Veteran director Lee Joon-ik ventures into vertical short-form drama
Summary
Veteran director Lee Joon-ik has made his first move into vertical short-form drama with My Father’s Table, a warm family story based on a webtoon. He said in Seoul on Thursday that he wanted to expand simple, warm stories into the short-form format and reach people who usually do not watch it. The series will open exclusively at Lotte Cinema on Sept. 9, then roll out on Lezhin Snack on Sept. 17 and Sept. 24.
Key Facts
- My Father’s Table is based on a popular webtoon of the same name and stars Jung Jin-young and Lee Jung-eun.
- The story follows Ha-ung, who has insisted on home-cooked meals for 40 years, and Sun-ae, who suddenly becomes unable to cook.
- Lee said each two-minute episode required a different screenwriting approach because it had to contain a short narrative structure.
- Jung Jin-young said he avoided overacting for cheap laughs and said he asked artificial intelligence about acting methods for short-form content.
- The series is scheduled for exclusive release at Lotte Cinema on Sept. 9, followed by Part 1 on Sept. 17 and Part 2 on Sept. 24 on Lezhin Snack.
Actors Jung Jin-young, left, and Lee Jung-eun in a scene from "My Father's Table" / Courtesy of KidariStudio
Renowned director Lee Joon-ik, best known for historical blockbusters such as "King And The Clown" (2005), "The Throne" (2015) and "Anarchist from Colony" (2017), has made his first foray into vertical short-form drama with "My Father's Table."
"I wanted to expand the simple and warm stories we used to capture in traditional movies into the short-form format," Lee said during a press conference in Seoul, Thursday. “I really wanted to try this so that even people who usually do not watch short-form content could enjoy it."
Based on the popular webtoon of the same name, "My Father's Table" follows Ha-ung (Jung Jin-young) a traditional husband who has insisted on home-cooked meals for 40 years. When his wife, Sun-ae (Lee Jung-eun), suddenly develops an inability to cook, Ha-ung enters the kitchen for the first time in his life in order to survive.
The vertical short-form series will be released exclusively at Lotte Cinema on Sept. 9, followed by its release on Lezhin Snack, a new short-form drama platform launched by the webtoon platform Lezhin Comics, with Part 1 on Sept. 17 and Part 2 on Sept. 24.
The rise of vertical short-form content represents a rapidly growing segment in the media industry, driven by smartphone-centered viewing habits.
While most short-form series rely on shocking twists and fast-paced drama to grab attention within two minutes, "My Father's Table" seeks to differentiate itself by offering a warm family story.
Director Lee Joon-ik speaks during a press conference for his short-form drama "My Father's Table" at a theater in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
Lee said the two-minute episode format required a fundamentally different approach to storytelling compared to traditional movies.
"From the screenwriting process, it was different from movies because each two-minute episode had to continuously contain a short narrative structure," Lee said. "Even though it looks like an ordinary story of a family film, I tried to make the story fun within those two minutes.”
Jung, who plays the husband, described his experience working on the new format alongside the director.
"I felt I should not overact for cheap laughs because comedy works best when played with a serious heart," Jung said. "I asked artificial intelligence about acting methods for short-form, and it actually gave me an answer. As an actor, I did not distinguish between long-form and short-form while acting, but it was interesting that the crew was very close, so I could feel their heat and temperature while acting."
Actor Jung Jin-young, left, speaks alongside co-star Lee Jung-eun during a press conference for the short-form drama "My Father's Table" at a theater in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
Actor Lee, who plays the wife, said she focused on keeping audiences curious.
"Because two-minute episodes are connected one by one, each episode ends in a way that makes you curious about the next," Lee said. "I focused on maintaining that curiosity at the end. I live with my parents, and my mother recently said she was tired of cooking, which gave me many hints from daily life to understand my role."
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