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| A scene from the upcoming film "Seondal: The Man who Sells the River" / Courtesy of CJ Entertainment |
By Yun Suh-young
The pretty face of heartthrob Yoo Seung-ho turns into legendary conman Kim Seon-dal, whose tale has been passed on orally throughout Korean history for his nonsensical yet stunningly clever schemes to trick people.
Kim was a figure during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) who, after experiencing discrimination for his low economic and educational status, traveled around the country tricking powerful government officials, wealthy merchants and hypocritical religious leaders.
In "Seondal: The Man who Sells the River" directed by Park Dae-min, Yoo plays the legendary conman character who tricks people into paying for river water, an anecdote for which the historical character is most famous.
He is nicknamed Bong-i following an incident in which he made a huge profit off a chicken. He saw a chicken in a market and asked the owner if it was a phoenix ("bong" in Korean), pretending he was intellectually charged. When the owner said yes, he bought it for a high price and offered it to the county magistrate saying it was a phoenix. The angered governor flogged him. When Kim claimed he was deceived by the man who sold him the chicken, the man was brought in and questioned. Kim then asked the owner for compensation for the price of the flogging and received a huge settlement.
"Kim Seon-dal is an iconic conman and there are numerous episodes of his life that are fascinatingly entertaining. I was surprised there were few films made about him so I wanted to take the chance and make a film about him," said director Park during a press conference in Seoul, Tuesday.
"I wanted to bring in the traditional conman aspects but add modern touches. So I wanted the character to be a hip, young and sexy conman of that period instead of the middle-aged traditional image that many people have of him."
Yoo said he was attracted to the character from reading the script.
"I liked the shamelessness and relaxed composure of Kim Seon-dal. The script was entertaining so I really wanted to be part of the movie," said Yoo.
Kim dresses up as various different characters and professions in the movie, even dressing up as a woman.
"It's my first time in drag. I thought I'd be pretty because I've heard that I look feminine, but I wasn't as pretty as I expected. I'll never do it again."
In the film, Kim Seon-dal has three partners who join him in his cons.
Go Chang-suk plays Bo-won, Kim's right-hand man, and La Mi-ran plays Yoon Bosal, a fake shaman. Xiumin of boyband EXO plays Gyeon-i, the youngest of Kim's partners in crime.
"It felt like shooting several films because we dressed up as so many characters. It was so much fun dressing up," said Go.
"It was also my first time to speak in eight dialects in one film. I even had lines in Chinese. That was fun too."
La said she joined the production because of Yoo.
"I immediately said yes after hearing Yoo would be in the film. The script itself was great fun to read. It was fresh and lively."
For Xiumin, the film marks his debut as an actor.
"I was worried in the beginning because I had no experience, but I felt at home because my colleagues were so friendly with me. We became like family," he said.
"Bong-i Kim Seon-dal" will be released July 6.
