Korean film-press conference

By Lee Minji

SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) -- Actors Koo Kyo-hwan and Kim Yoon-seok are set to appear as a young rail worker and a retiring station master in the upcoming Korean film "White Blast," marking their reunion five years since the 2021 action thriller "Escape from Mogadishu."

Set in a rural train station just days before Christmas, the film follows veteran station master Gap-soo (Kim), as he welcomes his young successor Hyun-taek (Koo), who arrives late due to a snow storm.

On Hyun-taek's first day of work, the two unexpectedly run into a corpse on a railway track, sparking a flurry of mysterious events that also involves local police detective Seong-bok (Park Su-young) and his rookie colleague Sun-woo (Roh Yoon-seo).

Both actors said they were immediately attracted to the film after reading its scenario.

"I was mesmerized by the power of the script. The film unfolds in a very bare narrative, without any superfluity. It has been a long time I have encountered works like this," Kim said at a press conference in Seoul on Friday.

Koo said his character Hyun-taek is someone who aspires to know everything about his new workplace, adding that the mix of black comedy and mystery in the film will make audiences' hearts beat.

Kim said the charm of the film comes from how average its lead characters are, with that trait leading to moments of unlikely humor.

"They are not formidable characters with great physical strength, they are just very common people," Kim said. "The film rotates between comedy and tragedy at moments that show how fragile the human mind is ... it will be perceived very differently by each viewer."

Director Hong Eui-jeong, who returned with her sophomore feature six years following her debut feature, "Voice of Silence" (2020), echoed the view.

"I have always been intrigued how the narrative shifts as the perspective of how the characters are perceived changes. 'White Blast' perfectly captures this theme and I started the project, hoping to know how the two characters will transform in an isolated space."

Hong, meanwhile, touted the chemistry between the two leads, calling Kim a genius and Koo a "weirdo" in a positive sense, noting how Koo always came up with unexpected reactions even in the most banal dialogue.

"I felt very lucky with how fantastic this combination of a genius and a weirdo is," she said.

Without revealing much information, the actors said the film will be best watched when going into it cold, encouraging audiences to engage themselves in discussions after watching it.

"The plot twist is not at the core of the film, like the film "Sixth Sense." But it is definitely a film that will be more intriguing when you come to the theater with only the basic details," Koo said.

"We are only showing audiences a phenomenon and the audiences will decide how they will make their own judgments. They will become the main characters of their own stories."

The film is set for release on Nov. 18.

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