The following interview took place on 06 November 2016 at the KCCUK, as part of the 2016 London Korean Film Festival:

Interview:

Hangul Celluloid: You began your acting career by working in television series in the 70's, and after a few years of doing television dramas, you started doing movies. You did four films and then for a long number of years, you seemed to step away from cinema and concentrated wholly on television. And you didn't come back to cinema, the new Korean cinema, until the late 90's. Could you tell us a bit about your decision to focus on TV for so long? What specifically led you to come back to cinema in the 90's?

Baek Yoon-sik: So I think what you’ve just said in your question is connected to the different trends and flows in Korean film and TV, but as an actor, I try not to be limited or restricted by genre in any sense, whether that’s working on TV projects or in films, or even in the theatre, on stage, or when sometimes only an actor’s voice is needed, so you do animation dubbing as well. So I try really hard not to be limited by the genre of the work itself; in terms of my mindset, I’m actually quite greedy and I want to do it all, and I try to participate in as many projects as possible. But I also tried to choose and select pieces of work incredibly wisely, and I work hard to have a good outcome, to see good work done and to be fortunate to obtain good opportunities and to meet good work as well. And I was very surprised at how accurately you observed the trends and the flow of information in your question. Yes, I did start my work in theatre and on stage, moving on to TV and then I did a little bit of films in the early stages, and then returned later on, after I spent some time focusing on my TV work; when I was focusing on my TV work, there were some calls to work in film, but due to circumstances and not the right conditions I could not participate. And I think that there was this flow and the trend in the film industry that it received good capital again and there was new, emerging talent, and very good human resources emerging in Korean cinema, so that when they called again, saying that I was needed as an actor, then I just returned. Anyway, as an actor, I’m just simply being carried by the flow, in Korean TV and in cinema, but also within that, being carried through the flow, my own choices and selections also play an important role as well. So, just looking at how trends develop, that there is time, you know, when TV might be more active, how then it can become more subdued, and same for the cinema, and then there is the wave of very rich resources and new talents and human resources become much more active to foster that working environment. I think that is what you’ve very accurately perceived in your question, how these changes have occurred over time. And as an actor, this is simply how I carry myself through. Perhaps it might be a bit too grandiose to say that this is also, in a way, the flow of history.

MyM: In your answer there you just said that you would want to pick interesting and unique projects for films. And the film that really brought you back was Save the Green Planet. It’s a very unique role and a very unique film; why did you want to work on that project?

Baek Yoon-sik: So, Save the Green Planet is the film by director Jang Joon-hwan, and at the time he was a new and emerging director. And for me, I was approached by the CEO of the production company and also by the producer called Kim Sun-ah who sent me the script; we were having a telephone call and they were saying that there was such a work being prepared and would you be interested in joining and said that the title was Save the Green Planet. But because this was such an odd and unusual and bizarre title in Korean, I was quite taken aback and – the production company at the time was called Sidus – and because the title was so bizarre and I was a bit, sort of, shocked, I asked them to repeat it. It reminded me of a children’s animation title like the one where there are five brothers. It is a very good and meaningful title, but the first time I heard it, it’s what it reminded me of. So that when the producer on the telephone enunciated the title clearly again and repeated it, and … Normally what would happen is the production company would send the script to the actor for them to read and then provide the answer, but there was something unusual about that process for this film, when the CEO of the production company wanted to meet me personally to hand over the script. But I didn’t know whether I was going to do the film at the time or not and I felt that this was going to add weight and burden on me, to go through that process, and so at the time, the CEO was called Cha Seung-Jae, and actually he wrote a column for a known Korean newspaper so I have heard of his name, and I asked people around me and they said that he writes a column but that he also has a production company. So we set up this initial meeting where the director Jang Joon-hwan, producer Kim Sun-ah and the CEO Cha Seung-jae were all present, and the CEO told me that the director Jang was a real genius, and I could see that when I looked at the director, and he said that he’d gone to this film academy where all the brilliant Korean film directors have gone, and after he’d finished his training, he’d done some work, amazing, and at the time he used tape, so he took the tape and the script and he brought it with him to the meeting. And the CEO was telling me that he is the Korean version of the American film director Tim Burton, you know, who’s a very unique film director, and the subject matter was also foreign beings, so like in the film Edward Scissorhands, for an example, and that he had that kind of sensitivity. So it was a very good first meeting and I had a very good first impression and then I later read the script and it was very impressive, and I thought, this is going to be really hard work as an actor, but even without thinking about it from an actor’s point of view, just as a human being approaching this work, that was going to be hard work itself. But I could see that it was going to be a high quality work, and that the genre itself wasn’t something that could be seen around that time as well, and there was this alien Andromeda prince and there was this human boss Kang within the same character, and at the very end, there is also a twist in the story as well, and it depicts the very crass aspects of humanity, the wars, and how aliens look at these earthlings and human beings, and I could interpret that, and there were some kinds of religious elements within the story as well. When looking at the earthlings from the aliens’ perspectives, in religion, god is the creator, but here, the aliens are creators, and they were trying to create this happy planet, and had produced these creatures in their own, same form, but the experiment failed and you see the first world war, the second world war …  so there were numerous discourses contained within this film, showing the flow of history, the problems in Korean society and something quite desperate and joyous about human existence, as well as a showing of social inequalities. There were references to the Nazi Hitler etc. So it was a really impressive story I thought that this director had made, and although it was going to be really hard as an actor, it would be worthwhile, and the media quite often use this phrase: the role of their life, when you do a particularly good piece of work, and at that time, I had some experience and time as an actor, and could really draw upon this, to culminate, for this performance, for this role. But then I was really unsure as well, so I was really conflicted whether to do this project or not, and then producer Kim very quickly went through the process so I couldn’t actually change my mind. And it was a very unique genre that hadn’t been seen in Korean cinema before. And after the film was made, and it won lots of awards internationally, I’d go abroad and a lot of foreigners would tell me, and post reviews about this film. I’m not sure if I’ve given you a very long and precise answer to your question.

View of the Arts: Your characters are always so distinct, so I was wondering how much of your own input do you put into the characters, and do you ever ad-lib?

Baek Yoon-sik: When a film script comes to me, I think it means a scriptneeds me. So when thedirector and the writer want me, I should play the role in the film perfectly. When I read the script, I personally find reasons why they gave the script to me and I think that the director who gives the script to meacknowledges my potential. So I should give them an answer, and I have to create a good result by portraying the character in the film. When I read the script and when I feel I want to take the role, I liketo think of how to play the role in the film. Though I say it myself, I think I have got potential as an actor, so directors need me and want to work with me. So I really appreciate it and I’m happy as an actor because they need me.
In terms of ad-lib, I think the lines that are written by a director or a writer are of great importance. It all has a meaning so I respect each word. I stick to the script basically, and when I act at the film shooting, I sometimes ad-lib. After doing the ad-lib I discuss it with the director,whether or not the director likes it, becausethe director is the captain and I’m a crewman. I do my best to reach the paradise, and not an uninhabited island,with the captain, director, so when I try to do my best, ad-lib is like a something extra.

Hangul Celluloid: I would like to as you about the two Im Sang-soo films you’ve starred in, The President’s Last Bangand The Taste of Money. Both, subject-wise, are quite controversial and both have a certain amount of adult content in them. And I just want to know, what drew you to such controversial roles and what are your thoughts on increasing amounts of adult content that have been seen in Korean cinema over the last few years?

Baek Yoon-sik: The President’s Last Bang is based on a true story and I was a youth at the time. Those were not the good daysfor the young; South Korea had no democracy and was under the jackboot of a dictatorial regime. It was a black period.
I had been through that period and that period was turned into an artwork. I read the script and thought director Im Sang-soo is a special director as well as a writer. It is a socially controversialissue which is very sensitive in South Korea. But he did not make up a story out of nothing and it was expressed as a cultural genre through creative activity, so I think it is absolutely acceptable in a democratic country.
At that time, I got many scripts and wanted to make a good choice. I asked for advice and Cha Seung-jae, the producer of Save the Green Planet, helped me a lot in terms of choosing script. Eventually this film went through various hardships. Many things happened that could not be understood from a common sense point of view. It was socially controversial and the legal circles and the press argued about this film and the film got sued. Press wrote leading articles about the suit, arguing how law standards could judge creative activity. It is nonsense, but it happened in South Korea because this film was aboutcontroversial issues.I hope this kind of situation will not happen again.
But the film has worth and for me as an actor, it was a good character to play. As an actor in terms ofperforming a creative activity; it was a good film in terms of creative activity – excluding the social controversy.

MyM: Inside Men is one of many films recently about politics and corruption and I was wondering why in particular did you want to work on this film?

Baek Yoon-sik: First of all, the director really wanted me to play that character. And it is a based on a webtoon which was issued in South Korea. When I had the first meeting with director Woo Min-ho, he gave me the book of this webtoon. He wrote a letter on the cover page of the book, listing the reasons why he really wanted me to play the role. And I read the book and it was really interesting. There is no ending in webtoon yet, so direct Woo completed the story. The director said that character is made for me and onlyif I play that character his philosophy of directing could be presented in the film.
The scriptwas interesting. The film should be interesting and reach the audience. I thought that the film will be very good if I portray the character fully with fellow actors Lee Byung-hun, Cho Seung-woo and so on. I think that an actor is a person doing creative activity and materials for creative activity are diverse, including social or historical features that talk about life, so I decided to participate in the film.

View of the Arts: Has there ever been a project you decided not to work on, but – if you could go back in time – would decide to work on, and what project do you wish to work on next?

Baek Yoon-sik: Fortunately, there are no such regrets.
I’ve portrayed characters with various occupations such as a king, a soldier, a minister, and so on. I would like to continue to act, if I get a good script.

 

Many thanks to Sanja Struna of View of the Arts for transcribing this interview.

 

 

The following interview took place on 12 November 2016 at the KCCUK, as part of the 2016 London Korean Film Festival:

Interview:

Hangul Celluloid: In your first feature, 'A Fish', the character of the older fisherman is played by Park No-sik who most Korean film fans will instantly recognise from Bong Joon-ho's 'Memories of Murder, where he played a timid, slow-witted young man. How did he come to be involved in your film?

Park Hong-min: When I completed the script for 'A Fish', I sent it to Park No-sik and shortly after he said he wanted to meet me. After starring in 'Memories of Murder' he was repeatedly asked to play foolish characters and he told me that no-one could see the fire within him. I offered him the role in 'A Fish' and I think that because it wasn't a foolish role and it would take a relatively short time to film, he accepted the part.


View of the Arts: I have a question about 'Alone'. Where did the idea for the film come from?

Park Hong-min: The space in 'Alone' is where I live and work and the areas and neighbourhood you see are where I spend a lot of time. After I made 'A Fish', I spent a lot of time alone there and for the two years prior to 'Alone' I had very little money and that brought a lot of negative thoughts to me. So, I wanted to face that issue by making a film and I wanted to take a familiar space and turn it into something unfamiliar.


MyM: In 'Alone', Lee Ju-won gives an incredible performance, particularly when he's talking to the camera. What was it like to work with him and why did you choose him for the role?

Park Hong-min: If I put this in chronological order, I close to director Lee Kwang-kuk. He helped me a lot. You've probably seen his second feature, 'A Matter of Interpretation' in which Lee Ju-won played two characters. Lee Kwang-kuk knows a lot of theatre actors and I had a good feeling about Lee Ju-won when I watched him perform and so I asked to be introduced to him which led to me offering him the role in 'Alone'.


Hangul Celluloid: If you look at the huge hold that large corporations and conglomerates have on the Korean film industry, can you tell us a little about the problems you faced making small, independent films and indeed getting funding for your projects?

Park Hong-min: That's a big question. The Korean film industry is currently not very positive. Since 2000, I think a lot of diverse films have been created but now it's very difficult for even commercial films to be made. If I could briefly summarise how a film in made in Korea:
A director finds a production team and they write a script together. They then approach - often well known - actors usually about ten to 15 actors presently and further work on the script takes place. At that point the director and main actor will become almost a team and make approaches for funding. This whole process usually takes between three and five years. So, in effect if you fail to get funding for two or three projects, ten years can pass before you know it. I know a lot of people from the directors' association who haven't made a film for ten years.
In terms of independent films, a lot of indie filmmakers spend long periods of time home alone, writing, and often cannot get those films made. However, I feel it's extremely important to tell stories of these sorts of experiences. For one of my films I guess I spent £30,000 to £40,000, which is such a small, minimal budget but it's a lot of money for me personally. As such, if I were to make a mistake in the process it would double up and put me in a very difficult position. CJ Entertainment now has art house theatres to support art house films but actually what they do is support far bigger budget productions and for independent filmmakers who are not part of this game it is now even harder to showcase your work because non-CJ art house theatres are closing so there is virtually no platform for small budget, independent films in Korea at present.
Even within the independent film industry, though you see seemingly independent works backed and created by KOFA and KAFA etc. they are not truly self-organised projects. So there is a struggle for independent directors and if they do showcase their first films through KOFA or universities it is actually really hard for them to films truly independent again, afterwards.
The issue with film academy education, for example, is that a lot of the professors who teach are actually commercial filmmakers, so they tend to teach the successful, commercial film "formula" and as such all the creativity gets filtered rather than being encouraged. I think for me personally, the difference between commercial films and auteur or diversity films is that commercial films try to fit within an already determined formula or goal, while auteur films encourage far newer and innovative ideas and personal interest can be more easily included. The problem with the KOFA education system is that those directors are taught to ask what the audience will like rather than asking questions for themselves. So, there is a kind of confusion in independent filmmaking. For me the audience is a ghost. I feel I can never really know my own mind so how could I possibly know the minds of the masses? I far prefer to go into my own inner self.


View of the Arts: Continuing on that subject, do you see yourself staying with art house or could you ever be tempted into the mainstream?

Park Hong-min: For me to make a film I really need to find something that interests me and of course I have a responsibility when I receive funding to make a film. If I was to just pursue money-making or fame I wouldn't be interested in making films so it's not really whether I want to make independent or commercial films, it's rather than there has to be an issue I want to explore.


MyM: You've said that in your films you want to explore your inner self and when working on 'A Fish' and getting inspiration for 'Alone' it was all related to the dark thoughts you were having. How did the roles of the girlfriend, the mother and the child in 'Alone' come into that. What did they represent?

Park Hong-min: I had what you might call a "tiger" father, he was quite an angry man, and because of that my mum suffered and went through difficult times. After making a fish, I too had a hard time and I almost felt I was acting in a similar way to my dad, expressing anger towards people around me. So, I've thought a lot about my mum and how she would have felt at the time. When she fell ill and had to stay in bed for a month, she couldn't cook for me and I was really angry but looking back I realise she must have been so lonely. My dad was employed by a very good company but he didn't actually graduate from a good school so he must have had a hard time at work, too, perhaps even being bullied and I feel that might have caused him to express his anger at home. I don't think it was fair but maybe we were all trying to express out loneliness. Maybe issues such as these shouldn't be looked at just in terms or ourselves but in relation to a larger social structure.


Hangul Celluloid: There is a scene towards the end of 'A Fish' where then main male character looks in a broken mirror and sees the reflection of his wife. In trying to figure out how that visual was created, I considered angles but the mirror looked so face on to the camera, and at the same time it looked too real to be CGI on a small budget. How was that scene created?

Park Hong-min: Yes, it was real - I just angled it very, very carefully and took an insane amount of time making sure it was absolutely perfect. There is actually one CGI shot I did use in that scene where he puts his hand up to the mirror - its reflection has to be removed, but when the characters make eye contact, that was all real. I was really compulsive in regard to that scene, but hopefully in a good way.


View of the Arts: Continuing on the technical aspects, in 'Alone' you used a lot of long takes, there are 37 in total I believe. Why was that?

Park Hong-min: When I was planning the film, I had so many thoughts in my head and I felt it could only work if I approached it as a stream of consciousness. So it was important for the camera to chase after that consciousness and that naturally led to the long takes.


MyM: 'A Fish' is in 3D and its homemade 3D. How did you achieve that on such a small budget?

Park Hong-min: When I first started thinking about 'A Fish', I didn't plan to have it in 3D. Many people claim 3D is super-realistic but I never felt that it seemed real and since 'A Fish' deals with both fantasy and reality, 3D seemed to me to perfectly accent that contrast. 3D gives a sort of manipulated feel so I wanted to play with it and in doing so I gradually got into it to the point where I couldn't get out of it. In post production, I locked myself in a room to work on it and like a child I just didn't leave my room. It was so, so tough. Because I wasn't familiar with the technique and I work very slowly, so it took me a long time. When the film was invited to BIFF, one company really liked it and decided to help me out. So, some parts of the film were in collaboration with that company. That company also helped me on aspects of 'Alone'.


Hangul Celluloid: There have been a fair few recent films dealing with aspects of shamanism. Some have used traditional singers in the roles while others have used actors. Were the main shamans in 'A Fish' real shamans, singers or actors? And was visiting and watching the shamans where the whole idea for 'A Fish' came from or did you already have a story which you fitted the idea of shamanism into?

Park Hong-min: The lady who played the main shaman is called Kim Yeong-ja and she is a professional Pansori, traditional Korean singer. She actually assisted a real shaman for a long time so she really understood the rituals and the shamans' function. The story of 'A Fish' came from a photograph I saw. In Korea, shamans are seen almost as exorcists and are often even portrayed as forceful, even kind of scary, as you'll see in their portrayal in Na Hong-jin's 'The Wailing', for example. However, in  the photograph I saw was of a Jindo ritual where the shaman collects a soul from the sea to clean it and send it on its way to the afterlife. The shaman performing this ritual was wearing very white clothing and using a kind of collecting device to collect the soul, and all in all it looked so peaceful. That for me was very impressive and original and it's also very Korean. AS such I felt drawn to visiting Jindo and seeing the shamans in person. Also, often shamans do not specifically chose to become shamans, they are instead called by the powers that be, if you will. So, in a way they have to go through a process of self-healing before they can help others and that idea really moved me. In 'A Fish', in contrast to the shamans, the fishermen stand for me, and all of my self-doubts.


View of the Arts: Are you already working on your next film?

Park Hong-min: Yes, I currently have a small project in mind that is very personal to me. Actually, in two weeks time 'Alone' will be released in Korea, and I think I'm going to apply to the APM market in Busan for funding, but if that is unsuccessful I have other ways of sorting any problems so I'll hopefully be able to undertake the project.


MyM: Both your films deal with deep, psychological ideas. Why are you particularly interested in those themes?

Park Hong-min: When I start a project and start writing, I always start with an analysis of my own emotions from the beginning to the end... the cause and effect, if you like. At that point, I try to figure out how those emotions can be weaved as a story. So, for me it's all very natural.

 

The following interview took place on 3 November 2016 prior to the London Korean Film Festival 2016 screening of Asura: The City of Madness:

Interview:

Hangul Celluloid: You’re here promoting Asura: The City of Madness, your latest film, why did you decide to set it in a fictional city rather than in a normal Korean city? Did it give you more freedom to push characters to greater extremes?

Kim Sung-soo: As you know that story is kind of ridiculous, so perhaps it’s really hard to set it in a real city. Since it’s told in a very extreme way, like the film Sin City, it had to be set in a fictional place — a city of crime and sin. I didn’t want to set it in a completely unrealistic space, so it is based on Korea 40 or 50 years ago in the outskirts of Seoul. The places are run-down and ready to be redeveloped, and there is a sense of gentrification. So it is where the minority of society dwell, that’s why you see a lot of characters that are on the fringes of society. When gentrification happened in Korean society there is always a fight for power and financial advantages between the construction side, politicians, and local authorities. Although Korea doesn’t have mafia gangs who rule the city, but this kind of conflict between those three powers were quite common as they tried to gain an advantage over society.


The London Tree: Out of all the movies you’ve done before this is your bloodiest role, how enthusiastic were you when doing this film?

Kim Sung-soo: I can answer; he didn’t want to do it! I forced him to do it.
Jung Woo-sung: Before I read the script I didn’t know this film was focused on this kind of story, I had already promised that I would do it before reading it.
Kim Sung-soo: That was your big mistake!
Jung Woo-sung: I was really stunned and frustrated when I actually read the script, this is the kind of character you can’t really show. It’s very hard to charm audiences with this character, his world view makes you question what’s being shown, so I had to really be set into my character present that.


View of the Arts: Besides directing you have co-written or wrote most of your films, and this is your fourth collaboration together, to what extent did you have characters in mind when you were working on the screenplay?

Kim Sung-soo: I’ve been thinking about this story for a long time, although it wasn’t written up fully I had thought about it conceptually for a really long time. I talked to Jung Woo-sung about working on this film together, and I said that I had to work with him. He said it was a bit too dark but I said I really wanted to work with him so he said he would. He’s played these young wanderers in the past and they’re always on the periphery of society, this character was in continuation with those roles. This film revolves around relationships rather than a series of events, he is the only character in this film that interacts with every important character in the film so it was really important for me to have Jung Woo-sung in the role, and it has a connection to the other characters he had played in my films.


MyM: Since the last time you worked on a film together was in 2001 what was it like to be on set together again?

Kim Sung-soo:It makes me feel old. Honestly, I didn’t realise that 15 years had passed it’s gone so fast.
Jung Woo-sung: Too fast!
Kim Sung-soo: I’m really close with him and we often talk about ideas and future projects, during this time we were meandering around and worrying about some of the meticulous things. I’ve learned one thing from my life, if you want to make something good and you have a good partner don’t hesitate.
Jung Woo-sung: It was very familiar and we were just regretful and asked why didn’t we work together. It was like a return of lost time in some ways when we made this film.


Hangul Celluloid: Going back to your earlier career, probably more than any Korean actor you have had a persona of the upstanding leading man for a lot of your films. When you made the film Cold Eyes a lot of people were surprised and happy that you were playing a character that was so dark, and so different from your much loved following. Why did you choose the film at that point? And have roles since been influenced by it?

Jung Woo-sung: In fact, when I choose a project I always choose leading roles so I didn’t think too much about supporting roles to be honest. I never thought I would be interested in being a supporting character, but in the case of James he has such charisma and the tension of his role is crucial to sustain the film. I wasn’t offered the role initially, I was asked to review the script and that’s how I got to know about the project and I found that the tension, charisma, and importance of this character actually completes the story so I thought if I didn’t take the role I would regret it. After I had done this project my perception of leading and supporting roles have actually changed, and I have become much more free when it comes to choosing my roles since then.
When it comes to being Mr. Romantic, I actually wasn’t really aware of this perception and people’s expectations of me. I don’t really think about it, I always want to try out different roles and for me it was such a natural development so I don’t think playing an evil character would be very cool and attractive, but this tension that James carries is very special and I thought that rather than him dying in such a cool way he could have gone in a more ridiculous way.


The London Tree: The film has many complex characters and intertwined stories, how long did it take you to plan the whole movie out?

Kim Sung-soo: The conception of the story goes back to five or six years ago, but when it comes to adding details to the story and working on the script it took me about ten months. When the script was complete, I showed people and they said it’s very unique but they weren’t sure it could be a commercially successful film. Literally everyone said that to me apart from my producer Han Jae-duk who said that this is quite fun and worth trying. He actually gave me a big push and he helped to put this together. He said that maybe if we work with renowned and well-known actors we would have a chance at making it, and we had already cast the other actors and they all wanted to work with Jung Woo-sung so it worked out well.


View of the Arts: Given that your past characters and your one in Asura are very different did you approach the role in a different way to your previous characters?

Jung Woo-sung: Actually recalling this period I’m not sure how I did it. So focusing on the world view that’s hidden behind the script was important, the message that Kim Sung-soo wanted to give seemed clear but it was also incomprehensible to me, so this is a story he wanted to tell but it is steeped in the character of Han Do-kyung and that is something I thought was key. The main character in a film always needs to be very convincing to audiences, but this particular person he’s the kind of person that will have a bare-fist fight with people. That was what I was given, and that was the challenge.
Kim Sung-soo: He was very confused at first on how he could interpret the role by himself, he was continuously asking what he can do but I couldn’t help him. I could only say that the character was living in his hell, and the only way to become this character was to jump through hell. I know him very well, and he is the kind of person that doesn’t complain. But when we were making this film he says to me ‘hyung this is really tough’ and he never says this, and the day before shooting he asked me to come to his room and he was drunk and we normally don’t drink before shooting and he said that. Secretly I really appreciated this because it meant that the real Jung Woo-sung was living in hell, and I was really happy to hear that.


MyM: Your character does seem to go through hell, and during the filmhe has a lot of intense interactions with others throughout. You particularly go head-to-head with Hwang Jung-min’s character Park Sun-baea lot, what was it like to work with him on these scenes?

Jung Woo-sung:Yes, I deeply appreciate his performance and him as an actor, he’s also really fun. I think he’s extremely unique because he has various textures as a performer, and the relationship between Park Sun-bae and Han Do-kyung works in a way that his character is in charge of the reaction of my character. He reacts to the events that Park Sun-bae sets out, either by pretending or being influenced by him, so perhaps it was a bit easier for me to perform than Hwang Jung-min.
The amount of energy he gives to an actor on set is enormous. I feel like through him the character energised those around him. Especially the very last scene, he as an actor truly does exist as Park Sun-bae so what he sets out in the scene and his energy really influences the performances of the other actors around him so we all perform at our best.


Hangul Celluloid: You recently starred in a very small production called Don’t Forget Me directed by Lee Yoon-jung, the film wouldn’t have been made if it wasn’t for you. What do you think about the difficulties faced by new directors that have to go through crowdfunding for productions that really should be easy to make?

Jung Woo-sung:It started as pure chance but it gave me experience as a senior, in Korea its known as being a Sunbae, so whoever started their career first has an unspoken responsibility to support their juniors. I had this sort of relationship with the director, she had worked on The Bad, The Good, and the Weird in the past and she’s also a fan of mine. I wanted to help her out, it started as a short film script and it developed into a feature length film. She had never directed a full-length film before so as her senior I introduced her to a lot of female producers, but they were often very low-budget or they tried to change the script, so out of respect to her I took the role of a producer and worked on this film in this respect as well. We both matured through this experience and we both learnt a lot through this process.

 

Many thanks to Roxy Simons (MyM) for transcribing the above interview.