"I really didn’t know that we looked alike": Parasite's Park So Dam reveals why she is thankful to co-star Choi Woo Shik 

Park So Dam, whose acting in the globally acclaimed Parasite impressed audiences around the world, recently spoke about her experience while auditioning for the Oscar-winning film. She also took the time to comment on her friendship with Squid Game sensation Anupam Tripathi.

Parasite, back in 2020, made history by becoming the first foreign language film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture at the Oscars. One of the main reasons for the movie’s global popularity was the impressive cast, who molded themselves into the characters exceptionally well.

In a recent episode of the show Radio Star, Park So Dam, who played the intelligent and savvy Ki Jung on Parasite, spoke about how she landed the project.

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Park So Dam landed Parasite due to her resemblance to Choi Woo Shik

The actor appeared on the November 24 episode of the MBC show. She revealed that the main reason director Bong Joon Ho wanted to cast her in Parasite was her uncanny resemblance to her on-screen sibling, Choi Woo Shik. Park So Dam said:

“Director [Bong Joon Ho] said he wanted to cast the two of us as brother and sister. For our first meeting with both of us there, he asked us to come without wearing any makeup at all. So we really showed up without even washing our hair—a completely all-natural look. And as soon as he saw the two of us, director [Bong Joon Ho] was so happy.”

The Record of Youth actor initially did not see any resemblance.

“I really didn’t know that we looked alike. I wondered, ‘Do I really look like [Choi Woo Shik]?’ But after seeing a photo of us together later, I saw the resemblance.”

Park So Dam, very humbly, went on to give all credit to Choi Woo Shik, who had already been cast. Severely underselling her immense acting chops, she said:

“I need to be grateful to [Choi Woo Shik] for the rest of my life, because he had already been cast first. I was only cast in the film [Parasite] because I looked like him. So it’s thanks to him that I got the part.”

Anyone who watched Parasite would have to disagree. While the resemblance did help, none other than Park So Dam would have been able to pull off a character as complicated as Ki Jung aka Jessica.

Turns out, not only Park So Dam, but even her brother resembles Choi Woo Shik. On being asked whether the actor’s real life brother too looks like her on-screen brother, she said,

“Yes. He has a similar vibe. Everyone in our family has the same eyes.”

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Park So Dam was a sunbae to Squid Game's Anupam Tripathi

The Parasite actor also opened up about her history with Anupam Tripathi, who played the beloved Ali in Squid Game. Park So Dam revealed the pair had gone to the same college, although Anupam Tripathi was a year below her.

As expected of the charming actor, whose role in Squid Game shot him to international fame, he insited on calling Park So Dam “sunbae” despite being older than her in age.

“I would tell him, ‘Why are you calling me “sunbae“? Oppa, don’t call me that!’ But he’d say, ‘No, you’re my sunbae, so you’ll always be “sunbae” to me. He’s a really great person and has so much positive energy.

Park So Dam described his personality as follows:

“He’s really full of cheerful energy and is very cute. Even back when we were in school, he was like a ‘happy virus’ [someone with infectious energy].”

Joining the Parasite star was veteran actor and National Halmoni Kim Young Ok, who played Lee Jung Jae‘s mother in Squid Game. She enthusiastically agreed with Park So Dam’s description of Anupam Tripathi.