‘Death’s Game’ Star, Park So-dam Opens Up on Her Recovery from Thyroid Cancer
The upcoming K-drama stars the ‘Parasite’ star opposite Seo In-guk, Siwon and Go Youn-jung.
K-drama fans, you can soon catch Park So-dam and Seo In-guk in a dark, thrilling series titled Death’s Game. The show is based on a webtoon of the same name, following in the footsteps of other successful webtoon-based series like Moving, Sweet Home and The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract, and stars Seo In-guk as Choi Lee-jae and Park So-dam as Death, personified.
The drama’s main cast members attended a press conference on December 13, ahead of the series premiere on December 15. The cast and director, Ha Byung-hoon, shared insight into the preparation and process behind the scenes of filming the highly-anticipated drama. Park So-dam, who gained international recognition for her performance in the Oscar-winning 2019 film Parasite, also opened up about her comeback to the acting scene, following her battle with papillary thyroid cancer.
Park So-dam first publicly announced her cancer diagnosis back in December 2021 and has since undergone surgery to treat the illness, followed by a much-needed period of recovery. The actress took time during the press conference to express her sincere gratitude for the lasting support and love for her and Death’s Game, as this will be one of her first projects post-surgery.
To promote Death’s Game, the 32-year-old actress made an appearance with her co-star, Seo In-guk on singer Jo Hyun-ah’s YouTube channel, revealing that it took eight months for her voice to return after her cancer treatments. Park So-dam also shared with the host that the treatments were both physically and mentally demanding, saying, “Even while filming the first half of Death’s Game, I had a hard time and cried at home every day while filming.”
At a particularly poignant moment during the press conference, Park So-dam went on to share in more detail, “There was a time when I couldn't even get out of bed without my father’s assistance. Now I am immensely grateful for the simple ability to move my body. One of the lines in the series is ‘Humans only die once, for a long time’. Watching Death’s Game will remind the audience of the value and pricelessness of life.”
Death’s Game plot starts with Choi Lee-jae struggling in all aspects of his life – his career, love life, and finances – which results in his desire to end his own life. Insulted by his flippant attitude towards dying, Death comes knocking, forcing him to partake in her cruel game – to live and die through 12 different reincarnations of himself. The different reincarnations of Choi Lee-jae are played by a star-studded supporting cast, including Siwon, Kim Ji-hoon, Jang Seung-jo, Lee Jae-wook, Kim Jae-wook, Go Youn-jung, and Kim Kang-hoon and more.
