Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| TvN's upcoming mystery series "Jirisan," written and created by Kim Eun-hee, will premiere Oct. 23. Courtesy of tvN |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Writer Kim Eun-hee, who created and wrote Netflix's apocalyptic series "Kingdom" and tvN's crime drama "Signal," spoke about her latest project, "Jirisan," offering a glimpse of the highly anticipated upcoming tvN series.
 |
| Writer Kim Eun-hee / Korea Times file |
"So I wanted to set the story on a mountain with greenery and nature and talk about the rangers who save people's lives."
Set in Jirisan National Park, located on the boundary between South Gyeongsang Province and the Jeolla provinces, the mystery series revolves around two mountain rangers ― Seo Yi-gang (Jun Ji-hyun) and Kang Hyun-jo (Ju Ji-hoon) ― who look after the park and rescue people.
The experienced ranger Yi-gang and her new rookie partner Hyun-jo, who has a deep secret, get involved in a mystery as they dig into strange accidents occurring around the park.
The show is directed by Lee Eung-bok, who has helmed mega-hit series such as tvN's "Mr. Sunshine" and Netflix's "Sweet Home."
The writer revealed that she came to learn more about the rangers as she was developing the story.
"At first, I vaguely thought that, like in the cities, a 119 rescue team would respond to accidents happening in the mountains. But when I started researching, I saw it wasn't the case," Kim said. "For those accidents, the park's designated rangers who know the mountainous area and its features the best take the lead in the search."
Adding that she came to take an interest in Mount Jiri for its hiking trails, she said there was a specific reason that the series had to be based in Jirisan National Park.
"I heard that climbing up and down Mount Jiri takes more than a day. The hikers there would carry around heavy bags and climb for two or three days," she said. "When I heard that, I felt that hiking Mount Jiri is more than just an activity, but is about practicing patience. It is a place for people to go when trying to find answers to their problems."
Mount Jiri, which was designated as Korea's first national park in 1967, is the nation's second-tallest mountain at 1,915 meters. The writer expressed that she wanted to tell a story about hikers climbing such a tough mountain.
"Mount Jiri has a long history and a lot of stories. And I pictured how each of the people climbing that mountain would have different stories and thoughts while on the trail," Kim said.
"Some might be thinking about taking their life, others might be coming to live (healthier), some might be looking for answers in life and some might want their prayers answered. And I wanted to depict these different people's stories in the series."
Lastly adding that she hopes the series will intrigue viewers, Kim said: "I hope the vast scenery of Mount Jiri can take viewers' minds away from any frustrations of reality and offer them a moment of refreshment."
"Jirisan" is scheduled to go on air on Oct. 23.
