Yum Jung-ah returns with family fiasco movie

Yum Jung-ah seen in the film "Another Child" / Courtesy of Showbox

By Park Jin-hai

Yum Jung-ah, star of JTBC's hit drama “SKY Castle,” who impressed viewers with her strong mother character, returns to the big screen to play another mother role.

In the film with “Another Child,” directed by actor-turned-director Kim Yun-seok, the 46-year-old actress plays the role of Young-ju, whose happy normal life is suddenly turned upside down.

The film revolves around two families whose two underage daughters discover their parents' infidelity. While Young-ju's daughter tries to deal with her father's cheating on her own to save the family, Mi-hee, the daughter of her father's cheating partner, spills the beans and things come crashing down.

“It is a film that makes people think (about life). If my previous mother roles focused more on motherhood and maternity, my new role depicts more of her 'woman' side faced with the family crisis,” said Yum during a press conference at a local theater in Seoul, Wednesday. “Although it was not an easy role to take, I was more than pleased to accept my new challenge.”

With the film, veteran actor Kim is making his directorial debut. Kim, with over 30 years of acting experience, said a little part of an omnibus theater play demonstrated at a workshop in 2014 attracted his attention. After a discussion with the playwright and five years of preparation, the debut film has finally come to light.

“Going through their parents' problems, the two teens sometimes fight and sometimes get together. Their coming-of-age story was very touching. Together with the roles of two actresses, I was confident that I could create a film with both compelling drama and characters,” the director said explaining why he decided to use the story for his directorial debut film.

Following the five respective views of each character, audiences can see their different ways of unraveling the crisis. “People usually think one's age parallels one's inner growth. But this film shows adulthood and maturity are different,” he said. “With that message heard, movie fans will be able to realize the broad-spectrum those veteran actresses Yum and Kim So-jin have in acting as well.”

In the film, Kim also plays the timid cheating father Dae-won.

“Playing a double role as actor and director was like I was going between DOS and Windows systems in an instant. I should be thinking as an actor but then I'm required to quickly move into thinking as a director,” he said. “I had my own worries before taking the job, but in retrospect, I think it was a good decision. I'm still working on the final touches on the film, but the result has been beyond what I'd expected.”

The film will hit local theaters in April.