Director Jung Dong Yoon of Gyeongseong Creature shared his ideas about his lengthy journey with actors Park Web optimization Joon and Han So Hee, who, together with your entire group, labored tirelessly for the Ok-drama’s success.
On September 30, throughout an interview held at a café in Seoul, director Jung shared his ideas on the Ok-drama’s reception, and its message, and praised the lead actors.
Gyeongseong Creature Season 2 follows Ho Jae (Park Web optimization Joon), who bears a putting resemblance to Tae Sang, and Chae Okay (Han So Hee), who survived the spring of Gyeongseong, as they unravel the ties of destiny, relationships, and malevolence linked to Gyeongseong.
Director Jung Praises Park Web optimization Joon and Han So Hee for Their Efforts and Choice to Star within the Ok-Drama
About Park Web optimization Joon and Han So Hee, he mentioned, “They’re very skilled, and I admire that they’re the identical folks each in personal and public settings. They’re candid and severely talk about points which might be applicable for his or her age. I am fairly shy, so it is actually troublesome for me to work together with prime stars, however they made me really feel comfy. The three of us aren’t the sort to speak so much, so we might every suppose when it was time to suppose and play when it was time to play. If you happen to take a look at their social media, they appear to submit so much in regards to the ‘blood, sweat, and tears,’ [they pour into their work]. It will need to have been actually powerful for them [working on this project]. Each of them actually lived as much as their names, and I believe the momentum got here from the truth that they led the venture ahead.”
He continued, “Han So Hee is delicate however robust. I believe she put in lots of effort to precise that. She suffered so much whereas performing the motion scenes. … The scene the place she fights Kuroko within the deserted manufacturing facility took a number of days to movie. There have been lots of bugs, and loads of conditions the place, should you misplaced focus, you might get damage. … Park Web optimization Joon is sweet with utilizing his physique, however this time he labored so much with wires and received lined in blood, which is not any straightforward activity. However he did a superb job. He additionally needed to do lots of make-up [for the scenes] the place his eyes had been swollen. Whereas doing the motion scenes, he needed to keep his feelings all through, which was actually arduous.”
Is director Jung happy with the response the Ok-drama acquired? “I’m happy with the response to Season 2. I’ve heard that it is rating first in lots of international locations, so I am grateful that so many individuals are watching it. I heard it ranked fourth in Japan and ninth or tenth within the U.S. I additionally heard that the response has additionally been constructive in Europe and India. One of many most important targets of this venture was to maneuver past sharing historical past solely amongst ourselves [Koreans] and to have it considered by worldwide audiences, so I believe it is resonating in that sense.”
Gyeongseong Creature is among the many historic Ok-thrillers that don’t shrink back from highlighting Japan’s previous wrongdoings. Was the director involved in regards to the response in Japan? “I believe the star energy of the actors performed an enormous function. When you are filming collectively, you do not all the time understand how a lot star energy actors like Park Web optimization Joon and Han So Hee have, however their fandom is gigantic. As a consequence of his earlier works, Park Web optimization Joon has a big fan base, and Han So Hee has additionally gained many followers by means of numerous Netflix sequence, so I believe casting them helped entice lots of viewers. I imagine Park Web optimization Joon’s affect was significantly vital. Additionally, I used to be stunned that Japanese audiences did not view the present with a crucial eye however slightly accepted it. That was a shocking response for me.”
He additionally admitted to feeling some stress as a result of excessive expectations for the present, contemplating he has delivered hits like It is Okay to Not Be Okay and Scorching Range League. “I did not know a lot about it earlier than, however Park Web optimization Joon expressed curiosity, and Han So Hee instantly agreed to hitch. The truth that a drama of this kind hadn’t been produced for some time was seemingly due to the recognition of the Korean Wave (Hallyu) in Japan, which made it a delicate subject. Given Park Web optimization Joon’s reputation in Japan, the truth that he determined to take part deserves applause. After I requested if he felt pressured, he mentioned he did, however he had a transparent story he needed to inform. The author did an important job, and he felt it was value a strive. In truth, worldwide audiences do not often take a lot curiosity in our nation’s historical past. Nonetheless, what stunned me after Season 1 was seeing it make it into the U.S. High 10, which made me really feel like we had succeeded. I believe it was solely potential due to the involvement of these two actors.”
The Message of Gyeongseong Creature
“There are individuals who deny our nationwide identification, and I believe it is essential to replicate on these issues. We have to handle those that deny historic info. In episode 7, because the motion scenes progress, I needed to voice the message that forgiveness and forgetting are completely different, and I needed to ship that message by means of Ho Jae (Park Web optimization Joon) when he asks ‘Why ought to we forgive those that don’t apologize?.'” “It is about sending a message by specializing in the individuals who damage us and triggered the struggling. How effectively would the folks in Japan at the moment find out about what occurred again then? I needed to convey the message that we should not neglect those that began the conflict, dedicated wrongdoings, and carried out experiments throughout that point. The message that ‘forgiveness and forgetting are completely different’ is constant [throughout the K-drama]. The message is directed at those that damage us and people who faux to not know, not at everybody [or a particular community] as an entire. I imagine that, so long as folks proceed to endure regardless of the altering occasions, we should preserve elevating our voices to result in change on the planet.”
Concerning the symbolism and settings connecting the previous and the current, he mentioned, “I imagine Seasons 1 and a pair of every replicate their respective eras effectively of their personal methods. Whereas Season 1 handled a magnanimous enemy and the struggle towards it, Season 2 is about not forgetting those that triggered struggling in Season 1. There’s an ironic facet of the occasions: I believe we regularly compromise and bow our heads too simply. I attempted to seize that symbolically. Gyeongseong Creature is just not an anti-Japanese drama. There have been some [pro-Japanese people who enjoyed power], however after Korea’s liberation, they modified their names, blended again into Korean society, and lived with vested rights. It began with this truth. We set the mountain behind Ongseong Hospital as Namsan. In that place, we constructed Jeonseung Prescribed drugs as a profitable pharmaceutical firm, and I needed folks to replicate on the truth that the identical sorts of issues are nonetheless occurring at the moment. There are enemies you’ll be able to see, and there are enemies you’ll be able to’t see. And I believe these parts are symbolized in Season 2. I hope it’s considered that means.”
He added, “I believed that viewers from different international locations, every with their painful histories, may resonate with what we skilled and the voices we increase.”
Concerning some interpretations that the trendy setting in Season 2 is biased, he mentioned, “It may very well be seen that means, however I believe it is unreasonable to say it is biased for the reason that message is just not directed at everybody, however solely at those that dedicated wrongdoings. I believe it is a human proper to say what’s proper. It is not biased or politically inclined, and it is not an anti-Japanese drama. It offers with a painful historical past and people who dedicated unforgivable acts, and I hope that is the place the main target is positioned. The message that ‘forgiveness and forgetting are completely different’ is what’s essential.”