[INTERVIEW] 'Festival' actor talks about fate of laughing in the face of despair

Actor Ha Jun / Courtesy of Thursday Morning

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Actor Ha Jun said "sincerity" was most important when playing the role of Kyung-man in "Festival," an empathetic story about ordinary people caught up in emotional extremes.

Helmed by Kim Lok-kyoung, who made his directorial debut with the short film "Samcheonpo Garbage" in 2016, "Festival" portrays ill-fated part-time host Kyung-man, who is required to put on a brave face to earn money, even after the tragic loss of his father.

"Our film is not a light-hearted story, so it was important to sincerely portray the character," he said during a recent interview with The Korea Times via Zoom. "I believe that most of us have had the experience of having to laugh or joke at times we weren't in the mood to do so."

In the film, Kyung-man and his younger sister Kyung-mi (So Joo-yeon) take care of their ailing father, who has been hospitalized for a long time. One day, their father dies, but there is no time to grieve because the siblings have no money to pay for his funeral.

To cover the funeral expenses, Kyung-man secretly goes to be host at a birthday party in the countryside. There, he gets caught up in unexpected events.

Ha shared that he auditioned for the role, and the fact that he was able to play a character with such emotional depth appealed to him the most.

"I think every actor has a desire dive deep into a character's emotional or mental side," he said. "I was both scared and excited to play Kyung-man, who experiences the irony of fate."

Ha recalled that 80 percent of the filming took place in Samcheonpo, in South Gyeongsang Province.

"Samcheonpo was a healing place for me," he said. "Despite the very tight filming schedule, I went out for a walk to the beach and a movie theater near the film crew accommodation whenever I was free."

Starring alongside So, Ha said: "We met a couple times before we started shooting 'Festival.' She's very outgoing and witty, so it didn't feel awkward between us at all. She did spontaneous ad-libs like handing me trash, which I thought was candy. Thanks to her, we could express great sibling chemistry."

The actor revealed that there were times when he had to repress his true feelings at work.

"I think everyone has that moment," he said. "There was never a time when I didn't want to act in front of the camera, but I've been under pressure whenever I have had to shoot scenes where I needed to be emotionally sensitive.

"However, I learned that my burdens or emotional struggles should never affect the entire film crew."

On winning the best actor award at this year's Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival with "Festival," Ha said he was humbled. "To me, listening to the viewers' responses and reviews feels like a bigger prize than receiving an award at a ceremony," he said.

Ha said he wants to star in a romantic comedy for his next project. "I think I'm just taking baby steps as an actor," he said. "Actor Huh Joon-ho (who appeared in Netflix's "Kingdom") once told me to 'look far if you want to go long.'"

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