Yeon Sang-ho sees 'new possibilities' in ultra-low-budget film ‘The Ugly’

Director Yeon Sang-ho, best known for blockbuster hits like “Train to Busan” and the Netflix series “Hellbound,” has turned to an experiment far removed from the 20 billion won ($14.6 million) productions that made his name.

His latest film, “The Ugly,” released Thursday, was made with just 200 million won — a fraction of the budget of his 2020 film “Peninsula.”

Despite the scale, the movie drew 310,000 viewers within its first five days, easily surpassing its production costs.

“Even though the break-even point has been reached, I still feel indebted to the cast and crew who worked without pay or for minimal wages. To truly repay that debt, maybe 10 million admissions would be enough," Yeon told the Hankook Ilbo.

Critics have praised the film’s technical finish despite its minimal resources. Yeon worked with a crew of about 20, shooting over 13 sessions across three weeks.

Most of the cast, including lead actor Park Jeong-min, joined without reading the script, motivated by loyalty to Yeon and the material. Park said, “I didn’t expect any profit. I took part because I’m a fan of the original work.”

The film adapts Yeon’s 2018 graphic novel of the same name. It follows Dong-hwan (Park), the son of visually impaired calligrapher Im Yeong-gyu (Kwon Hae-hyo), as he investigates the mysterious death of his mother, Jung Yeong-hee (Shin Hyun-been).

The story probes the connections between her disfigured face — long mocked by acquaintances as monstrous — and the truth behind her death. Yeon said the work began with a question: “During Korea’s rapid growth in the 1970s, what did we exploit, and what did we lose?”

Rooted in persistence

Originally intended as a feature film, the project struggled to secure backing and was published first as a graphic novel.

Several attempts to adapt it for the screen failed until Yeon drew inspiration from Asian auteurs such as Japan’s Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Taiwan’s Edward Yang, who had produced landmark films with modest budgets.

“I realized that even with little money, you can still create something engaging, whether it’s a YouTube video my daughter watches or a program like ‘Unanswered Questions’ on SBS,” Yeon said.

Yeon also offered a cautious critique of Korea’s commercial film system. “For more than a decade, investment and distribution companies have been trying to make films that appeal broadly without sharp edges,” he said. “But as all culture moves toward fandom-driven consumption, works without distinctiveness will struggle to survive.”

To cut costs, the “The Ugly” team compressed the schedule and limited locations, turning a small crew into an advantage. “We often joked that we were getting addicted to this method,” Yeon said. “It felt like working in a club, holding meetings and making quick decisions. It was fun, not difficult.”

Korea’s film industry has been mired in stagnation since the pandemic, with theaters slow to recover. Yeon believes the time is ripe for change.

“Korean cinema must evolve into new forms. If creators have stories they want to tell, they shouldn’t fear experimenting — whether in film, YouTube, or any other medium," Yeon said. "A film like ‘The Ugly’ may not be the final answer, but it can prove that other possibilities exist.”

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.