Netflix series 'Hellbound' to premier this week

Actors Yang Ik-joon, from left, Yoo Ah-in, Kim Hyun-joo, Park Jung-min, and Won Jin-a pose for pictures during a press conference for the new Netflix series "Hellbound," Tuesday. Courtesy of Netflix

By Lee Gyu-lee

Netflix's new series, "Hellbound," one of the most anticipated programs of the year, is finally set to premiere on the streaming site Friday.

Director Yeon Sang-ho / Courtesy of Netflix

Based on the webcomic, the dark, mystery series was created by filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho, who directed the zombie flicks "Train to Busan" and "Peninsula," and screenwriter Choi Gyu-seok, and revolves around a fictional society where individuals are told the time and date of their death.

When the time comes, supernatural creatures appear and brutally condemn the individual to hell. Amid the chaos, a religious group rises to power by preaching divine justice, while a group of people attempt to fight the group and its twisted belief.

The series adaptation is written and directed by Yeon.

"This series is about a supernatural incident happening in the middle of Seoul, and in that chaotic society, people with different beliefs clash," the director said during a press conference announcing the series, Tuesday.

The director noted that despite the fictional elements of the story, the series will present a realistic portrayal of society.

"The characters in the series are normal people, like those we easily see around us. Each of them has their own beliefs, and the audience can agree with one or the other, or otherwise disagree," he said. "And by seeing those beliefs coming into conflict, I hope viewers can take a moment to think about our society. I hope this series can stir up discussions on this kind of issue."

Actor Yoo Ah-in plays Jeong Jin?soo, the founder and leader of the religious group, which teaches that those who were handpicked for condemnation are sinners.

The director said that he had Yoo in mind for the character since he wrote the script.

"I thought of Yoo when I wrote the character. So I've waited so badly for Yoo to accept the role and it finally came true when he took it," he said, adding that he was extremely happy when he heard back from Yoo.

A scene from the series / Courtesy of Netflix

Yoo said he was drawn to the series just by looking at the title. "The title itself was very interesting. There has been a lot of work that depicted hell, but this was the first project (I came across) that had hell in the title," he said.

"That drew my interest and stirred my curiosity. I was curious what it would be like to be part of director Yeon's cinematic universe."

He described his character as a mysterious person who is twisted yet calls for divine justice.

"He gives meaning to the supernatural occurrences and recommends people to live a righteous life. But he's actually very twisted inside, yet he continues to give vivid pronouncements (on justice)," he said. "So I tried to approach this character with a focus on figuring out his real intention and imaging what would be going through his mind (in each scene)."

Actress Kim Hyun-joo plays lawyer Min Hye-jin who goes against the religious group and proves Yoo's belief system is wrong.

She expressed that the realistic depiction of society led her to join the series.

"There was a sense of power that the word hell gave. I usually try to avoid projects that have an original work because it's difficult to portray a character that already exists. But I liked how the webcomic depicted the characters so realistically," she said. "So it was sort of my adventure to see how well I can portray this as an actor. I wanted to take part in a project with a completely new environment."

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