Before the official launch, the lead cast and director of Kill Boksoon convey interesting stories while filming.
Director Byun Sung-hyun together with Kill Boksoon lead stars Jeon Do Yeon, Sol Kyung Gu, Esom, Kim Si A and Koo Kyo Hwan share eventful experiences while working on the film.
Kill Boksoon is an action film following Boksoon, who leads a double life of an ordinary single mom and a legendary killer at a top-tier killing agency, MK Ent.
It garnered attention by being officially invited to the 73rd annual Berlin International Film Festival for the Berlinale Special.
Casting Process
Revealing he was eager to work with Jeon Do Yeon even then, Director Byun shared how he proposed to the stellar actress.
“I really thought long and hard about what kind of movie I can work on together with Do-yeon. She’s been in so many great movies, most of them being quite dark and deep. Because her dark and deep movies are really great movies, I didn’t want to fight heads-on. I wanted to go around it. That’s why I chose an action genre film.“
Regarding her first action movie, Jeon Do Yeon relayed how she was intrigued and eager to work on it. She also confesses her worries if she can pull off the action scenes.
“I actually want to try a lot of different genres but chances don’t come that easy. So, I was very happy when he proposed an action film. It was my first time deciding to go into a project without reading the scenario so I was happy but I did have my reservations too.”
Sol Kyung Gu who marks Kill Boksoon as his third project with Director Byun has complete trust in the director and the crew. Consequently, he did not hesitate when the movie was offered to him.
“This indeed is my third collaboration with him ever since The Merciless. I mean there was really no reason to say no. I think I’m a fan of Director Byun’s films. I love working with him and the crew from The Merciless was the same crew that worked together on Kill Boksoon so I think we had excellent teamwork. I think of the three collaborations this film is at the grandest level, so it really was a no-brainer.“
For her character Jae-young who is quite different from her in real life, Kim Si A was drawn effortlessly. She admits being curious as to how she would play a character that is her exact opposite.
Esom, who confessed the contract killing genre is something she loves working on, remarks the story of a female contract killer piqued her interest.
“I loved the interesting theme of a female killer, as well as the fact that I get to work with a director and actors that I really admire. So, I made up my mind even before reading the script.“
Lastly, Koo Kyo Hwan also enjoyed the script and earnestly wanted to work with Director Byun.
“As I was reading the lines in the scenario, they were just so fun to read and I was dying to know how life will be breathed into these actions and words. I am a fan of Director Byun and I have trust and hopes for his work, so I wanted to be part of the whole process.“
On Character Preparations and Immersions
Fresh off the heels of the well-loved series, Crash Course In Romance, top-tier actress Jeon Do Yeon expounds on her preparation for her role. She explains in a way, she also leads a double life.
“While I’m definitely not an assassin, I’m also leading kind of a double life – of a mother and of an actress. So, it didn’t come to me as too new.“
Sol Kyung Gu details his character Cha Min-kyu as like a God in the contract-killing scene, setting all the industry rules – but there is one exception. That exception is Gil Boksoon and he always wants her by his side. When Boksoon has second thoughts about her contract renewal, he wants to keep her as a “blade” by his side no matter what.
“Min-kyu met with the 17-year-old Boksoon, became her master and mentor so he is like a savior to her in a way. He’s that strong but when it comes to Boksoon he could get really narrow-minded and always goes soft on her. So he has this blind love for her. I mean, this film is packed with action, I have some action scenes too, but to me, this was more about romance with Boksoon than action with her.“
To express her character Jae-young, Kim Si A drew inspiration from her sister to portray a daring and confident girl.
“Because she’s so different from me, I had to start off by trying to adapt to the way she spoke. My little sister actually is quite like Jae-young. I tried to observe her to learn her traits that resembled Jae-young. Director Byun and Do-yeon also gave me advice, telling me that maybe it’d work well if I got rid of the girly vibe, so I put on some weight and changed my hairstyle.“
Describing her character, Esom shares Min-hee is the younger sister of Cha Min-kyu, the Chairman of MK Ent., as well as the director of MK Ent. She holds a special affection towards her brother and the fact that her brother’s got a soft spot for Boksoon, among all the other killers, just gets on her nerves. She always keeps Boksoon in check.
“I thought of her as someone who is simple-minded but someone who is quite strange and unpredictable. I relied heavily on the directions given by the director on set – I loved his very raw directions and I had a lot of fun shooting. I was following along with the director’s lead and there we had a very unpredictable character.“
Koo Kyo Hwan delineates his character Hee-sung as someone who wants to be acknowledged. He is quite a character so the actor opted not to delve into who he is and drew inspiration from Director Byun from whom the character was derived. Koo specifically picks Director Byun’s passion.
Adding his insights into the creation of Hee-sung’s character, Director Byun revealed the part of himself that was added to Hee-sung.
“What I mean by adding myself to the Hee-sung character is that in talk I’m idealistic and revolutionary but in action I compromise with what’s given to me and I go after the money. I think I have that duality inside me and I was quite dissatisfied with my reality when I was in my twenties.”
On cue, Koo Kyo Hwan adorably quips how he knew all along that Director Byun has a rebellious spirit. He attests to how it helped him in developing his character.
Kill Boksoon’s Creative Process
Conveying his creative intentions for Kill Boksoon, Director Byun referenced how contract killing is not something new. Thus, he tweaked it by conceiving the story of actors and movie sets.
Substituting actors with killers, he also paid tribute to Jeon Do Yeon and Sol Kyung Gu.
“In the movie, they sometimes call assassins “knives”. And there is this one scene where Min-hee tells Min-kyu that old knives become dull and ultimately useless – referring to Boksoon. And Min-kyu replies by saying that dull knives hurt more. Those lines are my way of paying tribute to Do-yeon and Kyung-gu. I wanted to make sure it’s not too upfront and subtle, but I think it was too subtle so I wanted to bring it up today.“
Director Byun also delineates the effort for the action scenes in the film. He worked hard and long with the stunt coordinator, director of photography, and production designer. The actors also had lots of training. Nonetheless, he asserts how he focused on the characters.
“To Boksoon, this movie may be a story of personal growth; to Min-kyu, a melodrama; to Si-A, an educational movie – not the one where the mom educates her child but the other way around. So, I really put a lot of emphasis on the characters and the actors. This story deals with a very unrealistic story but with universal values. So, when tying those together sometimes I had to be more thick-skinned. Sometimes I would have to shoot in a way so that an unrealistic story seems realistic, and sometimes I had to portray a universal and realistic story in a comic-book fashion. So, I put the most time into finding those connections, the links between those.“
Responding to a media interview, Director Byun reveals some of the inspirations incorporated in the film. He also chronicles how in naming his characters, he would do it randomly. Just like how he used Jeon’s aunt’s name Bok-soon in the film.
“I have always been a big fan of Scorsese films – I always watch them. A lot of people tell me that there’s a little bit of Tarantino in my films too. As I said before, I am a big fan of Kyung-gu and Do-yeon and Korean films in the early 2000s. I try to take after those films. For action scenes, I try to follow the style of director Lee Myung-se, but his style is just so immaculate I can’t be half as good.“
On Pulling Off The Action Scenes
Speaking of the intense action scenes, the lead stars narrate their woes and keenness to commit to their roles.
“I was quite scared and unsure but I kept telling myself that I have to pull it off no matter what. No matter what happens, I’m going to get this done. And I had to keep practicing because the set piece wasn’t me with the action team but me with the other actors, and sometimes the actors might get quite emotional once we’re rolling. So, we had to make sure that we had lots of practice so we don’t accidentally get anyone hurt. Also, director Byun prefers long takes when it comes to action sequences – while it was scary it gave me catharsis when I finished a scene. So, I have a lot of different feelings swirling inside me.” – Jeon Do Yeon
“It was my first time working with a robot arm – we set it up and it moved accordingly. The setting took up to one hour and because the robot arm moves only in a fixed radius, the actors also had to do their actions within that radius. If we get too emotional, as Do-yeon said, and go overboard, then we might be hit by the robot arm and that is something we did not want so we were quite nervous at first. But later on, it was very interesting. So, we have some intense action scenes and these characters fight with their lives on the line but on the set, we had so much fun. I did see the film on the screen and I felt that our action scenes were crisp and light. Lethal but crisp.” – Sol Kyung Gu
“We had lots of rehearsals. I felt like it was more like choreography than an action set-piece. So rather than doing things on our own, it was like a synchronized team dance. So, I really loved how we all worked as a team for those scenes.” – Koo Kyo Hwan
Accordingly, Director Byun expresses his gratitude for the actors’ willingness to deliver the essence of the story he conceived.
“I was grateful but I felt very sorry at the same time. I actually thought of giving up midway. Because I could see it was so physically challenging for the actors, I even said that I will never shoot an action movie ever again. So, I would just stop them and say I will make something out of this, but the actors said let’s try one more time, just one more time. So, I felt an immense amount of gratitude but I did feel very bad looking at them struggling.“
Director Byun Sung Hyun’s Brilliance
Putting forward the superb and meticulous directing of Director Byun, Jeon Do Yeon was amazed at his effort. She is usually one who would add her own color to her character. However, Director Byun has already plated everything for them. Later, she adapted to his style and ended up asking his opinions when she shot the scenes.
“I’ve been acting for quite some time and I’ve been in many different projects; but every time I am in a new project, I have a thirst for a new experience. I want to go to a set and pull out a new side of me that I don’t even know. I realized that usually, directors would just let me be and see what kind of emotions flowed out of me, but Director Byun, had everything planned out, down to every detail including the way I move, how I tilt my head, and everything. So It was fun to try out this approach. I wouldn’t just be myself but I would tailor to the director’s detailed plan including the tilt of my face and my emotions. I was curious how it was going to turn out. It was very intriguing. Of course, it wasn’t easy in the beginning.“
Agreeing with that, Sol Kyung Gu affirmed how Director Byun worked hard on pre-production, coming up with a storyboard.
“If you look at the storyboard, you can basically see how the movie will unfold. He works on the storyboard multiple times, pouring so much effort into pre-production. So, when he shoots, he tries to stick to the storyboard. I mean there could be some scenes added, but mostly he sticks to the storyboard. When we look at the final cut, it’s basically the on-set edit version”.
Jeon Do Yeon’s First Action Genre Challenge
Known for her unrivaled acting skills, Jeon Do Yeon seals another focal character in Kill Boksoon. Sharing her third movie with Sol Kyung Gu, the two actors’ chemistry continues to be seamless.
Reassured because she knows Sol Kyung Gu is always there for her, Jeon Do Yeon points out how while filming the actor waited and looked out for her.
Singing praises to his co-star, Sol Kyung Gu was amazed at how Jeon Do Yeon mustered her strength to overcome her limits while shooting.
“Jeon Do Yeon is Jeon Do Yeon. period. She worked so hard and I feel worried about her because she has to always keep up with the standard, she has for herself. I told her that nobody other than you can pull this role off.“
Elaborating on her preparation, Jeon Do Yeon talked about how she did not make any drastic changes to how she packaged her face as a killer and a mother. Director Byun utilized the different sides and angles of her face to show the duality of her character. She honestly conveys that physical effort was the real challenge when she was filming.
“What was most challenging was that I really wanted to effortlessly carry out the action sequences, but my body just wouldn’t live up to my hopes. I wanted to do well so badly that I really pushed myself and tried to overcome my limits. While I really pushed myself, I still think I could have done better in some of the action scenes.“
Notably, a special appearance of Hwang Jung Min, Jeon’s co-star in Secret Sunshine is highly anticipated in Kill Boksoon.
Director Byun is grateful for her connection with the revered actor which sealed Hwang’s appearance. Likewise, Jeon Do Yeon is happy and grateful for Hwang Jung Min’s effort to shoot even when it was at the time of the COVID situation.
Inviting the viewers, the lead stars and Director Byun took turns pitching interest for their latest project.
Kill Boksoon unfolds exclusively on Netflix, on March 31!
Photos/Videos: Netflix
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