“When Life Gives You Tangerines” Director Tried To Make Park Bo Gum “Ugly” — Sparks Debate
Recently, actor Park Bo Gum is receiving love for his role in the Netflix K-Drama series When Life Gives You Tangerines where he stars alongside IU.
However, director Kim Won Seok‘s recent revelation about Park Bo Gum’s character Yang Gwan Sik has sparked backlash.
According to reporter Kim Min Hwa of Conrad Seoul, the director believes Park Bo Gum’s handsome face was the most difficult part of fitting into the character’s role. Because of this, he did various things to change his appearance, including tanning his skin and gaining weight.
For this project, the makeup team applied dark foundation all over my body, from my face to my toes. They worked hard to darken any visible skin to create the look of someone who had lived in Jeju for a long time and had been tanned by the sun. (…) I also gained a lot of weight for the role. When I watched the drama, I thought I looked more solid than I expected, though my face still seemed slim. I gained about 4-5 kg.
— Park Bo Gum
Many Korean netizens found his attempts to become “less attractive” futile as his visuals are unmatched.
- “But Gwan Sik is just a stubborn, iron-willed island guy, not an ugly character. Why put in such pointless effort? LOL.”
- “Excuse me?”
- “Looking rustic is one thing, but making him look unattractive? That’s a lifelong mission impossible. LOL.”
- “Just take on roles where you’re supposed to be handsome.”
- “…Was that really an attack?”
- “Effort completely betrayed him. LOL.”
- “Even Bo Gum has something he can’t achieve… It’s nice to see a human side of him.”
- “So, there is something he can’t do.”
Meanwhile, international netizens found issue with the director’s claims as it implied that having tan skin and gaining weight makes someone less handsome, perpetuating harmful beauty standards.
Korea really has the weirdest beauty standard cuz wdym tanned skin and not skinny = less attractive https://t.co/B3mUIFnCha pic.twitter.com/azimJbdrAn
— خ (@mys4ria) March 24, 2025
equating being tan and “gaining weight” to being ugly is certainly an interesting choice… https://t.co/WJX2Ix7Mlt
— HYE IN (@hyeslaynn) March 24, 2025
The entire situation has started a debate around beauty standards in the industry — and Park Bo Gum remains a visual icon, despite the effort he put in to change his looks.
