How Park Shin-hye embraced her ‘devilish’ side in ‘The Judge from Hell’

Park Shin-hye during the press conference for “A Judge from Hell.” Image: Courtesy of SBS

For Park Shin-hye, portraying a devilish judge was not an attempt to change her image for good. Rather, it’s her curiosity about how the public would perceive her as an actress, as she’s usually known for taking on wholesome characters.

In “The Judge from Hell,” Park stars as Kang Bit-na, a judge at the 18th Criminal Division of Seoul Central District Court. After her sudden death, she is possessed by a demonic being called Justitia, in hopes of fulfilling its mission of killing and sending criminals back to hell.

This allows Bit-na to fully embrace her demonic side, with her sharp-tongued wit and constant eyebrow raises, contributing to her fall into the dark side.

Yet Park didn’t intend for Bit-na to be a statement of how much she’s changed. “I wasn’t necessarily thinking about going through a transformation in my acting career,” she said at a media conference in Seoul. “Rather, it was the curiosity of how people would react if they saw me in this role, that made me decide to be in this series.”

Park is notable for taking on sweet yet headstrong roles in the majority of her career. They’re usually known for being kind-hearted or they would come from humble beginnings. But when they find themselves in a rut, they wouldn’t hesitate to fight back — usually leading to happy endings.

These are seen in the K-dramas “You’re Beautiful,” “Heartstrings,” “The Heirs,” “Pinocchio” and “The Doctors,” among others.

Despite this, the actress showed her range in different genres, including the crime film “Heart Blackened” in 2017 and the psychological thriller film “The Call” three years later.

“All the roles I have taken up until now have given me joy and happiness,” Park said of her past roles. “And I wondered how much I’ll have fun with ‘The Judge from Hell.’ I had so much fun reading the script. I could picture each scene from the scenario, like a movie unfolding before my eyes.”

Meeting expectations

One of the traits worth noting about Bit-na is how “she doesn’t care about the hierarchy,” despite her position in the district court. “She doesn’t care about what others think and says whatever needs to be said,” Park said, describing her character.

“Her personality is as daring as bubbly soda. As the devil Justitia from hell enters Kang Bit-na’s body, she lives her life as Kang Bit-na,” she added.

Park Shin-hye (left) with her leading man Kim Jae-young during the press conference of “The Judge from Hell.” Image: Courtesy of SBS

Embracing Bit-na’s turn into the dark side was an opportunity for Park to “meet the expectations” she set for herself. This includes showing how much she matured, not only as an actress but also as a woman.

“As we live, we develop various personalities. We become more aware of ourselves, as we meet various people and experience all kinds of things. I was wondering how I could show that, and my character Bit-na seemed to be dynamic,” she said.

“I thought I could show all these experiences and use them to portray the character. It means a lot to me if others see that and feel the same way,” continued Park.

The actress’ ambition didn’t go unnoticed by filmmaker Park Jin-pyo, who decided on her casting. “Park Shin-hye got stuck with a certain type of role, like a Candy type. But I saw the desire and ambition she had inside of her as an actor.”

“The Judge from Hell” director Park Jin-pyo (center) with the cast during the K-drama’s press conference. Image: Courtesy of SBS

Touching on Bit-na’s personality, Park stressed that the devilish judge still had a “lovely side” to her, which the actress can give justice to.

“We were wondering who could portray both characteristics. All our production team agreed on Park Shin-hye and I felt the same way. So that’s why I decided to cast her. You’ll be more surprised than you imagined, and you’ll fall in love with her more,” he said.

The K-drama, which is available on a streaming platform, also stars Kim Jae-young, Lee Kyu-han and Kim Ah-young.