Director Cho Jungrae discusses his deep personal connection to Pansori, his hands-on role shaping the music “The Singer”, and the film’s dialogue between tradition and modernity. In this wide-ranging interview with Hangul Celluloid and LKL, he reflects on legacy, influence, and how traditional sound can still resonate with audiences today. [Read More]
Post Series: HC group interviews
Kim Sol group interview: letting emotion breathe
Kim Sol talks about Scattered Night, her collaboration with co-director Lee Ji-hyeon, minimal use of music, directing child actors, and portraying divorce with empathy and restraint. [Read More]
Shim Hye-jung group interview: caring for those whom society forgets
Shim Hye-jung talks about her debut feature A Bedsore, exploring elder care, migrant labour, family conflict, feminism, and the realities of making independent Korean cinema. [Read More]
Lee Byeong-hyeon group interview: from indie roots to 1,000 screens
Director Lee Byeong-hyeon discusses the creative process behind Extreme Job, from writing strong female characters and choreographing action-comedy to the realities of budgets, influences and Korea’s changing film industry. A candid and insightful conversation about humour, filmmaking and navigating commercial success. [Read More]
Park Ki-yong interview: implication, independence and time in Korean cinema
The veteran director discusses restrained portrayals of sexuality, lessons in economical filmmaking, the pressures facing independent Korean cinema, education and animation at KAFA, improvisation versus scripting, and how Old Love links personal memory with contemporary politics, generational reflection, and Korea’s recent historical moments. [Read More]
Lee Myung-se interview: love, action and creative freedom in filmmaking
Le Myung-se reflects on his 1990s love stories, the shift to action in Nowhere to Hide, and his dedication to creative autonomy. He discusses remakes, music choices, visual storytelling, and concerns over data-driven filmmaking, emphasizing the interplay of narrative, visuals, and emotional expression as central to his films. [Read More]
Kim Yang-hee and Yang Ik-june: a softer way of seeing
Director Kim Yang-hee and actor Yang Ik-june discuss The Poet and the Boy as a gentle portrayal of same-sex affection, shifting social attitudes toward homosexuality in Korea, and resisting fixed labels. They address casting risks, performance choices, poetry as emotional structure, and the role of film in reflecting gradual human-rights change. [Read More]
Jeon Go-woon interview: fragility, freedom and refusing norms
Director Jeon Go-woon discusses Microhabitat as a story about choosing personal values over stability. She explains Miso’s refusal of conventional comfort, the symbolism of ex-musicians and youth, male vulnerability, collaborative character-building with actors, and the realities of making independent films within tight economic and emotional constraints. [Read More]
Lee Wan-min and Kim Sae-byuk interview: Jamsil — memory, feminism, and independent Korean cinema
Director Lee Wan-min discusses Jamsil’s use of colour, memory, fragmented time, feminism, and the realities of making independent films amid funding and industry barriers. Actress Kim Sae-byuk reflects on choosing meaningful stories, balancing independent and commercial work, and the collaborative relationship at the film’s core. [Read More]
Bae Chang-ho interview: censorship, change, and life stories in Korean cinema
Director Bae Chang-ho reflects on the evolution of his film-making career and developments in the industry and audience preferences. He discusses changes in his style, a focus on ordinary lives and love, collaborations with his wife Kim Yoo-mi, investor-driven constraints, and why his films’ sincerity was shaped by hardship rather than budget or freedom. [Read More]
Kang Yoon-sung interview: real crime, action and commercial storytelling
Director Kang Yoon-sung discusses The Outlaws, from its real-life origins and research-driven realism to stripped-back characterisation and action-led storytelling. He explains casting choices, humour and violence balance, colour-coded gangs, funding challenges, and how editing, choreography, and true stories shaped his approach to commercial Korean cinema. [Read More]
Director Park Hong-min interview: “we were all trying to express our loneliness”
Director Park Hong-min discusses A Fish and Alone, tracing their roots in loneliness, memory, and self-analysis. He addresses the film education system in Korea and the struggles of truly independent filmmaking, and talks about casting choices, shamanism, long takes, handmade 3D and a commitment to personal questions over commercial formulas.Director Park Hong-min discusses A Fish and Alone, tracing their roots in loneliness, memory, and self-analysis. He addresses the film education system in Korea and the struggles of truly independent filmmaking, and talks about casting choices, shamanism, long takes, handmade 3D and a commitment to personal questions over commercial formulas. [Read More]
Actor Baek Yoon-sik interview: career flow, creative choice, defining roles
Actor Baek Yoon-sik reflects on moving between theatre, television, and cinema, returning to film with Save the Green Planet. He discusses choosing challenging roles, respecting scripts, limited improvisation, and working on politically and socially charged films (such as The President’s Last Bang), framing acting as creative labour shaped by history, collaboration, and personal judgment. [Read More]
Jung Woo-sung and Kim Sung-soo interview: “Hyung, this is really tough!”
Actor Jung Woo-sung and director Kim Sung-soo discuss Asura: The City of Madness, focusing on its fictional setting, extreme characters, and themes of power, corruption, and moral collapse. They reflect on their long collaboration, challenging performances, shifting career choices, and the responsibility of senior artists to support new filmmakers. [Read More]
Ryoo Seung-wan interview: Veteran, action cinema and imagined justice
Director Ryoo Seung-wan discusses Veteran as a fantasy of justice where power can be defeated, his shift toward humour, casting Hwang Jung-min and Yoo Ah-in, and plans for sequels. He reflects on audience appeal, realistic action choreography, and his view of action as the core language of cinema. [Read More]
Bae Doo-na interview: “I think I’m good at acting silently”
Bae Doo-na discusses A Girl at My Door as a critique of social prejudice, isolation, and marginalisation. She reflects on supporting challenging Korean films, choosing directors over scale, working across Korean and international cinema, her preference for expressive, non-verbal acting, and formative projects from Barking Dogs Never Bite to Sense8. [Read More]