Park So Dam (Korean: 박소담; born September 8, 1991) is a South Korean actress. She graduated from the Korea National University of Arts with a degree in acting. So Dam began her acting career in a short film called No More No Less in 2013. She exploded into stardom by playing the demon in The Priests (2015), and then gained worldwide recognition for her role in the Oscar and Palme d’Or-winning movie Parasite (2019).
When Park was in high school, she watched the musical Grease and developed an interest in acting. While in university, Park started her career by turning to independent films after being rejected in around seventeen auditions. Known as a prolific performer in independent cinema, Park starred in the Korean Academy of Film Arts feature Ingtoogi: Battle of the Internet Trolls and the indie Steel Cold Winter, the latter of which drew notice when it premiered at the Busan International Film Festival. Park also took bit parts in mainstream titles Scarlet Innocence and The Royal Tailor.
She broke into the mainstream in 2015 after making a strong impression with her performance in The Silenced, which nabbed her a win for Best Supporting Actress from the Busan Film Critics Awards. She then featured in box office hits Veteran and The Throne, which led to her casting in the critically acclaimed mystery thriller The Priests. Her role as an evil-possessed high school student won her multiple Best New Actress nods.
Park also extended her filmography to television. In 2016, she took the lead role in KBS2’s medical drama A Beautiful Mind and tvN’s romantic comedy series Cinderella with Four Knights.
In 2019, Park starred in Bong Joon Ho’s black comedy, Parasite. The film received international critical acclaim and was a box office success in South Korea. She gained recognition for her role as a crafty, whip-smart younger sister of the family, and became known for her “Jessica Jingle” (Jessica, Only Child, Illinois, Chicago).
