"Change the Room Salon Culture in the Film Industry." SBS Documentary 'New Old Boy Park Chan-wook' Sparks Attention

After surpassing 2 million viewers during the Chuseok holiday, a documentary highlighting director Park Chan-wook of 〈Can't Help It〉 has sparked attention. The SBS two-part documentary 〈New Old Boy Park Chan-wook〉 aired on the 8th and 9th and is the first terrestrial documentary to spotlight the 33-year film career of director Park Chan-wook, featuring actors and staff who have worked with him for a long time, including Choi Min-sik, Lee Young-ae, Lee Byung-hun, Tang Wei, Jeong Seo-kyung, and Ryu Seong-hee, sharing the secrets of his creativity.

He endured life in the directing department in Chungmuro in the 1980s and successfully attempted the 'full storyboard book' for the first time on a film set, and through stories like the famous corridor fight scene in 〈Old Boy〉, which was completed using the 'one scene one take' filming technique, he illuminated Park Chan-wook as a persistent and meticulous artist.

In the second part, it captures the reasons why numerous staff and actors absolutely trust him, finding it in his unique production methods and human qualities. Director Park Chan-wook is known for his exceptional passion and sincerity towards film, leading the team with a calm charisma that never raises his voice on set. Actor Lee Byung-hun describes him as a "scholar," while Park Jung-min calls him "an ideal leader." It is said that he rarely gets angry on set. The reason he does not express emotions even in difficult situations is due to his experiences as a rookie director in the past. "I was a bit angry during filming. I was about to raise my voice for the first time, but then the lighting director crossed his arms and pulled me behind the set. He said just one thing: 'If the director gets angry, our respect for the director will disappear.' That was the one thing he said."

Moreover, the room salon culture that was common in the film industry in the 1990s is one of the things that disappeared after director Park Chan-wook. Director Lee Kyung-mi, who came from the directing department of 〈Lady Vengeance〉, mentioned that the 'room salon culture' that was prevalent in the past film industry could not be found at all in Park Chan-wook's Moho Film. The filming environment he changed was also an important part of his motto, 'Always new.' The value that is important to him is not commercial success, but whether he has made a film that meets his standards. To live up to being a director responsible for a world, he chose a way to grow with his colleagues rather than just achieving personal success. Meanwhile, he did not hesitate to raise his voice in society, as seen when he signed the 'Declaration of Film Industry Figures for the Resignation of Yoon Seok-yeol' at the end of last year.