'A Killer Paradox' to bring popular webtoon to life in style
From left, director Lee Chang-hee, actors Choi Woo-sik, Lee Hee-joon and Son Suk-ku pose during the press conference for the Netflix series, "A Killer Paradox" held at Mondrian Seoul Itaewon, in Yongsan District, Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Netflix
Choi Woo-sik, Son Suk-ku and Lee Hee-joon, the lead actors of Netflix’s new Korean original series, “A Killer Paradox,” expressed confidence in the series, sharing that it will offer a thriller genre story with a stylish twist.
Based on the hit webtoon of the same name by Kkomabi, the thriller crime series revolves around an average college student Lee Tang (Choi), who accidentally kills a man. When the victim turns out to be a serial killer, he realizes he has the ability to detect criminals and finds himself caught in an endless cat-and-mouse chase with a shrewd detective (Son) who is determined to catch him. Their paths cross with Song-chon, a former detective with twisted beliefs, adding complexity to their chase.
The eight-part series, set to hit the streaming site on Feb. 9, is led by director Lee Chang-hee, whose previous work includes the 2018 thriller film “The Vanished” and the 2019 thriller series “Watch Strangers from Hell.”
“It’s trendy. If it (the series) were clothing, it would be high fashion. The director has an extremely unique taste that cannot be defined in a single genre and, of course, so too, the webtoon,” Son said during the press conference for the series, held at Mondrian Seoul Itaewon, in Yongsan District, Seoul, Thursday.
“Personally, I'm quite confident that since such a distinctive creator made it, the original webtoon’s fans will be very satisfied (with the adaptation).”
A scene from the series "A Killer Paradox" / Courtesy of Netflix
The director shared how difficult it was to translate the webtoon's distinct blend of dark storytelling and cute, miniature-style cartoon characters into a live-action series.
“After reading the original work, I thought it wouldn't be easy to dramatize; it was really perplexing. Despite the dilemma, it was a project I wanted to challenge myself with as a director. While contemplating how I could translate these excellent cartoon expressions into visuals, I got ambitious and ideas started flowing,” the director said.
“I tried to keep the essence of the original work. The original webtoon has a lot of cartoon elements and there were some that wouldn’t make sense if I portrayed them as is. So I paid a lot of attention to adding a sense of realism to make it more realistic without losing the theme and ironic tone and manner of the original."
Actor Choi said that he felt confident he could portray his character Lee Tang well.
“I really enjoyed the webtoon and felt a desire to do this, to work this character out as an actor. I also had the confidence that I could do it well, so I threw myself in (to the project),” he said, giving a glimpse of his character's growth.
“The character didn't commit murder willingly at first. But as the character grows, he eventually starts to intentionally find villains on his own. He goes through an emotional and psychological transformation. So I focused my acting on those aspects, and I hope viewers can also grasp those changes.”
The director noted the unpredictable development of its story will draw viewers to enjoy the series, blurring the lines between heroes and villains.
“Lee Tang is a very passive person and the situations he finds himself in happen by chance. So, it is difficult to predict or imagine what choices he will make and what will happen next, which I think is part of the charm of the series,” he said.
“(It’s not clear) whether he is a murderer or a vigilante. The situations are perplexing for Lee Tang, but for the audience, it will give a sense of cathartic irony."