Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
‘Number One’ captures precious value of life, family
Actors Jang Hye-jin, left, and Choi Woo-shik in a scene from “Number One” / Courtesy of BY4M Studio
By Baek Byung-yeul
In the upcoming film "Number One," a young man begins seeing a mysterious number decrease every time he eats his mother’s cooking, an unsettling countdown that forms the emotional core of director Kim Tae-yong’s latest film about family and mortality.
The filmmaker said that he wanted to create a story about the preciousness of life that will stay in the hearts of the audience at a time when many have grown numb to death in an era saturated with provocative content.
"While there are many violent and provocative stories today, this movie talks about how valuable a single person's life is," Kim said during a press conference in Seoul, Tuesday.
“Number One” follows a young man named Ha-min (Choi Woo-shik), who comes to realize that the number represents the remaining times he can eat a meal by his mother, Eun-sil (Jang Hye-jin) and that her life will end when the count reaches zero. Desperate to change her fate, Ha-min struggles to save her as time runs out.
The film is based on Japanese writer Sora Uwano’s novel “The Number of Times You Can Eat Your Mother's Cooking Is 328” (translated title).
The movie marks a special reunion between Kim and Choi, who first worked together on the 2014 film “Set Me Free.” Kim, who jokingly calls himself an expert on Choi, praised the actor, saying “Choi's acting in this film was a miracle.”
Choi also expressed his own excitement about the reunion. "Since many people loved ‘Set Me Free,’ I wanted to do an even better job this time,” he said.
Actors Jang Hye-jin, left, and Choi Woo-shik attend a press conference for the movie “Number One” at a theater in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
By layering fantasy onto the universal concept of a mother's home cooking, the film examines the weight of our remaining time and the complex feelings of family bonds in depth.
The director also shared his personal motivation behind the film.
"In reality, I lived for a long time without being in contact with my mother before receiving news of her passing. After that experience, I began to wonder what it would have been like if those remaining moments had been visible to my eyes as actual numbers," Kim said.
"If the movie 'Set Me Free' was a reflection of my memories growing up, then 'Number One' is another semi-autobiographical work, filled with my feelings for my mother."
Jang, who takes on the role of Choi’s mother, also reunites with Choi after they played a mother and son in the 2019 movie “Parasite.”
"Choi Woo-shik feels like my own son because he looks and acts just like him,” Jang said, expressing deep affection for her co-star. "I felt it was a great decision to work with him again."
Actor Gong Seung-yeon also stars in the film, playing Ha-min's nutritionist girlfriend.
"The movie offers both healing and emotion and I hope it remains in the hearts of viewers for a long time," Gong said.
"Number One" is scheduled to hit theaters on Feb. 11, ahead of Korea's Lunar New Year holiday.