The following interview took place at the Korean Cultural Centre UK on Thursday, November 7th 2013, prior to the London Korean Film Festival 2013 Opening Gala screening of Huh Jung's 'Hide and Seek'.

Interview:

Hangul Celluloid: Throughout your career, you have appeared in both numerous television dramas and in movies; predominately the former with the latter having been mainly character roles. Did you deliberately set out to focus more on television or build your career in both mediums?

Son Hyun-joo: It’s true that I’ve worked in dramas for a very long time and it just kind of happens that when you’re in the midst of making television you tend to become close to the directors, for example, and they keep calling you with offers of work. So, my career wasn’t deliberately aimed more at TV than film, it’s just kind of worked out that way. If there is a good film script on the cards at any point, I would always be interested in doing that as well so overall I see my career as focused on performing in both mediums.


Hangul Celluloid: In terms of Korea, the movement for actors between drama and film seems to be fairly easy and there are a lot of big stars that perform in both. In the West, things are rather different and the movement between TV and film and vice versa seems a difficult line to successfully cross. Have you found any difficulties in moving between mediums or in terms of the public’s perception of your acting focus?

Son Hyun-joo: I feel the difficulties are more related to the method with which content in the two different mediums is created rather than any problems moving between them. TV dramas have a punishing schedule and time is always ticking – dramas are always created at breakneck pace – whereas in film, time can be taken to ensure scenes are exactly as the director and cast want them to be and are happy with, and there is a feeling of successfully realising the scene instead of getting it done quickly because more is needed by the end of the day’s shooting. As far as public perception is concerned, I’m honestly not sure. I hope people see me as an actor who produces good work rather than being either a TV or film performer.


Hangul Celluloid: Speaking of that, do you feel the speed with which dramas are created sometimes affects the quality of the finished piece? Are there, or have there ever been, times when you’ve had the thought “I wish we could do that again”?

Son Hyun-joo: Oh, that’s a great question. The conditions that are caused by the speed of drama creation do make it incredibly difficult at times to produce scenes and overall stories that I am personally happy with; even sometimes affecting my need and desire to create a complete, well-rounded character. I often feel that more could have been detailed; whether it be scene content, character depth and believability, or both. Many Korean actors and actresses find that whole process really problematic and I’d even go as far as to say that that may well be part of the reason that some choose to focus on film or move away from TV to cinematic work.


Hangul Celluloid: You are, of course, here and the London Korean Film Festival to promote ‘Hide and Seek’ but you also star in ‘Secretly, Greatly’ which is screening later this week at the festival. What attracted you to both films and how did you come to be cast in each?

Son Hyun-joo: After finishing the TV drama ‘The Chaser’, I took a break of three or four months and during that time I read a lot of scripts that came through. One of those was ‘Hide and Seek’, and the way in which the script dealt with the horror genre in such a realistic way appealed to me greatly – the feeling that this could be anyone’s individual story – and I also felt it sat well with what I had done in ‘The Chaser’, both in terms of realism and what I knew I could bring to the role. In terms of ‘Secretly, Greatly’, that appeared more to me as ‘the art of humanity’, if you will, and it was based on an online cartoon. As such, I felt that the character I would be playing had never really been seen on screen before and that led me to really wanting to be involved. I spent six months in a gym training with martial arts experts for the role as well, in order to be able to create exactly the character I wanted to.


Hangul Celluloid: Where you are choosing roles and deciding on specific projects, is their appeal more the overall story and the themes they contains or the specific individual characters you will play?

Son Hyun-joo: Generally when I am choosing possible roles, I look at the overall structure of the script – does it make sense, will the audience be able to understand it when they see it, it is worthwhile etc – and those questions are what I really focus on when I’m deciding which roles to take.


Hangul Celluloid: You’ve already mentioned that you starred in a TV version of the film ‘The Chaser’, for which you won several awards. Does playing a role in a TV drama based on an already successful film differ from playing a part in a film that is specifically created for television? Do you prepare for a role differently when there is already an earlier film version of the piece?

Son Hyun-joo: With any project – be it film or TV – I tend to discuss my character and the overall story with the director, a lot, to ensure I know what way to express the character that’s been written. I ask an awful lot of questions to ascertain the things I need for my portrayal and sometimes the discussions are protracted to the point of almost being endless [Son Hyun-joo laughs].


Hangul Celluloid: I’ve been told I have to wrap things up at this point. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me and answer my questions.

Son Hyun-joo: I’m happy to and it’s very nice to meet you. Thank you for taking an interest in my work.

I would sincerely like to thank the London Korean Film Festival and the Korean Cultural Centre UK for allowing me to actor Son Hyun-joo.

The following interview took place at the Korean Cultural Centre UK on Thursday, November 7th 2013, prior to the London Korean Film Festival 2013 Opening Gala screening of Huh Jung's 'Hide and Seek'.

Interview:

Hangul Celluloid: ’Hide & Seek’ is your directorial debut and it is screening as the Opening Gala film at this year’s London Korean Film Festival. What does it mean to you to have ‘Hide & Seek’ not only screened at the festival but also shown as the opening film?

Huh Jung: It’s a huge honour for me to be invited to the London Korean Film Festival and in fact this is the first time I’ve attended an international film festival as a director so I was very worried at first about how foreign audiences will receive the film. I guess I’ll finally find out tonight when the Gala takes.


Hangul Celluloid: When you were making ‘Hide & Seek’, did your objectives focus solely on the domestic Korean market or were you even then considering international audiences eventually accessing the film?

Huh Jung: Honestly speaking, the sets used in the film – the apartments, the surrounding areas etc – are extremely Korean in nature and, I guess, so is the story. Since this was my first feature, I really only focused on that and tried to make sure everything appeared authentic and realistic to Korean audiences and though I’m extremely happy that the film is being screened internationally, audiences outside Korea weren’t really in my mind. I feel that Korean audiences are far more likely to notice inaccuracies in Korean set design, setting and even the Korean nature of the film than many of those from other countries.


Hangul Celluloid: I’ve spoken to a large number of first-time and short film directors about the difficulties of securing funding for their productions and even having their films screened in Korea. How difficult was it for you to secure funding for ‘Hide & Seek’, subsequently get the film made and ultimately released in cinemas considering the fact that Korean film companies are increasingly focused on big budget blockbusters, some would say to the detriment of smaller independent productions?

Huh Jung: Before I made ‘Hide & Seek’, I had a few scripts that I attempted to get film companies and the industry as a whole interested in. It was at that point I realised the difficulties you speak of in finding an idea that sparks any interest whatsoever within an industry with very set ideas and objectives. When it came to ‘Hide & Seek’, it was from the outset seen as a commercial film and enterprise so there were far fewer problems relating to getting funding to go ahead and make the film but I am very aware that many other films have incredible problems both in securing funding and getting films screened in Korean theatres.


Hangul Celluloid: You mentioned your belief that the overall story of ‘Hide & Seek’ is specifically Korean in nature. Do you feel that the narrative subject of the film in particular also helped regarding industry interest and backing?

Huh Jung: Yes, I think so. ‘Hide & Seek’ is essentially a horror genre film and I think that’s something that people are generally more interested in and I think there’s an assumption that this type of film will be more entertaining than some other genres. Certainly I believe that assumption played a part in the interest that allowed the film to be made.


Hangul Celluloid: You also wrote the screenplay for ‘Hide & Seek’. What was your original inspiration for the story and film?

Huh Jung: At the time, there was a trend of spooky horror stories going on with noticeably realistic elements. That is really what interests me as well and I felt that taking something realistic and making it incredible frightening would be an interesting task.


Hangul Celluloid: To my mind, in terms of Korean cinema as a whole, ‘Hide & Seek’ appears to fit in incredibly well with the output of many other directors as a result of the film’s apparent social commentary: Family, consumerism, the idea that property and ‘having’ is everything repeatedly speaks out from the story. Were you consciously endeavouring to add that social commentary to the narrative or did it just come as a result of attempting to add the realism you referenced earlier?

Huh Jung: Home is ideally the one place of complete safety within a person’s world and I thought a lot about the idea of safety being threatened and as such threats to the all important home environment and instability where there should be complete stability really spoke to me. Threats to property and possessions are almost extensions to each other and seemed to fit together perfectly as the story unfolded.


Hangul Celluloid: Not to give any spoilers away, but one of the main characters who plays a pivotal part in ‘Hide & Seek’ is female. Over the years, depictions of women in Korean cinema have gradually changed and progressed with strong, feisty females characters who are 'in control' increasingly focused upon. Did those changing depictions play a part in your decision to make your character female?

Huh Jung: Yes, in previous films there have been many female characters who have been incredibly strong but personally I didn’t really think about that when I was creating ‘Hide & Seek’; I really just concentrated on the character and the traits and relationships I wanted to depict. There is more than one reference to mothers and daughters in the film and the choice of a female as that main character really came from that.


Hangul Celluloid: The majority of the cast of ‘Hide & Seek’ have had long careers as character actors, with a number having worked as much or more in television dramas as in films. How did the casting of the main characters come about?

Huh Jung: I really wanted to give viewers a feeling of familiarity in the hope that they might think “This could be my story”. So, I largely chose actors who had worked in a lot of TV dramas to increase the chances of giving viewers that feeling. If they have been in dramas, they have in a way been in people’s homes and are therefore almost as familiar as real people. In fact, Son Hyun-ju who played the main male character had at the time been in an incredibly well known drama in Korea and that increased my desire to have him in my film, all the more.


Hangul Celluloid: Speaking of acting, y6ou yourself have acted in an independent film called ‘Big Good’ which is listed as being released this year in Korea. Can you tell us a little bit more about the background to your appearance in the film and do you see yourself both acting and directing in the future?

Huh Jung: [Huh Jung blushes and laughs] I’m almost embarrassed. My role in that film came about when myself and a group of friends were all studying and creating short indie films and getting people we knew to star in them. One of my friends was the director of that film and he asked me to play a part in it. ‘Big Good’ was incredibly well made and has since got really famous and now people have begun to ask me about it, but personally I only did it to help out a director friend and colleague and I think I did an incredibly poor job of acting. So, yes, definitely I’ll be solely focusing on directing from this point on.


Hangul Celluloid: You’ve said you feel your acting was poor in ‘Big Good’. How does the fact that the film is becoming famous and being watched, possibly by some of the same people who have watched ‘Hide & Seek’, make you feel? Does it make you want to shout out that you are now a director only?

Huh Jung: Playing the part in the film thankfully wasn’t stressful, the director was from an acting background and he helped me a lot and above all the film itself is really good to the extent that I would recommend that you watch it if you get the opportunity. Yes, I feel my acting wasn’t good but I’m happy for people to watch it; I just wouldn’t want to watch myself in it. There again, I think a lot of actors have trouble watching themselves in their own films.


Hangul Celluloid: Do you already have plans for your next project?

Huh Jung: There has been so much happening in my career that I feel that the things I was previously considering I need to re-consider. There are a lot of ideas going around my mind at the moment and with many things to take into account in the final decision there isn’t really one thing I could point to, at this stage. While I was making ‘Hide & Seek’, I talked to a lot of people about a lot of things and I think the project ideas I was considering previously began to change from that time.


Hangul Celluloid: Last night you attended the London Korean Film Festival VIP Gala where there were a lot of press and a number of ‘big names’ including Korean film director Kim Jee-woon. When you gave a short speech you said that you were rather nervous. Having got through the VIP Gala, have your nerves been replaced with excitement about tonight’s Opening Gala?

Huh Jung: I have to say that my nerves haven’t gone away at all and the excitement is building all the time. At this point I’m honestly not sure if I’m more nervous or excited so I’m going to say that I’m both [Huh Jung laughs]


Hangul Celluloid: Thank you for taking the time to answer my many questions

I would sincerely like to thank the London Korean Film Festival and the Korean Cultural Centre UK for allowing me to interview director Huh Jung.

The following interview took place at the Korean Cultural Centre UK on Monday November 11th 2013 prior to the London Korean Film Festival 2013 screening of 'Flu', followed by an audience Q&A.

Interview:

Hangul Celluloid: Obviously, you’re here in England for the London Korean Film Festival screening of ‘Flu’ and audience Q&A. As you both directed ‘Flu’ and were involved in writing the screenplay with Lee Young-jong, what made you choose this project in particular for your latest film?

Kim Sung-su: Originally, I was sent the script for ‘Flu’ which I amended but the ‘powers that be’ said that my screenplay was extremely boring, so the writer Lee Young-jong was brought in to amend it further and when the producers and investors finally said it was a good enough script to shoot with, that became the version we ultimately used. I had been preparing some action films which all faltered – I have to say I was quite upset about that – but when I saw this script the idea and paradox of making a huge disaster film from something as basic as flu rather appealed to me. At the time, there had also been a large illness outbreak and I felt that this could be an incredibly realistic disaster film with a true basis in real life – a realistic horror, if you like – which was rarely the case; most disaster films being based on improbable events. All those elements added together to convince me that this was the film I really wanted to make.


Hangul Celluloid: Some of the Western, namely US, characters in the film could be described as not only forceful and aggressive but also as noticeably standing against the Korean characters. As the film has been incredibly successful internationally, is being released in the UK through collaboration between CJ E&M and Cineworld and as your next project – ‘Genome Hazard’ – is also a Korean/international crossover, what are your thoughts on how the international market and audiences will, or have, viewed those characters? Also, when you were making the film, did thoughts of how international audiences would view those characters play a part in their depiction or were you thinking only of the Korean release market?

Kim Sung-su: Honestly, the film being screened outside of Korea was a totally unexpected occurrence and something I really didn’t think about at all while making it. America is our friend, of course, and it has a huge part to play worldwide and on the international stage and if a catastrophe such as that detailed in ‘Flu’ were to take place, it’s likely that Korea wouldn’t have the capacity or resources to deal with a disaster of such magnitude. As such, I felt it would be natural and realistic that Korea would request help from its allies in the US who do have the capacity and resources. However, while the American characters are driven by their own concerns and interests, dealing with the situation from their own perspective, the Korean Government largely does too, and though the Korean characters realise that the problem could escalate into a world issue, their priority is to the city where the outbreak begins and subsequently Korea as a whole, above anywhere else. I Korea in 2011, there was a foot and mouth disease outbreak among pigs and, of course the way it was dealt with was to burn the infected pigs alive to ensure the safety and security of the people. I felt that the same logic would apply to the outbreak in ‘Flu’ even though it related to people and the juxtaposition of the Korean characters trying to first and foremost protect Korea with those from outside countries attempting to keep the disease contained within Korea’s borders so as to prevent it spreading into their territories felt very real to me. Ultimately, I hope that international audiences will feel a resonance with the overall story with some relating to certain character aspects and traits and others relating to those of their counterparts. You mentioned my next project ‘Genome Hazard’ which is indeed a crossover between Korea and Japan but even though in this case it is indeed largely an international film, I can’t say international audience perceptions played much of a part in my thought processes. It’s not that I don’t care, it’s just that when I make a film I make the project I personally want to make and as a Korean it’s likely that my basis is always going to be from a solely Korean perspective.


Hangul Celluloid: For years in Korean cinema, there has been a repeated detailing of aspects of the Gwangju uprising/riots and the country’s psychological scars relating to the terrible outcome of that event. The fact that ‘Flu’ depicts some extremely morally questionable decisions initially instigated by governmental characters – herding of victims into ‘camps’, burning the infected etc. – combined with the Korean president’s ultimate speech that he will always protect the people and never let any harm befall them spoke to me as somewhat of a redressing of the balance; in a way saying how much the government and country has changed since Gwangju and almost a further attempt to move towards healing those scars. What are your thoughts about this and what were you ultimately saying with these narrative ideas?

Kim Sung-su: The Gwangju massacre took place when I was 20-years-old and when I was very young growing up I saw many photos of other terrible events such as the Nazi prison camps and all of these things became ingrained in my mind, my subconscious, and of course when I came to detail a terrible fictitious event the effect they had had on me in my youth almost could not fail to play a part in my depictions. In China and Korea the Sars outbreak was also a huge, huge, story and my thoughts about it combined with these feelings – some conscious, some subconscious, I think – became inherent to my film and just had to be expressed. I’m not sure if I should actually say this, but I feel that with events such as these, a country does tend to serve itself rather than its people and though it may be less realistic to depict a president being ultimately caring as is the case in ‘Flu’, it was vitally important to me that the president gave that speech, giving hope and building faith in the future in the face of whatever country or world tragedy has gone before. The decisions and statement of the president in ‘Flu’ would never take place in reality and no country is ever going to be like that but, as such, though it may have been subconscious, the ideas you mention and the like are in hindsight more than likely present. Whether there is an underlying subconscious attempt on my part to redress the balance, as you put it, is something I would need to think about further. What I will say is that any disaster has the tendency to make all those involved entirely selfish – affecting only those involved – regardless of the past but how we ultimately deal with that comes from a combination of individual and national psyche; a culmination of the things that made us who we are as a people and a country.


Hangul Celluloid: I’m being asked to wrap things up but one final question: For audiences watching ‘Flu’ what is more important to you as a director, entertainment value or the themes portrayed?

Kim Sung-su: I think both are important but if I had to choose one it would be entertainment value, without a doubt.


Hangul Celluloid: Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions in such depth.

I would sincerely like to thank the London Korean Film Festival and the Korean Cultural Centre UK for allowing me to interview director Kim Sung-su.

Please Note: Apologies for the brevity of the above interview but with Kim Sung-su giving such in-depth responses, the 15min interview time flew by at breakneck pace. I hope you've enjoyed reading the interview, in spite of its shortness.

The following interview took place at the Korean Cutural Centre UK on November 14th 2013 prior to the London Korean Film Festival 2013 screening of Kang Woo-suk's 'Fists of Legend' at Odeon Covent Garden:

Interview:

Hangul Celluloid: You’re here at the London Korean Film Festival 2013 for both a retrospective of your earlier work and a screening of your latest film ‘Fists of Legend’. In general terms, what does the screening of a retrospective at a film festival, and in fact an international film festival, mean to you personally?

Kang Woo-suk: Truthfully, as I’m still active as a director and fully intend to make many, many films in the future, I didn’t really want to do the retrospective at first. However, as commercial Korean films that are extremely powerful still aren’t that well known in Europe and internationally, and since there is still somewhat of an assumption that Korean Cinema is all about arthouse content, I ultimately felt that an opportunity to show the reality of Korean cinema was important and worth being involved in. So, I agreed to the retrospective and I honestly think coming here to England to be part of the London Korean Film Festival was the right decision.


Hangul Celluloid: A Lot of your older work is deemed ‘classic’ Korean cinema - ‘Public Enemy’ which, certainly internationally, you’re known for above all else; ‘Silmido’ etc. - and, as far as ‘Silmido’ is concerned, if tensions between North and South Korea had been higher when the film was being pitched its fairly likely that it wouldn’t have got the green light to be made at that time. Do you feel that Korean cinema has now progressed to the point where narrative subjects that were once taboo - be they related to social unease, injustices or historical scars - can now all be spoken about in film?

Kang Woo-suk: Some of my earlier work such as ‘Two Cops’ received a lot of complaints and criticism related to the depiction of such topics in such a new manner. There was what I can only describe as an extreme air of caution and the turning point only really came with ‘Public Enemy’ and, as you said, ‘Silmido’. Thanks to those films, in the years since directors have been able to enjoy a far greater freedom to make films about almost any subject or topic.


Hangul Celluloid: Why did you choose to return to the ‘Public Enemy’ narrative idea subsequent to the film to make ‘Public Enemy 2’ and ‘Public Enemy Returns’?

Kang Woo-suk: Because the title of the film is ‘Public Enemy’ these stories depict enemies of society as a whole rather than that of an individual and I think we will likely always have social enemies of that type. As such, I felt not only a justification but also almost a need to return to the film again and again. I may well keep returning to ‘Public Enemy’ until I did simply because of what the title allows from a narrative point of view and, at any point in the future, if anything makes us think this or that is not acceptable, it opens the possibility for a film to be based upon it. While the form and individual subject changes in tandem with societal moves, the film and its possibilities remain.


Hangul Celluloid: You have, with ‘Public Enemy’, ‘Silmido’ and even ‘Fists of Legend’, repeatedly chosen to depict characters on the edge or outside of the norms of society. What is it about such stories that makes them of continued interest to you?

Kang Woo-suk: I have the personal ideology that just because I have or possess something, it doesn’t give me the right to walk over others. If it’s being rich, you shouldn’t really boast about it; if it’s status, you should treat those who are in a more vulnerable situation with respect and not treat them as if they are nothing. That’s what society ideally should be and how it should work but sadly it’s often not the case and so my referencing of such individuals is my way of standing up and speaking out.


Hangul Celluloid: As well as directing, throughout your career you have been a producer on numerous Korean films; you started Cinema Service in the 90s; and you’ve even worked in the production department of a number of movies. What is the reason for that? Is it to have as varied a career as possible or is it possibly in a continuing effort to see worthwhile films made that you wouldn’t actually want to direct yourself?

Kang Woo-suk: Any time I feel a film must be made and must come into existence but I either do not personally want to direct it or feel someone else is more suited to take the helm, I will invest in it without hesitation. However, when I find a film idea that I feel only I can direct, then I will do my utmost to ultimately become its director. Early in my career, I made so much money from my films that I felt a huge personal responsibility and pressure to re-invest in other cinematic works.


Hangul Celluloid: Is that what leads your career as a director - i.e. the thought “I’m the only person who can direct this film”?

Kang Woo-suk: In many cases, I come up with the idea for a film myself which was the case for ‘Public Enemy’, but regardless of whether the idea is originally mine or someone else’s, the story itself is vitally important to me. I feel Korean films should reflect both society as a whole and the Korean people within it and should stand as a statement of the times in which the films were made. Realism is vitally important to me too but while I just cannot bring myself to make quiet films I will nonetheless support other directors to do so. Ultimately, a film must touch something within people in a believable way and whether harsh or soft it should reflect them - or elements of them - in the past, present or future, and that is the principle I follow.


Hangul Celluloid: You directed ‘Moss’ which was based on a Korean ‘webtoon’ and ‘Fists of Legend’ is also based on an internet comic. Do you find a different approach to directing needs to be taken in moving a script from comic-based to screen than is the case with more literary, realistic scripts?

Kang Woo-suk: A ‘webtoon’ is a story that already exists visually and many assume it is therefore easy to turn into a film or very convenient to convert, and that was even one of the main reasons I approached that type of story in the past. However, I was completely deceived and came to realise that it is a hugely difficult process to convert a ‘webtoon’ into a film: Some things that make sense in relation to a comic idea just do not work in terms of cinematic visuals or narrative progressions on the big screen and audiences who unquestioningly accept what takes place in a ‘webtoon’ will often say this or that doesn’t make sense in a film. The fixing of all those elements in every aspect of a film is an utterly gruelling and incredibly difficult process.


Hangul Celluloid: With ‘Fists of Legend’, how did you find a balance between the portrayal of a large number of action sequences with the depiction of the underlying narrative story?

Kang Woo-suk: That was, in fact, the most difficult part in making the film. I didn’t want to make a film focused on simply action but at the same time I didn’t want to overstate the drama and risk losing the audience’s interest. So, that hugely difficult process I mentioned of converting such a story to the screen came into play, time and time again. That’s one of the reasons the film is as long as it is - I didn’t want to lose either the action or the drama and I didn’t want to hear from the audience that either only the action or drama was good - and, difficult though it was, it was vital for me to really focus on balancing the two. I found the balance I required by treating each aspect as being as important as every other and trying to ensure that each had a voice without overstepping its place; each stating its case without detracting from the other.


Hangul Celluloid: Was that need for balance part of the reason you decided to cast Hwang Jung-min in a lead role; with his ability to portray understated emotions so naturally?

Kang Woo-suk: Definitely. That was the reason he was my first choice for the role. He can portray emotion incredibly well and you don’t immediately think he’d be able to perform action as well. He also has a very ordinary face and I really wanted an actor who wasn’t overtly muscular like Arnold Schwarzenegger, for example, so that as the narrative progresses audiences will constantly be surprised by the character both emotionally and in terms of physicality.


Hangul Celluloid: To what extent were the action/fight scenes in ‘Fists of Legend’ performed by the cast themselves, since Korean actors are known for often wanting to perform their own stunts?

Kang Woo-suk: Apart from one or two scenes, almost no stunt actors were used, and in the three months leading up to filming all the actors undertook training and practiced for the stunts tirelessly. However, though they had trained in advance there were many casualties suffered by the cast during filming. For example: one actor hurt his knee really badly; another had several teeth knocked out; but ultimately both I and the actors felt that the injuries sustained were worth it for the way in which the final film appears.


Hangul Celluloid: Over the years since the days when you made ‘Two Cops’, ‘Public Enemy’ and ‘Silmido’, there has been a huge change in Korean cinema with an almost ever-increasing focus on blockbusters, some would say at the expense of smaller independent productions. When you were making ‘Fists of Legend’, did you feel pressure either personally or from an industry perspective to conform to that ideal and produce an action film that fitted with big-budget productions?

Kang Woo-suk: I think my personal situation is slightly different from most directors, both when I shoot films and when they get released, in Korea: If one of my films is about to be released, other films will tend to avoid that date and though there is certainly that idea of pressure felt in the industry as a whole, I never personally have to entertain or pay attention to it as I really have no budget constraints or worries in any production I’m making.


Hangul Celluloid: I’ve been asked to wrap things up, but one final, very quick question: What is more important to you as a director, character depth or overall storyline?

Kang Woo-suk: Storyline. Without hesitation, storyline.


Hangul Celluloid: Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my many questions.

I'd sincerely like to thank the Korean Culltural Centre UK and the London Korean Film Festival 2013 for allowing me to interview director Kang Woo-suk at such length.

The following interview took place at the Korean Cultural Centre UK on Saturday November 9th 2013 prior to the London Korean Film Festival 2013 screening of 'Kim Jee-woon: In Short' - a compendium of four of Kim Jee-woon's short films - and followed by an audience Q&A.

Interview:

Hangul Celluloid: You’re here tonight at the London Korean Film Festival to show a number of your short films. Throughout your career you have made a large number of shorts in between directing major feature-length films while most directors use shorts simply as a stepping stone to making full length films. What makes short films important enough to you that you have repeatedly returned to directing them?

Kim Jee-woon: There are many reasons and each short has a different significance for me. For example, the two shorts ‘Coming Out’ and ‘Memories’ were made after ‘The Quiet Family’ and ‘The Foul King’. Both those features were very humorous while ‘A Tale of Two Sisters’ was dark and serious, and in moving through such a drastic genre and tone change I felt that I needed to experiment to ensure that move was a success. So, I used those short films to do so. Other shorts such as ‘One Perfect Day’ and ‘Present’ were offered to me: ‘One Perfect Day’ was suggested to me by clothing manufacturer Kolon and ‘Present’ was commissioned by fashion magazine. In fact, since I made my debut as a director almost not a year has gone by without me making a movie. Perhaps I truly am a workaholic and I guess the reason I am so prolific is that I find it somewhat boring if I’m not making films, whether they are features or shorts. There is a saying in Korea that sums that feeling up: ‘I don’t want to have meals by myself’.


Hangul Celluloid: You have mentioned one of the short films screening tonight, romantic comedy ‘One Perfect Day’. While you have made feature films covering genres from comedy to thriller to action to horror, you have never directed a full-length rom-com. While did you chose romantic comedy as the genre for ‘One Perfect Day’?

Kim Jee-woon: As you said, I have never made a full-length romantic comedy. However, the genre is nonetheless very dear to my heart and I have had scenes within other genre films that have strong romantic comedy elements. As such, when I got the opportunity to make ‘One Perfect Day’, I thought it would be the perfect chance to create a short film in a genre I had not covered in full. It even called to me, in a way. Will I ever make a romantic comedy feature? I may or I may not… I guess time will tell.


Hangul Celluloid: I’ve spoken to a number of first-time directors who have, as you mentioned, tried to use short films to move to directing feature films. Almost all of them have spoken about the great difficulty they have had in even getting those shorts screened. Do you feel your fame, if you will, has made getting your short films screened easier?

Kim Jee-woon: It is certainly true that for most directors there are great difficulties in getting short films screened in Korea. However, as many of my shorts have been made as part of larger projects and most have come on the back of releases of my feature-length films, I have had no real difficulties by comparison. Perhaps my fame has played a part on its own too, but of course I won’t say it has (Kim Jee-woon laughs).


Hangul Celluloid: Since I interviewed you in 2010 shortly after the release of ‘I Saw the Devil’, you have been to Hollywood and made English language film ‘The Last Stand’. In hindsight, how did you find working in the Hollywood system as opposed to making films within the Korean film industry?

Kim Jee-woon: At first, I thought the language barrier would be the most difficult aspect of my working in Hollywood but it turned out the differences between the two systems overall was the toughest for me to deal with and reconcile. For instance, in Korea the director is the dictator, he is the Emperor, and whatever he decides is reflected on the big screen. However, in Hollywood, the director’s ideas have to be confirmed by many other parties including the producers, the studio and even in some cases the lead actors. Another problem for me was the fact that there were fewer days for the shooting process to take place and the working days themselves were shorter. Not only that, but the role of the assistant director was significantly different: In Korea, the assistant director helps to represent the director’s aesthetic views on the big screen but in the US the assistant director deals with the logistic aspects of production. I guess that means the director ends up feeling the incredible pressure of making a film by himself and even feels lonely, if you understand my meaning, and I personally often felt I had to hurry and had to fight to realise my own aesthetic ideas but halfway through the shooting process I finally began to understand what needed to be done to successfully work in the Hollywood system. Maybe that realisation came a little too late for me – coming so late in the shooting process – but I nonetheless felt that I ultimately succeeded.

I would sincerely like to thank the London Korean Film Festival and the Korean Cultural Centre UK for allowing me to interview director Kim Jee-woon.

Please Note: Apologies for the brevity of the above interview but with so many writers and critics wanting to talk to Kim Jee-woon, 10 minute interview slots were assigned to each of us and, with Kim Jee-woon giving such in-depth responses, the time flew by at breakneck pace. I hope you've enjoyed reading the interview, in spite of its shortness.