“Criticism and rejection are natural. that’s the part you have to deal with. I don’t know how long it will take to turn criticism. I will never repeat the same mistake once more. I will live my life hard” (in May 2020, during Park Yoochun’s ‘Channel A ‘Purple Show’ interview)
Park Yoochun, who announced his retirement from the entertainment industry on suspicion of drug use, showed signs of returning to the public side, drawing outrage from many people.
On September 14th, Blue Film Works released the main poster of Park Yoochun and announced that the movie ‘Dedicated to Evil’ (Director Kim Siwoo) has been confirmed for domestic release in October.
In ‘Dedicated to Evil’, the first screen comeback in 7 years since the movie ‘Sea Fog’ in 2014, Park Yoochun took on the role of ‘Taehong’, a man who was the son-in-law and doctor of a chaebol family, but lost everything in an instant.
Park Yoochun, who had been embroiled in controversies over sexual scandals and drug use since 2016, took a break from his activities in 2019 when allegations of drug use surfaced, saying, “If it is true, I will retire from the entertainment industry.” He terminated his contract with the company and was expelled from the entertainment industry.
Afterwards, Park Yoochun was raised in various controversies such as the revelation and conflict of his former manager, such as buying a luxury bag for his lover with his agency’s corporate card and eating wirelessly at an entertainment establishment. With the opening, he continued his active activities such as publishing a photo book, recruiting an official fan club, and releasing an overseas album.
It is said that he is cautious regarding his domestic activities or that he does not have any domestic schedules or activities related to ‘Dedicated to Evil’.
Nevertheless, he seemed to be self-reliant once more, saying, “I will live with reflection,” but the public’s reaction to him continuing his activities with ‘Dedicated to Evil’, which finished filming in February last year, is only cold.
Many netizens have negative connotations regarding Park Yoochun’s comeback, such as “There were no tears, no clarifications, and no apologies in the first place”, “It’s a reckless comeback”, and “He’s returning to the real evil.”
The movie ‘Dedicated to Evil’ won the Best Actor Award at the Asian Film Awards in Las Vegas in the U.S. in 2021, the French BCIFF Screenplay Award, the Swedan BIFF Screenplay Award, the Director Award, and the Best Picture. When the comeback was revealed, the reaction was “It seems like cold water was poured on it”.
One media evaluates, “The movie ‘Dedicated to Evil’, in which he and Park Yoochun held hands, boldly pushed his head to Chungmuro with ‘noise marketing’ and ‘returning arm’.”
Meanwhile, Park Yoochun, who was born in 1986 and is 37 years old this year, made his debut as an SM idol ‘TVXQ’ in 2004 under the stage name ‘Micky Yoochun’. He filed a lawsuit to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract, and moved to JYJ, focusing on his career as an actor rather than a singer.
The KBS drama ‘Sungkyunkwan Scandal’, in which he played the lead role, succeeded, starred in several dramas, and was selected as the most notable figure among many ‘acting idols’ in Korea. Starting with that, a number of criminal charges were uncovered, disappointing the public.