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| ▲ This photo, provided by CJ CGV, shows comedian-turned-director Park Sung-kwang. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by CJ CGV, shows a scene from 'Woong Nam.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Mar. 16 (Yonhap) -- During an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Thursday, the comedian-turned-director Park Sung-kwang shared that he was able to major in filmmaking in college, then create a comedy club, where he started to dream of becoming a comedian, and eventually work with veteran actor Park Sung-woong as a filmmaker thanks to his slogan “I have got this.”
“Making films has always been my far-fetched dream. I grew up watching comedian-turned-director Shim Hyung-rae’s works and thought, ‘I wish I could turn out to be an actor who can also direct.’ Now, I think my dream has finally come true with ‘Woong Nam.’”
Director Park has credits for producing short films “Year” and “Sad to Be Not Sad” by which he showed off his sensitive emotional lines. However, he chose comedy as the genre for his very first commercial film.
His “Woong Nam” will comically depict the story of the two Asiatic black bears that turned into human beings after eating garlic and mugwort but end up growing up as adults in very different environments. One becomes a detective while the other becomes a member of an international criminal organization that gets chased after by police. Actor Park plays both of the twin brothers Woongnam and Woongbuk.
When asked about the background of producing a comedy film, the 41-year-old director said, “I wanted to do something that I am actually good at, but it was more of a strategy for my screen debut.”
“I actually wrote scripts for genres other than comedy, but they all got rejected as soon as they were known to have been written by a comedian. I even thought of hiding my job but that also did not seem right since I am proud to be a comedian,” the multi-faceted artist said. “Then a thought came to my mind that while there are stereotypes, there are also advantages of comedians becoming directors. So, I decided to make a comedy film.”
Park then confessed, “I am confident yet I feel way more pressured than I did for my previous work.”
“I was not sure if what I felt and thought about my film was correct. It was particularly hard to grasp the trend as it is very hard to predict when the movie would actually be hitting the theaters after filming.”
As a novice director, he recalled that he went through countless ups and downs while shooting his first commercial film. Among them, he mentioned that facing and going up against common stereotypes against comedian-turned-directors as well as managing the sudden changes in the filming schedule due to the car accident of the actor Choi Min-soo were challenges that were most difficult to overcome.
“After actor Choi’s car accident, I almost lost my mind for three days. We had to push all of his scenes to the very last. It was also very difficult to change the attitudes of people who had some negative stereotypes against me. I had to struggle with a sense of inferiority and low self-esteem,” the director said while looking back. “But then I told them blatantly that I still have a lot to learn about this job and I am also not very good at it. I asked for their help, saying that it is my film but also theirs. They then all came to help me.”
He even experienced sudden hair loss, skin inflammation, and hernia due to overwhelming stress, but his affection for his film and several miraculous moments helped him keep going on.
Park then said, “I initially wrote the scenario with actor Park Sung-woong in mind, so I was actually going to give up making the film if he rejected my offer. However, he ended up accepting my casting offer.”
“I did not get an answer even until the fourth day after giving him my script. I almost lost hope but then I got a call, and actor Park told me to put his name down on the cast. I was driving at that time, and the traffic jam suddenly cleared once I got that call, and the rain stopped. I mean it,” Park said with a laugh.
In regards to actor Jung Woo-sung, who made a surprise appearance in the film, the director said, “He was like a gift,” adding, “He was really cool. It was amazing to be able to talk to him as a director to a director.”
Two iconic Korean comedian-turned-directors are Shim Hyung-rae and Lee Kyung-kyu. “I did not get a chance to meet Shim Hyung-rae, but when I met director Lee Kyung-kyu, he cheered me up and said that I must do well,” the junior director said.
“He said that if I don’t do well enough, there will no longer be any comedian-turned-director coming after me. I think comedians very often face stereotypes that we are unauthentic and insincere. Regardless of whether that prejudice breaks or stays, I hope that there will be more comedians becoming directors even after me. I wish I can set an example for the juniors.”
The novice director also added that his next life goal is for ‘Woong Nam’ to accumulate more than 1 million admissions. “As a rookie comedian, I said that it will always be a pleasure to give joy to people, and that applies the same to me even as a filmmaker since I can also give joy with my film. I still have so many things to learn and accomplish but I hope the audience will enjoy my film with a generous heart.”
Park’s screen debut film “Woong Nam” will hit the local theaters on Mar. 22.
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)
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