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| Actress Han Hyo-joo in a scene from the film, "The Sun Stands Still" / Korea Times file |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Lately an increasing number of Korean actors are starring in Japanese films. Actress Choi Hee-seo appeared in Japanese director Yuya Ishii's human drama "The Asian Angel," and actors Song Kang-ho, Bae Doona and Gang Dong-won were cast in Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Broker."
Han Hyo-joo and Byun Yo-han have now taken on roles in the Japanese big budget thriller "The Sun Stands Still."
Eiichiro Hasumi's big screen adaptation of Shuichi Yoshida's spy novel series follows a pair of corporate spies who are looking to steal confidential solar energy technology.
Experienced spy Kazuhiko Takano (Tatsuya Fujiwara) and his partner Ryoichi Taoka (Ryoma Takeuchi) must report to their employer every 24 hours during their mission, or otherwise bombs implanted in their chests will explode.
While risking their lives, the duo find out that other corporate spies and double agents are seeking the revolutionary new technology.
Shot in several countries, including Bulgaria, Austria, India and Hong Kong, the film features heart-stopping action scenes. "I don't quite remember how we filmed all the elaborate fight scenes. They were hard to do in the time we had," Fujiwara said.
"From the beginning to the end, it is packed with genuinely tense scene that will make audiences' eyes fixed to the screen," Takeuchi said.
Han, a frontier actress who starred in the U.S. action TV series "Treadstone" (2019), plays a mysterious woman named Ayako in the upcoming film.
"Whenever Ayako appears, the director wanted audiences to wonder 'Who is she?' It's a large-scale action movie based on best-selling author Shuichi Yoshida's spy novel series. Once you see it up on the screen, it's very exciting," Han said.
The actress is currently shooting tvN's zombie thriller drama "Happiness," in which she stars as special police force agent.
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| Actor Byun Yo-han in a scene from the film, "The Sun Stands Still" / Korea Times file |
Byun, who was most recently seen in the crime action film "On the Line," plays secret agent David Kim in "The Sun Stands Still."
Explaining his role as that of a to Fujiwara, Byun said it was a new experience to immerse himself in the unfamiliar environment.
"It was so much fun to take part in the movie, travel all around the world and shoot large-scale action sequences. I will remember it for a long time," he said.
The actor will next appear in director Kim Han-min's "Hansan: Rise of the Dragon," which dramatizes the Battle of Hansan Island and centers on the legendary historical figure Admiral Yi Sun-sin. Byun will depict the Admiral's Japanese rival.
"The Sun Stands Still" will hit local theaters, Nov. 10.
