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Dogged Determination Taking Actress Park Ha-sun to the Top

Determination, perseverance and maintaining a never-say-die attitude are just as important as natural acting ability for those who wish to succeed in the hard-knocks world of Korea's entertainment and TV business, according to actress Park Ha-sun.

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"Whenever I get bogged down with negativity, I remind myself that I can succeed, and I will prove this to the world", she said.

At 25, Park has already enjoyed a roller-coaster career that saw her plucked from obscurity at the age of 19 before appearing in numerous films and TV dramas. But while she has temporarily seized the spotlight, she has never stayed firmly within it.

Unlike many actresses who rely on their looks to catapult their careers forward, Park rose to prominence by jettisoning her vanity and starring in the MBC sitcom "High Kick 3, The Short Legs Counterattack".

In the sitcom, she carved her own niche with a catalogue of facial expressions that other actresses would be reluctant to display -- veering from horrified embarrassment to downright ugliness -- but with such eloquence that her face proved the truth of the old adage "a picture is worth a thousand words".

Now she said she has developed a thicker skin regarding the vicissitudes of show business.

"Popularity is like bubbles that disappear almost as soon as they come into being. I have a long way to go to be enamored with the fleeting attention I am getting right now", said Park.

Park debuted in 2005 with the SBS drama "Love Needs Miracle". She has since appeared in various films and dramas but has failed to garner much attention.

"I was pretty confident about myself and my looks at first, but after my debut I realized that I was nothing special", she said. "At one point, I didn't win any auditions for eight straight months".

Her ambition is "to be a true actress before turning 30", she said. "I'm good at rock climbing and things that require physical work. I want to make action and horror movies, too. I will try my hand at anything, but the key is to stick at things. Popularity may be fleeting, but acting is something I can do forever".

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