[New Film] Jeong Jin-woon in ‘Snow in June’… A 12-Hour Journey to His First Love from Three Years Ago

A poignant story beyond time and space, and a new acting transformation for Jeong Jin-woon

Singer and actor ‘Jeong Jin-woon’ takes on a traditional melodrama for the first time since his debut in the film ‘Snow in June’. Reuniting with ‘director Kim Hyung-hyup,’ with whom he worked on his previous film ‘Choir of God,’ he brings to the screen a poignant first-love story that breaks through the boundaries of time and space.

Set to open on the 25th, ‘Snow in June’ is a ‘fantasy romance’ about In-ho (‘Jeong Jin-woon’), who is traveling to ‘Mongolia’ on business and encounters his first love, Ano (‘Tselmeg’), who died three years earlier, aboard a train amid a strange phenomenon.

‘Jeong Jin-woon’ spoke about taking the lead in his first melodrama at a press conference held on the 4th. Unlike the fast-paced romances he has portrayed in previous dramas, he focused on maintaining a measured emotional arc that delves deeply into his character’s inner life. The film is said to strike a balance by contrasting Mongolia’s majestic wilderness with the psychology of a character who may seem outwardly unhurried but is fiercely turbulent within.

“It felt as if I were floating through a deep dream,” he said, adding, “I hope this becomes a film that makes people think of someone they long to see again, someone they carry in a corner of their heart.”

The connection between ‘director Kim Hyung-hyup’ and ‘Jeong Jin-woon’ began with ‘Choir of God,’ which opened last December. The two found common ground over the melodrama genre during filming, then laid the groundwork for this film by finalizing the casting during location scouting in ‘Mongolia.’

The film’s central motif—a train journey through time—was inspired by ‘director Kim Hyung-hyup’s’ own experience aboard a cross-country train in ‘Mongolia.’ The unusual setting, which evokes both romance and strangeness, serves to amplify the film’s fantastical imagination.

A visual world shaped by nature, and the wonders of Mongolia on screen

The film captures the exotic, majestic scenery unique to ‘Mongolia,’ including endless green grasslands and the Milky Way stretching overhead. In particular, a scene in which ‘Jeong Jin-woon’ connects with wild horses racing across the grassland from a speeding off-road vehicle is expected to deliver visual catharsis.

The production team built a striking visual world by filming in remote locations more than 12 hours by car from the city. ‘Director Kim Hyung-hyup’ said the team captured natural scenery so unrealistically beautiful that viewers might mistake it for CGI, and described his intention to give audiences a restorative break from everyday life.

The film also holds special meaning for its Mongolian lead actor, ‘Tselmeg.’ She expressed deep pride that the nature of her homeland, always close at hand, was transformed through the camera lens into a storybook-like visual world.