Climate crisis 22th century human refuge background
Cloning mercenary brains to create robots
The sci-fi movie ‘Jungi’, which became a posthumous work due to the death of actress Kang Su-yeon, is a feature film in which the deceased appeared in 11 years following Im Kwon-taek’s ‘Raising the Moonlight’ (2011). ‘Jungi’, which became a topic of discussion as a major actress’ comeback and production cost of over 20 billion won, received attention from the crank-in stage last year. The deceased was going to open a new chapter in his film life with the opportunity to play the main character of ‘Jungi’ in partnership with director Yeon Sang-ho, who made his name globally through the movie ‘Train to Busan’ and the drama ‘Hell’.
‘Jungi’ is set in the 22nd century, when it is difficult for mankind to live on Earth any longer due to extreme climate change. It depicts the struggles of those trying to create a robot that cloned the brain of the legendary mercenary ‘Jeong-i’ in order to win the civil war that took place in ‘Shelter’, a shelter created by mankind. The deceased played the role of Seohyun, the leader of a research institute that develops brain cloning and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Kim Hyeon-joo as Jeong-i and Ryu Kyung-soo as Sang-hoon, the head of the research institute, respectively.
Director Yeon said in an interview with the Dong-A Ilbo on the 8th, “‘Jungi’ is a movie that I started with Kang Su-yeon in mind from the conception stage. He continued, “At the time of his film career, he was imprinted as the best actor, and he was familiar with the aura of the drama ‘Woman in Heaven’.” added.
As it is a science fiction film, a lot of computer graphic images (CGI) are used in new works. It was his first time to appear in a science fiction movie, and for the deceased, who mainly appeared in movies in the 1980s and 1990s, the filming environment might be unfamiliar. Director Yeon said, “Even in a new environment that we are almost new to, the senior has been very considerate of the staff so that they are not at all difficult.”
The deceased met with director Yeon regarding three weeks ago and participated in post-production, such as recording a backslash. At that time, the deceased is said to have asked director Yeon, “I want to see a scene that became a CGI work.” Director Yeon said, “I was curious regarding how the CGI went in and I really wanted to see it, but I mightn’t show the finished version in the middle because the work was in progress. That is heartbreaking,” he said.
Netflix plans to release ‘Jungi’ simultaneously in 190 countries within this year. Through this, it is expected that you will be able to see the mature acting of Kang Su-yeon, who is in her mid-50s. Director Yeon, who was unable to speak several times during the interview, said, “The rest of us will do our best to finish your last work. I will do my best so that many people can remember you.”
On the 7th, Netflix also posted on the official Instagram, “It was an honor to be with the late Kang Su-yeon, who always showed great acting and good energy on set. I will never forget every moment of actress Kang Su-yeon, who did her best for a good work.”
Reporter Hyo-Joo Son hjson@donga.com
