Bong Joon-ho Laughs and Cries Over 'The Journey to Gyeongju'... "A Meeting of Great Actors, a Strong Script and Direction"

[Financial News] Director Bong Joon-ho praised the film 'The Journey to Gyeongju' as "a textbook-like work that shows what happens when great actors meet a strong script and direction."
According to distributor Lotte Entertainment on the 28th, Bong attended the 'A Killer GV Part 2 - Bong Joon-ho Edition' event at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Songpa District, Seoul, on the 26th. There, he discussed the film's tone and style as it moves freely across genres. He said, "The weight of the events and the characters' emotions are deep, but at times I could feel the director's boldness in confidently delivering bursts of laughter."

The film follows Ok-sil, who lost her youngest daughter Gyeongju on a school trip eight years ago, and her three daughters Jangju, Yeongju and Dongju as they travel to Gyeongju to take revenge directly on the culprit, Baek Sang-hyun. It is director Kim Mijo's first feature-length commercial film.
Director Kim Mijo, who joined the event, responded to Bong's remarks by explaining her creative process. "I thought the uneven tone was inevitable because this is an inefficient revenge story carried out by people who cannot even catch a flying insect, and it seemed like a mission that could never succeed," she said. "Even a slight change in the music or the length of a cut could dramatically alter the mood, so I spent a great deal of time adjusting the tone throughout the editing process."
The discussion also turned to the actors' delicate character portrayals. Bong described Ok-sil as "a person who cannot control her pain and anger." Lee Jung-eun, who plays Ok-sil, reflected on her immersion in the role, saying, "I kept wondering throughout filming whether she could really carry out her revenge to the end."
Bong praised the scene in which Jangju brushes away the glass shards from her mother's hand after the car window is broken, saying, "It shows the mother-daughter relationship with great precision." Gong Hyo-jin explained how she built the character, saying, "I played her as the eldest daughter who has watched her mother for the past eight years and takes care of her safety almost to an excessive degree."
About Park So-dam, who plays the second daughter Yeongju, he said, "Her cold performance builds up and then bursts into a storm of tears in the latter half, which is both painful and deeply moving." Park described Yeongju's inner world as "the most sensitive and lonely character, wearing armor to hide her emotions."
As for the third daughter Dongju, he said, "Her rough and tough exterior stood out, along with the delicate moments of a deeply wounded character." Lee Yeon replied that she played the role while thinking that acting before thinking in every moment was a way to feel less pain.
Meanwhile, this GV event came together after Park So-dam personally contacted Bong. In an interview at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, Park said, "Ever since I told him two years ago that Jung-eun unnie and I would appear as mother and daughter, the director had been looking forward to the film." She added, "When I asked whether he could attend the GV ahead of the release, he immediately agreed, saying, 'If Moon-gwang and Ki-jung are doing it, I have to go.'" Moon-gwang and Ki-jung are the characters Lee Jung-eun and Park So-dam played in Bong's film 'Parasite.'
Park So-dam said at the time that she was eager to see what questions Bong would ask.

[email protected] Shin Jin-a Reporter