‘Family Trip’ Director Jeong Jong-seop Reveals Why He Co-Directed With Kim Jeong-tae and Wrote the Screenplay

Jeong Jong-seop, director of the film 〈Family Trip〉, which opens Sept. 30, has shared behind-the-scenes stories about Lee Hwi-hyang, who is meeting audiences in her first leading screen role, and “10-million-ticket actor” Kim Jeong-tae, who is set to make his directing debut as a co-director. 〈Family Trip〉 follows five family members headed to one destination but harboring five different agendas in a road movie about a family worse than strangers embarking on a hopeless journey.

Jeong first explained what prompted him to write the screenplay that became the starting point for 〈Family Trip〉. “After my mother was diagnosed with vascular dementia, I began recording her words and actions. When her primary doctor told me that she would soon have to be moved to a nursing home, I began looking back on the life I had lived and the time I had spent with my mother,” he said, explaining that the film is a family drama rooted in his own family’s story and closely connected to real life.

He also expressed his gratitude for the collaboration with Kim Jeong-tae. “After I completed the first draft of the screenplay, there were countless twists and turns. Kim Jeong-tae was the person who kept me going through all of them. During that process, I learned that Kim Jeong-tae dreamed of becoming a director, so I proposed that we co-direct,” Jeong said. He was especially pleased with the partnership, adding, “Although we were co-directors, we completed the film by working closely together in every area rather than dividing up the roles. We exchanged ideas constantly and aligned our direction, from revising the screenplay to casting. On set, Director Kim drew on his trademark quick thinking to suggest new ideas and add fresh touches to the scenes.”

Explaining the setup of the five family members who set off on an impromptu trip to Busan in a rented old van, Jeong said, “The mother-in-law with dementia was modeled on my own mother, while the daughter-in-law who effectively runs the household was drawn with my wife in mind. The incompetent husband reflects me, the director, and I gave the father-in-law, a Vietnam War veteran, physical and psychological limitations appropriate to his age. The teenage daughter, who is intensely absorbed in vampires, came from wondering, ‘What would a child do if there were no one to whom she could vent her feelings?’”

On Lee Hwi-hyang’s significant challenge in moving from the grande dame of television after 44 years as an actor to her first leading role on the big screen, Jeong offered high praise. “Lee Hwi-hyang has devoted herself wholeheartedly to every character in every project. For this film, just before shooting began, she personally sought out a hairdresser who volunteered at a nursing home and had her hair cut. She continued wearing adult diapers until the very moment filming ended, saying that Sun-im would naturally have done the same. I thought, ‘It’s truly fortunate that we had Lee Hwi-hyang,’” he said.

For prospective viewers of 〈Family Trip〉, Jeong described the film as “one that seeps in like a light drizzle, just as late-autumn foliage gradually deepens in color.” He recommended it to “people who hope that, after watching a film, something will remain with them in their hearts.”

Completed through the outstanding teamwork of Directors Jeong Jong-seop and Kim Jeong-tae and the passionate efforts of a veteran cast including Lee Hwi-hyang, 〈Family Trip〉 opens in theaters nationwide on Sept. 30.