Director Yeon Sang-ho, "Park Jung-min's 'Annoyance Acting' Has Depth and Texture"

Director Yeon Sang-ho pointed out Park Jung-min's unique acting style as an element of appreciation in the film 〈The Ugly〉. At the production report conference for the film 〈The Ugly〉 held on the 22nd at Lotte Cinema in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, Director Yeon said, "There is depth and texture to the annoyance," and added, "You will feel it when you watch the movie, that it is a deep annoyance."

The film 〈The Ugly〉 tells the story of a blind seal engraving master Lim Young-kyu (Kwon Hae-hyo) and his son Lim Dong-hwan (Park Jung-min) uncovering a family secret hidden for 40 years. It is based on the webtoon of the same name created by Yeon Sang-ho in 2018, tracing the truth surrounding the death of Lim Young-kyu's wife and Dong-hwan's mother, Jeong Young-hee (Shin Hyun-bin).

Park Jung-min challenged himself to play two roles for the first time in this work. Portraying both the current Lim Dong-hwan and the young Lim Young-kyu, he explained, "As the son digs into his father's youth, I thought it would convey a strange feeling to the audience if the actor playing the son also played the father." He also added, "Personally, I thought it would be fun since I had never tried it before."

Park Jung-min also mentioned the subtle emotional connection between the two roles. He reflected, "There are emotions that influence each other," and said, "It was a new form of emotion that I had never felt before." Regarding his participation in this project without compensation, he stated, "I thought it was meaningful to contribute to a good movie and a good story," and added, "I have always admired the director."

Kwon Hae-hyo, who played the older Lim Young-kyu, reported that he wore special lenses to portray a visually impaired character. He recalled, "My late father-in-law was visually impaired, so it felt natural for me to accept the role," and added, "Actors are influenced and react to the movements and breathing of other actors, and since I couldn't see well, there was also a sense of stability and comfort."

Director Yeon Sang-ho attributed symbolic meaning to the character Lim Young-kyu. He explained, "The character that first came to mind while making this work was Lim Young-kyu," describing him as "an ironic figure who practices visual art while being unable to see," and added, "I think that character symbolizes Korea, which has achieved high growth."

On the other hand, Jeong Young-hee was set up as a character opposite Lim Young-kyu, Director Yeon added. Jeong Young-hee is portrayed as a central figure of secrets throughout the film, never revealing her face.

The film 〈The Ugly〉 is also gaining attention as a low-budget film with a production cost of around 200 million won. Regarding this work, which was produced with a three-week shooting period and a small crew of about 20 people, Director Yeon stated, "If we cannot diversify the way we make films, we will not be able to continue making films," and added, "I believe that to create a film with a new spirit, a new body is needed."

He expressed satisfaction with the production process, saying, "With a mobile production, the actors and director could communicate directly and create the scenes we liked," and added, "I have never filmed in abundance while making a movie, but if I had to compare, 〈The Ugly〉 was the most abundant. We communicated the most and spent as much time as we could."

〈The Ugly〉 will have its world premiere in the Special Presentation section of the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, which opens in Canada on the 4th of next month (local time). This section has also invited notable Korean films such as 〈Project Y〉 starring Han So-hee and Jeon Jong-seo, and the Netflix film 〈Good News〉 starring Seol Kyung-gu and directed by Byun Sung-hyun.

Director Yeon Sang-ho expressed his honor, joy, and anticipation for the world premiere, stating, "I am honored to present it as a world premiere, and I am excited and looking forward to it," but also mentioned, "It is content that Koreans would understand better, so I feel a burden presenting it to North American audiences for the first time."