Park Shi Hoo will return to dramaland early next year. It has been two years since a scandal kept the popular actor from appearing on the small screen but his casting in an upcoming OCN drama has been confirmed.
Park will play an ex-secret agent who opens a neighborhood bar in the drama titled "Neighborhood's Hero." His character becomes friendly with the regulars at the bar and learns about crimes in the neighborhood. One of his bar regulars is a young man who hopes to become a police officer. Park's character trains him in secret and the duo decides to fight crime together. They become neighborhood heroes.
The drama starts filming in September and is due to air early in 2016.
Park's last drama role was in the 2012-2013 SBS drama "Cheongdamdong Alice" with co-star Moon Geun Young. He played a chaebol for falls for a girl that schemes to marry a chaebol.
Shortly after the actor completed his role in the successful series, he was involved in a scandal with a rookie actress who claimed he raped her. He claimed their relations were consensual but she said she was too drunk to consent. The scandal set off a series of lawsuits. Although all of the charges were eventually dropped, the scandal put a halt to the actor's career in Korea.
Park Shi Hoo considered a comeback in the 2014 drama "Golden Cross" but netizen reaction to his casting was so negative that he ultimately decided against taking the part. During the last two years he has worked in other countries. He appeared in a Chinese film titled "Fragrance," which did well at the box office. Then he was cast in the film "Love After Love" with Yoon Eun Hye. Her fan club protested at her participation in the film but she remained committed. That film was shot in China and South Korea and is scheduled for release later this year.
Park Shi Hoo is best known for his roles in the dramas "Iljimae," "The Princess' Man," and "Princess Prosecutor." He also appeared in the 2012 film "Confession of a Murder." The film was released after his scandal and earned critical praise, especially in Japan, where the actor remains very popular.
