SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Yonhap) -- "I wanted to tell the audience it's not too late to avoid creating a dystopian world like 'The Devil Judge'."
In a recent interview with Yonhap News Agency, former judge and screenwriter of tvN's "The Devil Judge," Moon Yu-sok, talked about the background story on depicting South Korea as a dystopian country and the dark fictional heroes living inside.
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| ▲ This photo, provided by tvN, shows screenwriter Moon Yu-sok of "The Devil Judge." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
Moon, who was "scared after seeing the novel coronavirus outbreak change the world in an instant," further explained his inspiration for "The Devil Judge," saying, "If this situation continues, I came to think about what our world would look like in the future, and so I decided to do some kind of thought experiment."
"In Spain, groups of elders have passed away after being left unattended due to nursing home workers running away, and the economy has collapsed around the world, causing a surge in the number of people who are in need of livelihood. I decided to melt these chaotic and worrisome situations into the drama."
In "The Devil Judge," Kang Yo-han (Ji Sung), the chief judge of the trials held through a courtroom live show, give punishments to criminals that are somewhat unrealistic in the real world such as a 235-year prison term for the head of a large company, or a death sentence for someone who has committed an assault.
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| ▲ This photo, provided by tvN, shows actor Ji Sung as Kang Yo-han in "The Devil Judge." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
In response, Moon said, "The rulings in the play are not portrayed to be serious alternatives. Rather, it is a "Black Mirror" way of thinking about the side effects of severe punishment and part of my thought experiment."
"I think it is necessary to seriously think about why severe punishment is sympathized by the majority of the audiences. I, too, have thought about this question for a long time," Moon added.
"The villains in the drama are punished and the new elite, who takes over the positions, are also shown to not be that different than the villains. In the end, while it is slow, the efforts of many people changes the system completely to make a real difference. The monologue said by Ga-on (Park Jin-young) 'What must I do to create a world that does not need Yo-han,' is what I think the true ending of the story is."
Moon also praised the actors for their contribution to the dystopia setting, classic tragedy epic, and literary lines that seem similar to reality but also feel odd at the same time.
"All the actors have performed brilliantly. The reason I was able to overfill my favorite elements and push them was because I trusted the actors. From actors Ji Sung, Kim Min Jung, to minor roles, great acting filled the weirdness and lack of the script. Thank you very much."
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| ▲ This photo, provided by tvN, shows actress Kim Min-jung from drama "The Devil Judge." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
"Devil Judge" is also the first work written by a judge-turned-writer Moon as a full-time writer.
"Weirdly enough, I had a lot more time, and it was a lot harder. Writing was healing when I had a separate job, but it was stressful because it became a job. "People seem to be very clever," he said. "I chose to find freedom, so I have no regrets. "I want to enjoy writing and travel more freely."
In addition to "Ms. Hammurabi," which warmly depicts the growth of judges, he also expressed his desire to challenge various genres such as comedy, human, thriller, SF, and animation, as well as his career as a judge and court-based work.
"Before the creator, as a consumer who loves all kinds of cultural content, I want to write stories of various genres and people that I love. Since I wrote a dark genre this time, I think it would be nice to write a bright, easy, and optimistic story next time."
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