PARK SOOK-JA, TWENTY - NINE, PROFESSIONAL POKER PLAYER & ACTRESS. written by melanie ( she / they ).
full name: park sook-ja
gender: cis woman
pronouns: she/her
date of birth: october 4th, 1994
occupation: professional poker player and actress
sexuality: bisexual
personality: slightly cold, awkward, and evidently unsure. when she does put in the effort, she can be charming in an effortlessly understated kind of way. she takes a bit to warm up to, but once you do, you find yourself having a “oh, i get why people would want this person around.” moment. sook-ja possesses a dry humor, a careful intelligence, and a deep inner longing that could easily go unnoticed if you don’t look hard enough. she’s the kind of person you have to dig for, really.
astrology: libra sun, scorpio moon, taurus rising
rise to fame: Sook-Ja’s rise to fame is quite simple, so much so that it bothers her often. She constantly beat the men, she made them look like fools at the hands of her plays and concrete expertise. She was good, too good, and it frustrated people at the beginning. But Sook-Ja took it all with a kind of grace that could only come from a woman who had nothing to lose in the end. And she continued to win, solidifying her stance in the world of televised poker. Her career continued until she was the top poker player in South Korea before making her way to the states to play against the best of the best there.
There, her fame only blossomed, earning her a spot alongside the greatest in the world. Her name continued to spread among well-known tabloids after she started dating an American actor and modern A list heartthrob. Their relationship was highly publicized by the media which caused their romance to fizzle out and spoil behind the scenes, though their teams recommended that they stay together for the sake of their careers, especially as Sook-Ja was just about to step into acting. She even brought him to the premiere of her first movie, which ended up being a box office flop and received mixed reviews from critics. Her career has continued like this since then, mostly clinging to half-baked blockbusters that don’t exactly impress. Sook-Ja’s heart isn’t exactly in it, though her rise to fame continues.
general backstory: Sook-Ja’s upbringing is nothing to write home about. She’s the only child of two adults who weren’t quite ready to have children yet but did so regardless. Her father worked most of his life as Korean language teacher and her mother worked as a nurse before retiring early due to declining physical health. Both of her parents are now retired and living a seemingly decent life traveling and mending to their respective gardens, which has become a thorn in their daughter’s side. She feels a very specific type of resentment towards her parents that she’s still unsure how to unpack entirely. Still, she continues contact with her parents often and occasionally helps them with finances when needed.
They never have and most likely never will agree with her chosen lifestyle and career, having envisioned something a little more mundane and digestible from their only child. They support her through half sentiments and the occasional nod of the head which has served as enough reassurance for Sook-Ja for the time being. When or how this trivial and awkward cycle of make-believe and passive aggression will turn sour is only a matter of time.
Growing up, she was a quiet child who had many hobbies and good grades. Sook-Ja kept to herself mostly out of preference. To this day, if you asked her, she’d always choose to be alone and do things alone. Though, a sense of loneliness has been following her around as of recently, or at least since she moved to America to pursue her acting career further.
While her acting efforts haven’t been entirely successful, she continues to play poker professionally, the one area of her career where she’s now deeply respected and recognized. Within the other side of this dazzling spectrum, the likes of Hollywood and the bright stars it inhabits, is another story. Her films are crap, her acting is just okay, and she can’t quite find her footing and it’s obvious. Still, she persists. Poorly, at that, but persisting it is.

















