Hangul Celluloid: The London Korean Film Festival 2014

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LKFF INTERVIEWS

AT THE FESTIVAL

Introduction:
Veteran actor Ahn Sung-ki was born in Daegu, South Korea, becoming a child actor at the age of five and appearing in Kim Ki-young's ‘The Housemaid’ (1960) early in his childhood acting career. After subsequently stepping away from acting for a period of ten years, Ahn Sung-ki returned to the film industry in the late 70s and has appeared in nearly 100 movies including a large number [such as ‘Nambugun’, ‘Silmido’, ‘Mandala’ and ‘Chilsu and Mansu’] that have shaped Korean cinema as a whole, over the years. Ahn was also appointed by UNICEF as a representative and in his career he has acted twice as the President of South Korea; in ‘Romantic President’ (2002) and ‘Hanbando’ (2006). His latest film to be released is Im Kwon-taek’s ‘Revivre’.

The following group interview took place at the Korean Cultural Centre UK on November 15 2014, prior to the London Korean Film Festival 'Closing Gala' screening of 'Revivre' and Q&A with actor Ahn Sung-ki:

Interview:

Hangul Celluloid: Over the years in your long and illustrious career, as well as starring in a number of films that could be seen as pure entertainment you have also acted in many speaking of social issues, historical events and even controversial issues; ‘Nambugun’, ‘Silmido’ etc., and even your latest film ‘Revivre’. What are your thoughts on the power of Korean cinema in raising awareness of social issues and even lead to changes in society itself?

Ahn Sung-ki: In terms of background and context, Korea was historically subject to a lot of confusion, pain and suffering as a result of many events that happened over the years. That translates into our emotionality as a nation, as well, and has provided various topics for our films which produce something quite dynamic rather than gentle or mellow, when expressed in a cinematic format. That in itself underlines the power and strength within Korean cinema as a whole. For example, our neighbouring country Japan is quite jealous of Korea; of our vitality in spite of our experiencing of often difficult historical events - that we were largely subjected to - and the fact that those terrible situations provided and continue to provide a rich source of cinematic topics and subject matter. They are quite envious of that.
And in relation to our national emotionality, I think that the fact that there is also a lot of enthusiastic energy in Korean output, not least because of the K-pop generation, means that we continue to deliver that emotionality very well.

Filmdoo: You are, of course an acting legend yourself and recently you have been working with veteran director Im Kwon-taek who has directed over 100 films. What drew you to take the leading role in ‘Revivre’ and what was it like working with director Im?

Ahn Sung-ki: I first worked with director Im Kwon-taek in 1981 on a film called ‘Mandala’ and since then we’ve worked together seven times, so relatively speaking we have a rich experience working together. Compared to other directors, he doesn’t have a storyboard meeting until the morning of the shooting of a particular scene - the scene itself doesn’t exist until that point, he just has a broad scenario in his mind - so until that morning the actors and crew don’t know how the scenario might evolve or change and of course they might be anxious about that, wondering what director Im might do and what direction he might take but because I’m familiar with working with him I tend to have a sense of what direction he’s likely to head in. So, as opposed to having a very perfectly planned and illustrated storyboard which doesn’t give much space for an actor to play with, Im Kwon-taek is very open and you really have to prepare your work beforehand as well as having to think of your whole picture overall within this space of freedom. Director Im is also a type of director who keeps you thinking on your toes and as an actor you have a strong sense of responsibility within the freedom that he gives. That’s how it has been throughout the many times I’ve worked with director Im and it was also the case for this film.

easternKicks: I’d like to ask you about ‘Chilsu and Mansu’ which was seen as an incredible step forward in freedom in South Korean film. What was it like making the film and did you have any idea how important it would become?

Ahn Sung-ki: Out of the films I’ve done, quite a few were seen as progressive and a step forward for Korean cinema and of course ‘Chilsu and Mansu’ was a major example of this forward move in its dealing with social issues after the Korean war which continues today in terms of ideology. During the 80s there were a lot of difficulties being under a dictatorship and authority figures and Korea was really only able to achieve democracy from the mid-90s. During the 80s, the influence of communism and the problems around that were suggested through the film format - for example, if you had a member of your family who used to be a communist your entire family would be placed at a disadvantage for generations afterwards - and of course it wasn’t comfortable shooting stories of such issues during the period. However, adding elements of entertainment and in a way hiding the underlying themes technically as a film, such as adding comedy and not placing the issue at the forefront, made it possible for this film to avoid censorship. I began acting as a five-year-old child continuing until the late 60s; then I took a ten year break during which I completed my military service and I returned to film-making in 1977. At that time, Korea was going through a really frightful and horrifying period under the rule of Park Chung-hee and that was a really dark time for Korean cinema too, and when I returned to acting thinking it would be my lifelong career I discovered there were many things I couldn’t communicate through film. I found that disappointing and difficult. After Park Chung-hee’s death, you could feel we had more breathing space - there was a movement of life slowly creeping in - and when I worked with director Lee Jang-ho on a film called ‘A Fine Windy Day’ it allowed me to be acknowledged as an adult actor. From there, I specifically chose to focus my acting on stories that I wouldn’t have been able to in the 70s - for example, in the 70s if a story had a female lead it would always have to be a love story - and those choices of course included ‘Chilsu and Mansu’; as well as ‘Nambugun’, and ‘White Badge’ which dealt with the Vietnam War and showed the perspective of soldiers and the consequences of being in war, whereas films had previously dealt with soldiers’ performances and the good outcomes they achieved. These were the types of films I was choosing.

Mini Mini Movies: You just mentioned taking a ten year break from acting between 1967 and 1977. Two years of that time was taken up with military service but was the rest of that time spent doing other projects, or perhaps trying other methods and getting your career together?

Ahn Sung-ki: In 1957, I began working as a child actor and at the time the Korean War had just finished, nothing had really recovered and the working conditions were very poor. My father had actually been an actor, working in two films, before deciding to leave the profession and those two films were for a time almost lost until I managed to find three reels at the Korean Film Archive. I watched them and despite him being very good looking I think it was the right call for him not to continue acting. After those movies he changed his career to working in film production and planning and one of the films in which he was involved needed a child actor. A friend of my father’s was a very famous director, Kim Ki-young – you may be aware of his film ‘The Housemaid’ – and he decided to ask me to play this young character. I did well and was then offered a bigger role as a child actor - word had spread that this young child was good at acting. So, it wasn’t my intention or my parents’ intention but rather it was because of that early role that I began acting and continued for ten years. However, while there were many roles for young children and adults, there were far fewer parts for teenagers so I decided at that time to return to normal life, focus on my studies and become a normal high school student. I went to university and did my military service and the reason I returned to acting was because at university I studied Vietnamese and I had a desire to participate in the Vietnam War but though there was a scheme that allowed university students to participate in military service and apply to be a general [Reserve Officers Training Course] at the time I was about to graduate they began withdrawing soldiers from Vietnam and eventually in 1975 the Vietnam War was over. So, I wasn’t able to use my degree in Vietnamese, the war had depleted and I couldn’t find employment for about two years afterwards. That led me to return to films because I felt I had some ability, and that’s how I started my acting career again.

Otherwhere: You have had a long career, starring in both commercial films and some that have been very significant in the history of Korean cinema. Do you think it’s possible for young actors today to have a long and distinguished career like yours or do you feel it was very different when you started out from those starting out today? And relating to that, I was wondering if there are any young actors nowadays that you feel are worth watching that you think might see 30 or 40 years on the screen and have a long career like yours?

Ahn Sung-ki: There are many talented actors in Korean cinema. Obviously, that comes from there being many great directors but it is also contributed to by having many actors who can read and understand what the directors want; able to read their hearts, if you will. So I’m very hopeful about the future of Korean cinema but I don’t think there will be many actors who will be able to have as long a career as I’ve had in terms of just number of years because acting while living through a very difficult, turbulent period nationally is very different to simply acting as an actor. Nowadays, there are hardly any barriers; censorship is almost non-existent, whereas in the past censors had very strict control on the film industry and methods of expression weren’t free; and the audience at the time knew that too so there was an implied agreement when they were watching films. However, in the present day everything is far more open, these unnecessary emotions are no longer needed and as a result actors today are free in their emotions and expressions – expressions which are very novel and refreshing – so it appears that in the future there will continue to be no barriers; the atmosphere will further improve and we’ll see more and more talented Korean actors emerging, I think. In 1993, I was invited to a smaller film festival in France and there my films were showcased for a week. Seven films were invited and the response I received was “Is it really one person acting in all these roles?” because they were so diverse. In my opinion, rather than my own acting being varied it was just because of the fact that there just weren’t enough actors to play these roles whereas nowadays there is a lot more thinking around which actor will fit a particular role. So, when I watch young actors today I’m very surprised at their depth of acting and their energy. I can also see they are trying extremely hard and they have a lot of confidence, as well.

Korean Class Massive: How do you choose your acting roles? Do you find directors approaching you or do you attend auditions? Also, is there a role in particular that you sought out?

Ahn Sung-ki: I’ve never taken part in an audition; generally directors send me scripts and for me the script is of the utmost importance. If a script is slightly lacking but I’m close to the director and trust him and can imagine it will turn out a certain way, then I will participate but generally the script is the most important consideration for me. When I start reading a script, I observe my emotions but ultimately when I finish reading and close the script, whether I’ve been moved or not plays the biggest part in my decision on taking the role. If I have been touched or moved then I will definitely do the film but there are very few in between situations. Most of the time you are left in the middle ground thinking “Should I do this film?” or “Will it do well?” and it is usually in this state of uncertainty that I will make my decision. It’s extremely hard to find a good script and it is my belief that a great script will never fail as a film. One good thing about being an actor is that obviously while there is the premise that you have to do well and you must continue to appeal there are nonetheless roles and characters that you can play even as you get older. I have singer friends who have produced hit songs but as they become older it’s not as easy to produce big hits and lifelong they’ll be repeating the hits they had when they were younger. In my opinion, I wish they’d try something new or do something different but it feels like they are unable to. As an actor, as you get older and get more wrinkles there are more roles that those wrinkles can speak to. There aren’t any specific roles that I’m attracted to but thinking about the cathartic effect that a film has is what attracts me ultimately. If I can move people’s hearts and touch them in some way, those are the roles I want to take. As you get older, the roles in films and the parts you play may get smaller but the most important thing is that my presence and my skill is not reduced. So, rather that concentrate on size, you focus on constantly having depth in roles and thinking is something I will contemplate in the future continually. By having continued depth I’ll still be able to move the hearts and minds of people

Korean Class Massive: One of the sold out event at the London Korean Film Festival 2014 was ‘The Youth’ which featured idol actors. What are your thoughts on idol singers moving into acting and do you feel there is any stigma in the Korean film industry regarding idols going into acting?

Ahn Sung-ki: Nowadays, a lot of the stigma and prejudice has become undermined but many senior actors of my generation for a long time still believed that even theatre and TV actors coming into film was something that shouldn’t be done. There was still a lot of pride in being a pure film actor but the world has changed and the thinking of film audiences about and towards film has gone now through many shifts. Previously, when people wrote down their hobbies they would write something like ‘film appreciation’ which today nobody ever writes, and film now has a much lighter connotation and is largely seen as simply something that is watched and enjoyed. In that sense, drawing a line between who gets to act becomes a strange situation and personally, in my opinion, there is no need to differentiate. On an individual level, how much a person tries and works in depth to become an actor is far more important. However, I do feel there is a risk associated with working with people who are pursuing more than one professional career – their attention and their energy can easily be divided – and though for a time it may work for them achieving a lifelong career from such divided efforts is less far less easy.

Mark Morris: I’d like to ask you a question about ‘Mandala’ which I think is an incredibly important film: When my students at Cambridge University study ‘Mandala’, they read various accounts of the difficulties director Im Kwon-taek and the actors had to go through when making the film. Could you tell us about the various things people went through while ‘Mandala’ was being made, such as finding a temple to use for the location shots?

Ahn Sung-ki: ‘Mandala’ was made in 1981 and while it was a Buddhist film there weren’t political issues being dealt with within it so there was no issue with censorship but in terms of finding a temple in which to film it was very difficult indeed because of the hostility and resistance from the Buddhist community. The original story by Kim Song-dong deals with a Buddhist who gives up on his religious ideals and it was greatly disliked by Buddhists for its exposing of the corruption within the Buddhist community. As such, they were reluctant and resistant to have anything to do with the film and therefore finding a fabulous and fantastic temple to shoot in was terribly difficult. Eventually, we decided on using a temple that housed married monks and in my opinion that was a great choice as the temple was far less flashy and showed itself as it really was. We did a lot of illicit filming while making ‘Mandala’; hiding behind the opening gates of the temple and then rushing through them to get the shots we needed etc. In short, the resistance we faced made ‘Mandala’ incredibly difficult to make.

Daehan Drama: I want to ask you about your experiences working in films outside Korea; you have made films in China, have worked with foreign directors and more recently you worked in the US: How is working outside Korea different from working domestically, from your perspective?

Ahn Sung-ki: There are several films that I shot abroad with Korean directors: ‘Taekwondo’ was shot in Poland and it deals with Korean martial arts, in 1985 I shot ‘Deep Blue Night’ and that was all shot in the US, and of course ‘Musa’ [‘Warrior’] which was shot in China. Using those examples, I think that when the director has a large amount of influence, such as was the case with ‘Deep Blue Night’, it was fine working on location. However, when a director’s strength is somewhat mediocre when you go abroad that translates as well. For example, when the director of ‘Taekwondo’ went to work in Poland because he was new to directing it was very difficult to convince the Polish members in relation to filming; reflecting his lack of prowess abroad. As such, making the film wasn’t a great experience and is similar in some respects to my experience during the making of ‘Pacemaker’ which was also helmed by a new director and was shot in Korea as well as the UK. By contrast, ‘Deep Blue Night’ was a great experience. In terms of working abroad with Korean directors, I think it’s about 50-50 and from my perspective it really depends on the director’s ability and confidence. I also starred in ‘Muk Gong’ and a Japanese film called ‘Sleeping Man’ as well as, not yet released and it’s a minor role, making a film shot in the beginning of last year in Czechoslovakia called ‘The Last Knights’ – produced in Hollywood and made by a Japanese director who studied in the US – starring many European actors including Clive Owen, and though I didn’t originally intend to participate in that film given that there was investment from Korea they said “Why shouldn’t you join?” So, as an experience I took part. In terms of ‘The Sleeping Man’, playing a comatose man who is sleeping, it was a brilliant experience just lying there and my dialogue consisted only of a very short line saying something like “Over that mountain there is a village”. I practiced that line almost to death and when I said it in the filming the director just said “No”. He suggested dubbing it and I insisted that I’d try to change it and when he said the tome of one word wasn’t Japanese enough we changed that word too. Obviously saying a line of dialogue in Japanese with that nation’s emotionality is extremely difficult. Also, even though I’m playing the role of a comatose man, the very subtle movements and vibrations I had were also very difficult. In the film ‘Muk Gong’, I was playing a Chinese general and I had to speak in Chinese extremely fluidly and that was virtually impossible so when the film was released, in Korea cinemas it had my voice but abroad it was dubbed by a Chinese actor. In terms of ‘The Last Knights’, there was some English dialogue which pretty much drove me crazy. Again I practiced it thousands of times from when I got up in the morning until I went to bed at night and recently when I watched ‘Lucy’ and saw Choi Min-sik speaking in Korean with total freedom to express his emotions in full I was incredibly envious.

LondonTree: You’ve already said that you began your career as a child actor. Were there any situations where you had difficulty adapting to a role?

Ahn Sung-ki: As a child actor I would often play the part of a mischievous son so there wasn’t much difficulty in adapting to such roles. However, the one thing I found difficult was crying and now I see many child actors who cry extremely well on screen which astounds me. When I was younger and having difficulty doing crying scenes I was always hoping someone could help me cry and some of the better directors out there would just ruthlessly hit me. Even as an adult actor, sad emotions have been difficult for me so I would always try to persuade directors to cut just before the tears would fall and not to wait until after. I believe that the moment before tears fall is the saddest moment of all and once he tears fully appear the true moment of sadness is gone. In ‘Revivre’ there is a scene in which I’m walking down a street for around two minutes and I’m about to cry but the tears don't actually fall and I thought that was much better than crying outright. I think the tears just hanging on and the glistening in the eyes makes for a much better scene. In the last ten seconds of that scene the tears did finally fall and I felt that some of the emotion had been broken and it did make me think that implication rather than full-on tears speak to a greater emotion. As you’ll see in the film, there is a lot of editing done at the beginning and the end of the situation so there is less continuity when it comes to emotion; which I think is a bit of a shame.

On behalf of everyone involved, I'd sincerely like to thank the Korean Cultural Centre UK and the London Korean Film Festival 2014 for allowing us all to interview actor Ahn Sung-ki at such length.

The following are links to the various sites of the critics, writers and bloggers who took part in this interview:

Hangul Celluloid: http://www.hangulcelluloid.com/

Filmdoo: https://www.filmdoo.com/

easternKicks: http://www.easternkicks.com/

Mini Mini Movies: http://miniminimovie.com/

Otherwhere: https://alualuna.wordpress.com/

Korean Class Massive: http://koreanclassmassive.com/

Mark Morris: http://www.ames.cam.ac.uk/directory/morrismark

Daehan Drama: http://daehandrama.com/

LondonTree: http://www.thelondontree.com/

Park Chan-kyong is an artist and a filmmaker based in Seoul whose subjects have extended from the Cold War to traditional Korean religious culture. As a film director, Park Chan-kyong’s ‘Flying’ was selected for the competitions to the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen 2008; ‘Sindoan’ was screened in the opening night of the Experimental Film and Video Festival in Seoul 2009; ‘Anyang, Paradise City’ was selected for the Bright Future section of the Rotterdam Film Festival 2011; and in 2011 he co-directed the iPhone short ‘Night Fishing’ with his brother, Park Chan-wook, which earned the duo the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the Berlin International Film Festival. Also with his brother, he went on to direct shorts ‘A Day Trip’ in 2013 and ‘Bitter, Sweet, Seoul’ the following year; and made made his solo sophomore feature film ‘Manshin: Ten Thousand Spirits’, in 2013.

The following LKFF2014 group interview took place at the Korean Cultural Centre UK on November 12th 2014, prior to the London Korean Film Festival 'In Conversation with Park Chan-kyong' talk/discussion:

Interview:

Hangul Celluloid: I believe that for your documentary/biopic ‘Manshin’ - which was screened here at the London Korean Film Festival a couple of days ago - as well as both directing and writing the screenplay you also invested fairly heavily in the film financially to ensure it could be made. That being the case and considering how different the situation was from the commissioned shorts you made with your brother [Park Chan-wook], how difficult was it to secure the full funding needed to make ‘Manshin’ and what are your thoughts on the hold that large conglomerates have on the film industry in Korea and their focus on larger blockbusters, some would say at the expense of smaller independents?

Park Chan-kyong: From the very beginning, ‘Manshin’ went through the film-making process in the manner of an independent film so there was no complete picture to the issue of funding which would of course have been the case if the film had been a backed production. So, as I began to make the film I actually created, I think, three short films because I could show those shorts much more easily to interested parties. I feel that method enabled funding bodies and the like feel more confident about the production as a whole. I was also, as you probably know, working as an artist so I was able to secure some funding from my gallery’s private funders but all in all it was probably the most complex funding system I’ve developed… maybe the most complex in Korea… or in history [Park Chan-kyong laughs]. When you watch the film, you’ll see an absolutely crazy list of different logos at the end relating to those who funded the project. It was so difficult to secure enough financial backing that I spent three years doing it and as you said it’s very different from films backed by big companies or the films I made with my brother. Those PARKing CHANce [the company formed by Park Chan-wook and Park Chan-kyong) shorts were specifically funded so from the outset we know exactly how much we had to spend in total. I’m actually asking myself the question of whether I’d chose to approach such a difficult funding process again and I don’t know if I would, but there again such a move does give you great creative freedom to do exactly as you want so there is a positive side to it, too.
In response to your second point, certainly it’s not easy to get big companies interested in a project, but if you compare the situation in the Korean film industry with other Asian countries Korea still has some money – you know, public funds and city funds – to spend and there are so many film festivals too that the situation isn’t hopeless and though it does have to be said that the big companies don’t care at all about the films they release aside from potential profit, I honestly believe there’s still some space to develop original films. I actually think film-makers need to develop more creative works and that in itself will create anther, bigger space for their films. The big companies like CJ and Showbox are ultimately interested in finding new actors and directors so though people complain about the hardships they have to go through to make their films it’s perhaps not as bad as they make out. They just need to try hard.

Mini Mini Movie: Obviously with your work in art, photography etc, ‘Manshin’ opens with the main character, Kim Keum-hwa, talking with lots of art positioned behind her. Also, the title sequence is very striking and I read in the credits that Lee Jeon-hyung is responsible for the visual effects. Was he involved with those segments or were you responsible for the artistic parts of the film?

Park Chan-kyong: Lee Jeon-hyung’s company is actually one of the biggest special effects companies in Korea and since he has worked a lot with my brother I was able to ask him for a big discount in his charges [Park Chan-kyong laughs]. Not only that, but he really is the best and he is really smart. Usually in Korea, special effects teams just follow orders but Lee Jeon-hyung always gives his opinions on what will work best in a particular situation. As such, the whole visual creation process was really fun and while it’s sometimes hard when making a film to ask for changes again and again, Lee Jeon-hyung always takes the need for alterations well. He is extremely professional. When I asked him to make a part of the film in a particular way he always suggested two extra options so I was able to choose and find what really would work best.

Hangul Celluloid: The subjects you cover in your films, whether it’s your short films made with your brother or your feature films, you have a real focus on either shamanism or traditionalism, featuring pansori etc. Why do these subjects appeal so much to you and considering the fact that in a Q&A last night you discussed your catholic upbringing and Park Chan-wook’s overt references to catholic themes and imagery in his films while you [and I quote] “repeatedly dreamt of traditional temples”, did you have to convince Park Chan-wook to focus on traditionalism and shamanism rather than Christianity in, for example, ‘Night Fishing’ and ‘A Day Trip’?

Park Chan-kyong: If you look at ‘Thirst’, for example, while the catholic themes are undeniable, if you look at the oldest character she is seen more than once wearing an hanbok, traditional Korean dress, and I thought that visual reference was very similar to what I was working on in my own films; I guess what I call Asian gothic – it’s very gothic but specifically Korean style gothic – and I remember in our school days my brother listened to a lot of traditional music. He was also really interested in classic films depicting the Joseon era/background so I guess it’s not that he wasn’t interested it’s just that he had other things he wanted to say. So, I never had to persuade him, I simply suggested that it might be interesting to do and he easily took the idea on board. He’s of course knows about my work too and he has said to me that he always has somewhat of a burden when making his own films in relation to the need to make money and the need for his films to be successful because he as big investors there, and I guess the PARKing CHANce films give him an opportunity to step away from that pressure. But you know, having said that, with his films he really is rather free at the end of the day, too; whatever he wants to do he pretty much can. In relation to your question of way traditionalism interests me so much, maybe I can tell you about one of my own experiences in the past: In the late 90s, I was really sick, both physically ill and kind of sick in my mind. It felt like there was something wrong with my brain and I was constantly having dreams about a mountain I had seen about ten years before. That mountain area really is the Mecca or hotbed for shamanism in Korea and I began to feel that I really wanted to go there in person. So I did, and I found a lot of traces of the Joseon era and a lot of the people living there really believed in a kind of utopia. I found that really, really interesting and not only did it centre me but I actually felt I was really meant to have gone there. I guess that where the focus in my films on tradition comes from.

Mini Mini Movie: Regarding shamanism and pansori, actress Moon So-ri stars in ‘Manshin’ playing Kim Keum-hwa in middle-age and I believe she is very passionate about pansori and even performs it herself, in real life. Was that one of the reasons you chose her for the film and why she said yes? Had her passion for pansori been discussed prior to her taking the role?

Park Chan-kyong: You know, I’ll tell you a secret story about Moon So-ri: We actually first contacted Moon So-ri when we were preparing to make ‘Night Fishing’ for her to star as the main female shaman character and she actually started to make the film with us; doing all the rehearsals, wrestling in the mud etc. However, because of the really hard rehearsals, she began to worry about her health and her condition caused her to think she might be pregnant. She asked a doctor and she found out she was indeed pregnant and the very day we were about to start shooting she called us and said “I’m pregnant, I can’t do the film”. So, that’s why we chose Lee Jung-hyun for the ‘Night Fishing’ role – the very same day, in fact – and when I came to make ‘Manshin’ I said to Moon So-ri “Now is your chance to use your pansori in a role” [Park Chan-kyong laughs]. Moon So-ri knows a lot about shamanism too. I mean, for actors and actresses of her generation they usually practice pansori and learn how to dance as they learn and improve their craft.

Hangul Celluloid: If I could talk about one specific visual relating to ‘Night Fishing’ and ‘Manshin’: At the start of ‘Night Fishing’, after the introduction music performance by the band ‘Uh-Uh-Boo Project’, there is a visual of a traditional shaman hat floating through the air accompanied by music and in the final stages of ‘Manshin’ exactly the same imagery is used – again while a ban plays and sings – the only real difference being the colour of the head garment. Could you talk a little bit about the symbolism you were trying to convey with the scene and why you felt the imagery was strong enough to feature in both films?

Park Chan-kyong: When we were making ‘Night Fishing’, I thought a lot about the fantasy aspects and scenes but I really couldn’t get a real and firm idea about these elements until the day of shooting the first scene. When we went to the field to film the first scene, my brother arrived late and in the two hours while we waited for him I created that scene simply because I thought it would be fun to do and it would put in the time until he arrived. So, we did and when my brother arrived he thought it was great. When I began to make ‘Manshin’ I kept thinking “Should I do it again with a different coloured hat?”- it was almost like the scene was calling to me - and since the song it accompanies in ‘Manshin’ calls for the opening spirit, the god of the ocean, to come, I felt the imagery was almost like that spirit arriving. Kim Keum-hwa actually said that she really liked the scene, too.

Mini Mini Movie: Again in relation to ‘Night Fishing’, the lighting is superb with the night shoots and scenes involving water and I wondered how that differs from your traditional film camera work?

Park Chan-kyong: While we used iPhones to film ‘Night Fishing’, everything else was pretty big, production-wise. So we had this big crane lighting system - in fact it was the first time I had seen crane lighting - and it was, honestly, absolutely huge. So, the lighting technician tended to complain about the fact that the iPhone cameras were so small while the lighting rig was so big [Park Chan-kyong laughs]. The good thing about using the iPhone was we could use five at the same time but there was an article published in Choson Ilbo saying that ‘Night Fishing’ wasn’t really an iPhone film because everything except the camera was light a big production and similarly expensive but we took a lot of time working with the iPhone technology, finding the right applications for it etc, and I think the film has a symbolic importance showing that anyone has the technology to go and create a film. This is the age where film-making has become a democracy, for and made by the people.

Hangul Celluloid: You’ve now made a number of short films with Park Chan-wook and two feature films on your own. From my personal point of view, I have seen some incredible, superb short films of late and even established directors such as you, your brother and director Kim Jee-woon continue to make shorts in tandem with or in between features. How important do you feel short films are to the Korean film industry, both to new directors and established film-makers?

Park Chan-kyong: I think short films are equally important to feature films. I can’t say what my brother’s thoughts are on the subject but he has stated many times that you can feel really free while making shorts or experimental films and I wholeheartedly agree with that. They allow a film-maker to develop ideas, as well. I feel there should be no hierarchy in film-making and those who think shorts are less important than full-length films are wrong, in my opinion. The thing is, there is a tendency for film-makers to begin with short films as almost a ladder to making commercial features but I don’t think that tendency is good because it reintroduces the hierarchy I mentioned. Shorts have very different aesthetics to features and I think should be viewed as separate entities. I even think there should be more short film festivals to highlight their importance and I personally watch a large number of shorts, a huge number in fact. I started my career making a short film that was shown at a short film festival. Short films are also important to me because much of my visual art work consists of short films and filmed segments.

Mini Mini Movie: You’ve mentioned the band ‘Uh-Uh-Boo Project’ who appeared in ‘Night Fishing’ and ‘Manshin’ features the group ‘Be-Being’. Both of those groups have performed in London but I wondered how you choose the music for your films? The music you use always seems to fit the mood and I wondered if you or Park Chan-wook’s choices were because of acquaintances or just because of the music?

Park Chan-kyong: The music my brother used for ‘Sympathy for Mr Vengeance’ was by ‘Uh-Uh-Boo Project’ and we knew them for a long time because of the art circle/circuit – we saw them at art openings, exhibitions etc – and it’s hard to define their music because they use a lot of traditional instruments and they listen to a lot of Asian music within a contemporary setting. They also create really strange sounds the traditional musicians never do. Their output is so eclectic – sometimes spooky and haunting… kind of like soju [Park Chan-kyong laughs] – that it seems to be rootless and I like that.

Hangul Celluloid: If I could step back to your first feature film, ‘Anyang: Paradise City’: The film essentially covers a documentary being made – you even act in the film – and it does twist between disasters that have happened in Korea’s recent history and, again, traditionalism and Buddhism. Your short ‘Bitter, Sweet, Seoul’ almost does a similar thing in juxtaposing modern day Korea with tradition and history. What was this contrast saying about Korea past and present, from your point of view?

Park Chan-kyong: It’s like the modern day love of Bibimbap, a real mix of the old appearing in the new [Park Chan-kyong laughs]. If you look at Korean history, Korea is a very old country but it was completely destroyed both physically and mentally during wartime and an entirely new country was almost built from scratch from the 50s onwards. So, you have very strong traditions but they have been greatly suppressed in the modern day. You find traditional Korean culture as uncanny because you have something really old that you should be familiar with but you’re not. I guess it’s almost a double meaning as a result – the old stuff is new – and this double sensibility is a really interesting aesthetic in film and art. That’s even why my brother had this contrast in ‘Thirst’; this twist of Asian gothic that can be beautiful and grotesque all at the same time. I don’t know if that makes sense but I hope people understand. It’s the same thing if you go to a Buddhist temple at night – it’s scary but beautiful at the same time.

Mini Mini Movie: With regard to the PARKing CHANce films, you said in a Q&A last night that when you edit, you will sometimes do the daytime while your brother does the night-time. Does the same thing happen when you are directing? Does one of you have more control over one area while the other concentrates on a different part, such as the colours or the angles?

Park Chan-kyong: In the film-making process, we have a long period of pre-production so we discuss these issues a lot beforehand. In the field, we don’t tend to find that many differences because we have already decided, really. Of course, there will be differing views on how the parts are acted or specific angles filmed etc but usually we come to the same conclusion anyway because we both know what the better choice is. My brother has far more experience so usually he makes better choices; I’ve only been making films for around five years. So my brother has been I the industry twice as long. When filming, time really is of the essence and my brother is able to make decisions about changes that need to be made very quickly.

Hangul Celluloid: You’ve already said that your brother has more film-making experience than you but you’ve also said your other artistic endeavours involve a lot of shirt films. Which is more important to you? Would you ultimately describe yourself as a film-maker, an artist or an artist who makes films?

Park Chan-kyong: I want to be an artist with access to a commercial film budget and I want to be a film-maker with the freedom of an artist. I just want the best of both worlds [Park Chan-kyong laughs].

Hangul Celluloid: How close are you to achieving that goal?

Park Chan-kyong: I’m getting closer but I always want more. Film-making costs a lot of money and if you want to make commercial films you have to sacrifice a certain amount of freedom. Not only in terms of the film-making itself but in relation to the production as a whole you have access to the input of the distribution company, actors and actresses, the composer, the camera man etc so it can result in great artistic co-operation but these very things can also add pressures. When you create artistic work on your own in a studio, you are free of those pressures but you also have to work alone but then again you can do whatever you want to without issue. The next step I want to make is to make a commercial film but I need to adjust myself to that. I have a script in progress but I need to cut and edit the scenario before going any further. My brother did promise to produce it but he’s currently too busy making his latest film.

Mini Mini Movie: In ‘Manshin’ there is a merging of the various incarnations of the main character, the girl and the woman, in one scene towards the end of the film where they all appear together. Was that your intention from the outset?

Park Chan-kyong: I had to do it because if I had only interviews about Kim Keum-hwa’s past the film would have been very boring. Making a film, I have all these interesting aspects that I can reference so why not do it as a re-enactment? I can kind of create mise-en-scene and so forth. I made the decision about that scene from the outset because I wanted the audience to be able to see the character, the real person, and the actress at the same time so I made it sometimes overtly artificial to achieve my needs.

I would sincerely like to thank the Korean Cultural Centre UK and the London Korean Film Festival for allowing both Hangul Celluloid and Mini Mini Movie to interview director Park at such length.

'Hangul Celluloid' can be found on Twitter at: @HangulCelluloid

'Mini Mini Movie' can be found on Twitter at: @miniminimovies