| Director Yeon Sang-ho poses before an interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of NEW |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Director Yeon Sang-ho says he has never been afraid of tackling new genres. In recent years, the animator and live-action filmmaker has gravitated toward the scope of blockbuster action films, opening the gateway for K-zombie flicks.
Well-known for his creative approach and smart storytelling skills, the filmmaker is back with “Peninsula,” the sequel to 2016 mega-hit “Train to Busan.”
Yeon confessed that he had initially been reluctant to direct a “Train to Busan” sequel because his 2016 film received such a strong reaction that he wondered if he could actually make another film to tell a new story.
“I honestly felt two ways about directing the sequel to Train to Busan. Many encouraged me to produce the second installment, but I wasn't sure if there's more story left to tell. It was when I started planning Peninsula that I found the joy of imagining the world in ruin,” he said during an interview with The Korea Times.
Set four years after “Train to Busan,” the upcoming blockbuster tells the story of survivors and a world overrun by zombies. Rather than picking up the story from where “Train to Busan” left off, the second installment involves a new story, characters and setting.
Gang Dong-won plays Jung-seok, a former soldier who returns to the zombie-packed peninsula on a mission, while Lee Jung-hyun plays Min-jung, a mother of two daughters and an uninfected survivor of the zombie apocalypse. She saves Jung-seok and his crew from a massive zombie attack and they join forces to escape the devastated land.
The director explained that audiences would be able to connect with the characters because they feel more real, as opposed to untouchable heroes. “I think Peninsula will be more readily relatable to Asian audiences,” he said.
“Peninsula” is expected to be among the first films to greet moviegoers in the Asian film market in a while, as it is scheduled to be released in Singapore and Taiwan on July 15. Its North America release is scheduled for Aug. 7 through Well Go USA.
Regarding the Hong Kong street scenes that appear at the beginning of the film, Yeon revealed that they were actually shot at set locations in Korea.
“We scouted four filming locations in Korea that carry Hong Kong's distinctive architecture style,” Yeon said.
“I selected Hong Kong as a place of refuge because I wanted to capture Hong Kong's vibe and its neo-noir traits. The Port of Hong Kong also enables Jung-seok and his crew to sail to the Port of Incheon,” he said.
The 42-year-old filmmaker cited films such as “Land of the Dead,” “The Road,” “Mad Max” and “Mad Max: Fury Road” as inspirations for “Peninsula,” stating that the inspiration for the dynamic car chase scenes were from George Miller's “Mad Max” franchise.
“I think it's okay to rely on something that's already well-established instead of trying something new as far as one reinterprets it in their own way,” he said. “Compared with Mad Max, which presents long and straight roads, Peninsula features three-dimensional scenes that involve high-level roads, underground roadways and narrow alleys.”
Yeon shared that he has been contemplating what the movie-going experience means today.
“Long before COVID-19 hit the world, I began to think about the advantages of watching films at cinemas. Cable dramas and over-the-top platforms have already surpassed film in artistic quality,” he said. “I believe that theaters should center on the action genre and shift toward experience-oriented films.”
The 16 billion won project originally required about 5.24 million audiences to break even, but overseas presales reduced the burden to 2.5 million views.
“Peninsula” is currently playing in cinemas nationwide.