"Korean Cultural News" Vol.16 Film Director E.oni

In the novel, the story is told from a one-way perspective, with Heung-soo looking at Jae-hee, but with this film I wanted to make a coming-of-age film that depicts the two-way relationship between the two. I also believe that people get to know themselves through their relationships with others. As Jae-hee and Heung-soo interact with each other, they come to know each other better, and I carefully expanded on that process.

The main premise is that this is a commercial film, and I think this is also a tendency in my work, but I don't think we should force any strong messages on the audience.

Of course, the story deals with various social issues, but I hope that it will raise some kind of question for the audience in a natural way. At first, the audience doesn't know anything about Jae-hee or Heun-soo. But by the time they leave the cinema, I hope they'll feel as if the two are good friends.

I didn't suggest any reference works, such as this film, to watch. However, as I said earlier, this is a commercial film, so I thought it was important that it was interesting and fun, so I had the cinematographers watch Hollywood romantic comedies from the 2000s, such as "The Devil Wears Prada," to get a feel for the atmosphere.

I believe there is a very limited scope for a film director to direct actors. So, all a director can do is cast good actors. I was fortunate to have these two participate. Kim Go-eun is a truly talented, perceptive, and intelligent actor, so there was no need for extensive dialogue.

On the other hand, I didn't know much about Noh Sang-hyun's acting, so I talked to him a lot beforehand about the film and personal matters, etc. The moment the two of us entered the set of Jae-hee's room, a really good atmosphere was created, and I thought I was glad to have cast them, and that I wanted to keep making this movie.

From the beginning, I was very worried about whether or not to depict a wedding in this film. Towards the end, Heung-soo says, "Go carefully, Jae-hee," but I think this also implies that he has a place to return to. Also, in the wedding scene, Heung-soo, who had lived his life hiding himself until then, proudly sings and dances in front of many people.

The original song was by a different girl group, but since the time period is a little different, we had to find another song. Also, the original only had the characters singing, but we really wanted them to dance as well. While we were looking for a song, one of our producers suggested this song. When we heard it, we thought it was perfect.

I'm very interested in politics. I wasn't originally that interested, but Korean politics has been so turbulent recently (laughs). When I watch politicians, I feel that they are very human in a way, and I become aware of the desires that lie at the root of human beings. I watch them with the hope that it will help me create characters that will appear in my future works. The second thing is that until now I've liked to seek out new things, but recently I've been deliberately getting into the movies and music that I liked in my twenties, and trying to see how I feel about them now.