'Peninsula' casts commentary over human desire to outlive

Director Yeon Sang-ho, third from right, poses with the cast of “Peninsula” at the press conference held in Seoul, Thursday. / Korea Times file

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Following the success of “Train to Busan,” “Peninsula” is another Korean zombie film that casts a commentary on people's desire to live and find hope in the worst situation.

Set four years after the hit “Train to Busan,” the upcoming blockbuster tells the story of the survivors and a world taken over by zombies.

Gang Dong-won plays Jung-seok, a former soldier who goes back to the zombie-packed peninsula on a mission, while Lee Jung-hyun plays Min-jung, a mother of two daughters and an uninfected survivor of the zombie apocalypse. Lee saves the lives of Jung-seok and his mission crew from a massive zombie attack and they join forces to escape the devastated land.

Director Yeon Sang-ho said he wanted to go with a different ending compared with “Train to Busan,” carrying a message of hope and positivity.

“In the movie, all the characters have the desire to escape the peninsula, but the world is not greener outside,” Yeon said during a press conference for the film, Thursday. “I wanted the audience to feel that who you are with is more important than where you are.”

At the beginning of the film, Jung-seok is portrayed as a poorly-treated refugee in Hong Kong after fleeing South Korea.

Actor Gang Dong-won in a scene from the film “Peninsula” / Courtesy of NEW

Gang revealed that in his interpretation of the character, Jung-seok, is not a hero, but just a normal guy who loses hope after witnessing human wretchedness.

“Jung-seok is a trained soldier, but not a hero. I think Min-jung and her daughters are the real heroes,” Gang said.

Director Yeon echoed Gang's comments, saying that “Peninsula” is about ordinary people with the same desires.

The 39-year-old actor also mentioned that it was a “difficult decision” to star in the second installment of a hit film, but felt much more reassured as he progressed through the filmmaking process.

“There's always pressure when choosing a film, making it and waiting for its release date. I did my best to not let Train to Busan fans down, hoping they will support Peninsula too,” he said.

“Peninsula” features fast-paced car chases and shooting scenes in the city of Seoul that lies in ruins.

“We used a lot of computer graphics and special visual effects to deliver unprecedented imagery of car chase scenes in the post-apocalyptic world. At that time, I felt like I was working on an animated film,” director Yeon said.

Yeon also put in a lot of efforts into the zombie-fight scenes that are set in an abandoned shopping mall. Zombie-fighting is a physical contest that involves survivors and zombies attempting to kill each other according to a set of rules.

“A shopping mall is a classic setting for zombie movies, and I wanted to show that capitalism is dead and humanity is lost on the peninsula,” he said.

“Peninsula” will hit local theaters, July 15.