[Interview] “Stand by Me for Girls—Even if They Give Up the College Entrance Exam, They Can’t Lose the Animals!” ‘San-yang-deul’ director Yoo Jae-wook, actress Park Hye-jin ①

In 2001, what were the girls from 〈Please Take Care of My Cat〉 doing about now? Maybe they’ve already grown up by now. Somewhere, they’re surely doing well. Even so, the descendants of the daydreamer Tae-hee (Bae Doo-na), who kept caring for strays, are being born again—and growing up—somewhere, as warmly as ever. Director Yoo Jae-wook’s 〈San-yang-deul〉 is a homegrown coming-of-age film that feels like the worries and thoughts of the girls from 〈Please Take Care of My Cat〉 and the adventure tales of the boys who set out in 〈Stand by Me〉 have met at last.

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Four girls with 200 days until the college entrance exam. In-hye (Park Hye-jin), Seo-hee (Lee Seung-yeon), Jeong-ae (Park Hyo-eun), and Su-min (Choi Soo-in) are students in an interview class, arranged on a temporary basis until the university admissions process. When they should be busy just preparing for the exam, the children are shaken by the news that the small animals at the school’s animal-keeping facility will be euthanized. 〈San-yang-deul〉 is set in motion by In-hye, whose compassion is especially strong, and the resulting chaos unfolds as the other kids join one by one in the adventure—launching a grand rescue mission for the small animals. After getting out of the classroom, the kids set up a shelter for the animals at a nearby camping site. Because the “wild goats that lost their habitat” can go freely wherever they want, the name the film gives to this unofficial operation is “San-yang-z.” Not the cats from 〈Please Take Care of My Cat〉, the targets of San-yang-z’s protection are poultry-like animals such as ducks. This is still a time of confusion, and the plan for kids who are already busy trying to chart their own futures to rescue animals weaker than them seems somewhat far-fetched. But maybe, in the eyes of children “trapped” in an admissions-hell, the weak animals are only reflecting their own image back at them.

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〈San-yang-deul〉 is a film about people who boldly step in to do what society deems pointless. Here, reckless challenges that don’t look back or hesitate and clunky adventure tales find their own value. It is lively, funny, and bright. In Korean independent films—where the people in charge tend to be those facing serious or heavy themes—this kind of energetic sparkle is hard to come by. It is director Yoo Jae-wook’s work, whose previous film 〈Lime Crime〉 (2021) portrayed the challenge of boys doing hip-hop. If his previous work was co-directed, this time he took it on alone—and again, he aimed for a coming-of-age film. I met actress Park Hye-jin, who played In-hye, the leader of San-yang-z, alongside director Yoo Jae-wook. Known to audiences through independent films such as 〈You Were Born to Be Great〉 and 〈Gyeong-a’s Daughter〉, her appeal is tightly interwoven with the film’s adventure and narrative. Last year, at the Busan International Film Festival and the Seoul Independent Film Festival—an acclaimed work—she won the Busan International Film Festival’s Actress of the Year award and the Seoul Independent Film Festival’s Indie Star award.

It’s a coming-of-age adventure story like the 〈Stand by Me〉 for girls. I’m curious about how the story begins.

Director Yoo Jae-wook Ever since I was young, I wanted to do something in places where nature and my friends were. I wanted to be independent without adults—like, “I am a natural person,” like that, 〈I Am a Natural Person〉.

Park Hye-jin Thinking about it, I also had this big desire when I was in high school—Year 3—to spend more time with my friends. It feels like the feelings of teenagers at that time, who put their own hearts into the movie, are reflected in it. (laugh)

The setup is unique—teenage girls who leave the classroom and build a hideout at a camping site.

Director Yoo Jae-wook My wife wrote the script with me. At the time, she was really into survivalism. She even carried a knife and a compass. That world is really broad. While looking at my wife, I thought, if a woman dreams of survivalism in nature, what kind of stories could be there? I approached it with that question.

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The protagonists of this adventure are students in a special management class for the college entrance exam—only 200 days away. Does the school really run something like this “special management class” in real life?

Director Yoo Jae-wook When I taught students at school as a teacher, I remember organizing an interview class at the time. In school, there’s a mission to get the students into university no matter what. In a good sense, it’s like not giving up on the students. But if you look at it in a worse light, it pushes them toward university in some way or another. You’re getting them into the university through interviews rather than the department they actually want to go to.

It was also interesting that the people driving the adventure are “girls,” not the boys who usually take center stage in coming-of-age films.

Director Yoo Jae-wook I had a strong desire to try “boys” stories with my previous work 〈Lime Crime〉, but to go with “girls” this time. Back then, it was an autobiographical story, whereas this time it’s a story about someone else. That also played a role. I put my wife’s story into it, and also stories from kids I didn’t know. While writing the scenario about teenage girls, finding out things I didn’t know was interesting to me, too.

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There are so many lines and lineages in coming-of-age films. Are there any works you referenced or loved while setting the direction?

Director Yoo Jae-wook I kept thinking that I wished it could turn into something like 〈Napoleon Dynamite〉 (2004) or 〈Stand by Me〉 (1986). I also watched and liked 〈Lady Bird〉 (2017) and 〈Too Bright Girl Alma〉 (2011) a lot. I think the common thread in these works is the kind of oddness that teenagers carry. Even under pressure, these kids push through whatever they can in their own ways, and you pull that forward. I wanted that kind of depiction to come across in a cheerful, happy way.

Park Hye-jin I looked at the comments after the film screened at a festival, and there was something like, “Stop making those dark works or works about killing people every day. Show more of these girls’ stories, a bit greener like this.” It really hit me—like people were recognizing the energy our film has.

Director Yoo Jae-wook I wanted to make a somewhat brighter film. Of course, there are heavy themes and awareness, too. But I like expressing something tragic in a comedic way. So I like jokes as well. I think you need that kind of energy to keep going. I didn’t think about it by expanding it into big concepts like “Korean independent film” specifically—I just wanted more different kinds of films. I also have the desire to make films like that. Going forward, I want to make films that are bright with energy, even if they get a bit dark at times.

Park Hye-jin If you look at the roles I’ve played up to now, there have been a lot of melancholy roles. Roles where there aren’t any parents, the grandmother has passed away, and the character lives alone—roles like an outcast who’s just by herself. Those kinds of roles are interesting, but at the same time, when I was yearning to act in a way that lets me express myself naturally, I received the script for 〈The Hunters〉. It was a really good opportunity. And it was also a huge memory to work with actors around my age. I think I’ll miss this film for a long time. We were filming when I was 21. Those windows to play roles like this are limited.

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Rescuing animals that are being euthanized is the film’s main plot. Even amid the pressure that they shouldn’t focus on anything other than the entrance exam, the film highlights a mindset that prioritizes the environment and animal rights.

Director Yoo Jae-wook When I was young, I lived in that village. So there were many animals like chickens and cows at home. That image is connected to freedom for me. That’s why, when talking about the students, I say, like, “they’re in a chicken coop,” as a metaphor. I didn’t want it to stop at metaphor—I thought, it would be great if the chicken coop actually appeared. When I was young, I remembered the cages at school, and I planned a story about rescuing animals and protecting them.

It’s also such an odd and reckless set of actions. In the script development process, there probably weren’t concerns or criticisms.

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Director Yoo Jae-wook I received a lot of blunt criticism. I got a lot of feedback saying it’s hard to care for the animals, and that the budget wouldn’t allow it at that level. Especially in a situation with issues like avian influenza, there were also critiques about whether it’s a moral action for kids to do things like this. But chickens and ducks are also living creatures. Even if they’re raised for food, they’re still life. In fact, when you look at the euthanization process, it’s done indiscriminately. I think there are ways to save them, but there’s also a mindset that it costs less and is more convenient. If you put vaccines in place, then you start thinking about locating and catching them—that kind of thinking. And there were also many people who said it doesn’t make sense to mess around when the college entrance exam is right around the corner. The truth is, not everyone in their third year prepares for the entrance exam—every single one of them.

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▶ The interview with director Yoo Jae-wook and actress Park Hye-jin about 〈San-yang-deul〉 continues in Part 2.