. So-hyun, for instance, says that while Ha-na might look calm and quiet, she has a passionate heart and makes bold choices. This is evident when Ha-na calmly responds to a home invasion and picks up a paintball gun and shoots at a group of thugs, a scene that proves to be a superbly choreographed introduction to what she is capable of.
'I felt a lot of anxiety as to whether I could pull this scene off, but I think we managed to capture this tension on set and incorporate it into the scene. I had to put in a lot of effort and I believe this came through in the scene,' she says.
Directed by Shim Na-yeon, who previously helmed critically acclaimed K-Dramas Beyond Evil and TheGood Bad Mother, Good Boy has been seeing a steady stream of viewers and has been garnering praise for its slick action sequences and ability to balance both the sober and the slapstick. As the lead, this has also been something entirely new for Park Bo-gum, who has played a range of characters through his K-Drama appearances so far.
'I tend to talk a lot with the director and writer to build and develop the character together,' says Bo-gum, when asked how he approaches a role. 'I also try to talk a lot with the other actors and through the atmosphere on set I gain a deeper understanding and empathy for the characters.'
Good Boy is now streaming on Prime Video