Thriller fiction 'Memoir of a Murderer” released as film
Cover of "Memoir of a Murderer" by Kim Young-ha / Courtesy of Munhak Dongne
By Kim Jae-heun
Peeking into someone else’s diary is always thrilling. But what if it is the daily record of a criminal?
Popular writer Kim Young-ha’s bestselling thriller “Memoir of a Murderer” tells the story of the main character Kim Byeong-soo in a unique way _ in the form of a journal written in the first person. And the book is now to set to hit the big screen.
A 70-year old man, Kim, has been killing people for 30 years but he quit 25 years ago. The serial killer did not get caught and avoided any punishment, but now suffers from Alzheimer’s disease.
Kim has an adopted daughter Eun-hee, who he has been taking care of since he killed her parents 20 years ago. One day, Eun-hee introduces her boyfriend Tae-joo to Kim, but Kim believes that Tae-joo is also a killer like himself.
Kim decides to murder Tae-joo before he kills Eun-hee but the old man has to fight his memory first as it is deteriorating.
“Memoir of a Murderer” was published a year-and-a-half after Kim Young-ha’s previous work, “I Hear Your Voice” in 2013. Like his previous works, Kim showed his original brusque style of storytelling with dark humor and aphorisms between the lines.
Kim’s precise and sophisticated story surprises the reader with an absurd twist at the end.
After the story ends, the writer confesses that it was particularly difficult to write this book as he only managed to write a sentence or two a day in the beginning. Then, Kim realized that he was writing from the perspective of a 70-year old man who is an Alzheimer’s patient. He had to write at his character’s pace. Since then, he felt much more comfortable writing the story and recalls he would have abandoned the work if he had not experienced that “enlightenment.”
Sol Kyung-gu plays a serial killer Kim Byeong-soo in thriller film "Memoir of a Murderer" / Courtesy of ShowBox
Another reason to read Kim’s thriller is that it has been made into a movie to be released Sept. 7.
Directed by Won Shin-yun it features Sol Kyung-gu, Kim Name-gil, Kim Seol-hyun and Oh Dal-su.
The filmmaker said it only took 40 minutes for him to finish the novel and decided he would make the story into a movie.
“After shooting my previous action film The Suspect, I wanted to make a movie based on a thoughtful subject,” said Won during a press conference for the film at CGV Theater at Apgujeong in Gangnam, Seoul, on Aug. 8. “Then I came across this novel and it was a fascinating genre with fast tempo storytelling that harmonizes suspense and humor. I thought it would be weird if nobody makes the story into a movie as it possesses a swirling story development.”
Won added he made some changes to the characters emotion and personality to satisfy both people who have read the book and those who have not.
The leading actor Sol went on a diet to lose over 10 kilograms to portray a role that is 20 years older than him.
He wanted to avoid special make-up to turn him into an old man and rather chose to change his eating habits for six months throughout filming.
“I woke up at 1 in the morning and did skipping every day. I cut down on my carbohydrate intake and one day when I looked into the mirror, I felt like I was locked in somewhere,” said Sol.