Bae Doona returns to romance in quirky comedy 'Virus' about contagious love

From right, actors Bae Doona, Kim Yoon-seok and Chang Ki-ha attend a press conference for their upcoming movie “Virus” at a theater in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

What if someone is infected with a virus that makes them fall in love for no reason? Director Kang Yi-hwan said Wednesday that his upcoming movie "Virus" began with this absurd imagination.

"While preparing for this project, one of the things I thought was important was to create a story that blends well with reality, even though it's an imaginary virus. I did a lot of research hoping it would be a scientifically reasonable virus story," the director said Wednesday during a press conference in Seoul.

"In the process, I discovered a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii, and it was peculiar in that it affects the brain, so I conceived of something called the 'Toxo Virus.’”

The movie "Virus" depicts the story of Taek-sun (Bae Doona), who is infected with a fatal virus that makes people fall in love without reason. She becomes entangled with researcher Soo-pil (Son suk-ku), her former classmate Yeon-woo (Chang Ki-ha) and Kyun (Kim Yoon-seok), the only expert who can develop a cure.

Though the movie finished filming in 2020, its release was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related issues. It finally hits theaters on May 7.

Lead actor Bae said this movie marks the first time in almost 10 years that she takes on a role in the romance genre.

"After the mellow movie 'Air Doll’ (2009), I mainly did disaster and genre works like 'Kingdom' (2019) and 'Stranger’ (2017). I actually missed romance, a soft, warm and bright story," she said.

"I think the virtue of a movie is to make the audience feel good and laugh for no reason. I had a longing for such a movie. That's when I encountered 'Virus.’”

Actor Bae Doona is seen in a poster for the movie “Virus.” Courtesy of BY4M Studio

The actor said she becomes more positive when she falls in love, just like her character Taek-sun, and hopes that the audience will share that feeling.

"Our work has a setting where if you get infected with the virus, you feel good for no reason, and even a negative attitude turns positive," she said. "When I fall in love, I also become positive and feel good like Taek-sun.”

Kim, who played Kyun, the researcher who has the cure for the love virus, said that his chemistry with Bae was a positive influence on filming the movie.

"When I act with her, I have this strange experience where I don't need to calculate anything. I understood why world-renowned directors look for Bae Doona. She is a very precious actor," Kim said.

Chang, better known as a musician and composer for movie soundtracks such as "Smugglers" (2023) and "I, the Executioner" (2024), plays Taek-sun's classmate and a car dealer.

"Yeon-woo ends up meeting Taek-sun while trying to sell a car without knowing why. He's the most ordinary character among them, but I think he shows a lot of funny and flustered reactions as he's placed in a special situation," Chang said.