Jeon Do-yeon X Kim Go-eun Casting Behind-the-Scenes Revealed by Director Lee Jung-hyo "The Best Combination of My Life"

Director Lee Jung-hyo, who directed 〈Crash Landing on You〉 and 〈The Good Wife〉, took on the thriller genre for the first time through the Netflix original series 〈The Price of Confession〉. In an interview held at a cafe in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 10th, he shared various stories about the work.

The director expressed his feelings about the casting of lead actors Jeon Do-yeon and Kim Go-eun, saying, "The combination of Jeon Do-yeon and Kim Go-eun is an opportunity that I think I may never have again in my directing life."

〈The Price of Confession〉 is a mystery thriller that unfolds when Ahn Yoon-soo (Jeon Do-yeon), who is suspected of murdering her husband, receives a shocking deal from the psychopathic criminal Mo-eun (Kim Go-eun). Mo-eun proposes to Yoon-soo that she will confess to killing her husband if Yoon-soo kills someone else outside of prison in her place.

The work depicts Yoon-soo's internal conflict after receiving this irresistible proposal, along with the process of prosecutor Baek Dong-hoon (Park Hae-soo) and lawyer Jang Jeong-goo (Jin Seon-kyu) searching for the real culprit in a tense manner.

⬦ "Jeon Do-yeon X Kim Go-eun, the best casting of my life… Impressed by Kim Go-eun's passion for shaving her head"

The director revealed that as soon as he received the script, he thought of Jeon Do-yeon, with whom he had worked on 〈The Good Wife〉. "In fact, I really wanted to work with Jeon Do-yeon again, but there hadn’t been a project that suited her until now. As soon as I saw the script for this work, I thought we had to do it together," he explained.

He recalled, "I remember how great Jeon Do-yeon's attitude was on set during 〈The Good Wife〉. No matter who the supporting actor was, even if she didn’t have a scene, she would sincerely deliver her lines next to them. Fortunately, I think Jeon Do-yeon also had a sense of challenge since she had never done a genre piece before."

Regarding Kim Go-eun, he said, "I originally wanted to work with her, and I heard that Kim Go-eun read the script and really wanted to play the role of Mo-eun. I thought that if an actor wants a role, they will surely do well, so I cast her, and she truly engaged with the role and did exceptionally well."

He particularly mentioned Kim Go-eun's head-shaving episode, saying, "When Kim Go-eun, who plays Mo-eun, said she would cut her hair, I wondered how short she would cut it, but I didn’t expect it to be that short. When I received the photo from the hair salon, I thought, 'Ah, this person is really sincere.'"

⬦ "Even the actors didn’t know"… The meticulous 'hiding of the culprit' that deceived even the set

He stated that he put a lot of effort into maintaining tension as it was his first thriller directing project. "This is my first thriller, and one of the things I felt was lacking in other works was tension. I thought a lot about how to maintain tension throughout the 12 episodes while making it," he said.

Regarding the casting of the real culprit, he said, "I thought that if I cast someone too famous, it would be obvious, so I really struggled with who to cast. Even during filming, we often asked each other, 'Is this much okay to reveal?' and had many discussions about it."

He shared, "In the early stages of filming, I only informed the actor themselves that they were the real culprit and did not tell the other actors. It was only after filming several times that I told them, and everyone reacted with 'Why this person?'" reflecting the atmosphere on set.

The work showed global success, ranking second in the non-English shows category on Netflix immediately after its release on the 5th. Regarding this, the director said, "At first, I didn’t think about the global response. In fact, I thought this work, being rated '19+', might have limitations in attracting viewers, but surprisingly, the response from overseas was good, and I was surprised."

⬦ "The essence is a story about 'prejudice'… Please watch without spoilers"

Some have raised concerns about the lack of plausibility and the weak motive for the real culprit's murder in the 12-episode series. In response, the director explained, "The story that the writer originally wanted to tell is all contained in the 12 episodes, and I believe that if any part is omitted, the meaning will be diminished. Due to the nature of thrillers, there must be explanations of various characters, and the conflicts between them must be tightly woven, and I think all of these scenes are necessary."

He added, "In fact, while it is essential to reveal who the culprit is, ultimately, this drama shows what kind of tragedy occurs to the two women due to prejudice and how much prejudice can ruin a person. So, it is true that I focused more on the story of Ahn Yoon-soo and Mo-eun rather than the motive for the real culprit's murder."

Finally, the director had a message for the viewers. "I want to tell those who have watched it first. Please do not say who the culprit is. Even those who have seen it all will probably notice the lines or actions of the real culprit when they watch it again," he requested, asking for spoiler prevention.