Park Gyuri has been a child actress, a regular reality show guest and is currently the popular lead singer of the girl group KARA. But that's just the beginning. With her new role in the drama "Nail Shop Paris," she is gaining even more acting credits plus a reputation as a first rate nail artist.
Actresses often have to learn a new skill to successfully play a role in a kdrama. An actress may have to master martial arts, table tennis or pottery making. For "Nail Shop Paris," the first kdrama about a nail shop, Gyuri had to brush up on her nail art. And she had to learn more than how to neatly apply nail polish. She mastered on the latest nail art trends, such as pasting on jewels and flowers and creating intricate patterns.
Everyone in the cast of the MBC drama about a flower boy nail shop had to study manicure techniques but Park Gyuri's talent in acrylic design surprised the trainer. She was so talented that the trainer suggested that she might pass the official licensing exam required to become a nail artist.
Her role in "Nail Shop Paris" is not the first time the world has seen Park Gyuri's nail art talent. When she appeared on the MBC program, "Talk Concert Queen," she drew some exceptional designs on MC Joo Young Hoon's nails.
In "Nail Shop Paris," her character Hong Yuh Joo begins working in the shop on a trial basis and starts out only knowing the basics. As the show continues, her character will demonstrate more sophisticated talents.
Pretending to be a nail artist is just a disguise as Hong Yuh Joo is really a writer. She's an Internet novelist who is out of fresh ideas. She follows a man she sees on the train. Wondering what his story is, she hopes he will provide inspiration. She trails him to the nail shop where he works and applies for a job. Since the salon hires only men, she must cut her hair and pretend to be a boy.
Fellow cast members and nail artists include MBLAQ's Thunder, Song Jae Rim and Jun Ji Hoo. Gyuri has appeared in musicals and did a cameo in the comedy "What is Mom," but this is her first leading role as an adult.
Ironically, the singer had to trim her own long, beautiful nails and ditch her nail polish, to play a flower boy manicurist.
