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| From left, actors Seol Kyung-gu, E Som, Jeon Do-yeon, Kim Sia and Koo Kyo-hwan pose during a press conference for the film, "Kill Boksoon," held at the Grand InterContinental Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Netflix |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Before she even got her hands on the script for "Kill Boksoon," Jeon Do-yeon said she had already committed to the Netflix film. Eager to take on different roles and different genres, she agreed to be the co-lead with Seol Kyung-gu. "Kill Boksoon" marks their third collaboration following "I Wish I had a Wife" (2001) and "Birthday" (2019).
"I've always wanted to do action movies, so I was intrigued by director Byun Sung-hyun's proposal. But I didn't really know about the specifics of the movie because the script wasn't ready," she said during a press conference for the film, Tuesday. "After reading the script, I got scared because the action and fight scenes were more intense than I expected."
Director Byun, a self-proclaimed fan of Jeon, admitted that he offered her the role of a professional killer because he realized that she didn't have many action roles in her filmography.
"I first met Jeon when I visited Seol on the set of 'Birthday.' We kept in touch after our first encounter. One day, she called me and asked if I'd be interested in directing a film written by someone else. I said I want to write my original story and asked her if she'd be interested in starring in my next movie. She said yes," he said, adding that from then on, he started to write a script, which portrays a female lead that fits the bill perfectly for Jeon.
Seol, who worked closely with director Byun on "The Merciless" (2017) and "Kingmaker" (2021), shared the same sentiments and agreed to be part of "Kill Boksoon", also without looking at the script. In the film, he plays the role of Cha Min-kyu, the head of a contract-killing agency.
"I had trust in Byun's abilities as a writer and director. What fascinates me is his meticulous directing style. During the pre-production stage, he has a complete image of the film based on pre-sketches. This allows him to shoot only what he needs during filming," he said.
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| Actress Jeon Do-yeon in a scene from the film, "Kill Boksoon" / Courtesy of Netflix |
"Kill Boksoon" tells the story of Gil Bok-soon, a single mother and hired killer who struggles with her work-life balance. Right before her contract renewal, she gets involved in an unavoidable kill-or-be-killed situation.
Director Byun explained that he focused on depicting the complex relationship between characters.
"For Bok-soon, it's a coming-of-age story, for Min-kyu, it's a melodrama and for Bok-soon's daughter, Jae-young, it's an educational movie that teaches lessons about parenting and the mother-daughter relationship. I put extra effort into making the unrealistic setup as realistic as possible," he said.
The director revealed that he almost gave up filming action scenes because it was emotionally draining to watch actors suffer. "The action scenes were physically demanding, so it was stressful for me to watch them do it over and over again. At one point, I told them, 'Don't worry about it. I'll do something about it during the editing process.' However, the actors pushed past their limits and gave it their all on the screen."
Jeon said the film has both local cultural elements and universal appeal. "Our movie combines action and black comedy that audiences beyond Korea can relate with," she said.
"Kill Boksoon," which premiered at the 73rd Berlin Film Festival, will debut on Netflix on March 31.
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