Interview with director Jeong Ju-ri, who directed the movie ‘Next Sohee’
Director Jeong Ju-ri, who directed the movie 'Next Sohee', revealed the story behind the casting of Kim Si-eun.
On the morning of the 6th, director Jeong Ju-ri told various stories related to the upcoming movie 'Next Sohee' at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
'Next Sohee' is an intense story about an incident that Sohee (played by Si-eun Kim), a confident 18-year-old high school student, experiences while going on field training, and Eugene (played by Doo-na Bae), a detective who investigates it, encounters it in the same space but at a different time. Also, last year, it was the first Korean film to be selected as the closing film of the Critics Week at the 75th Cannes International Film Festival.
Director Jeong Joo-ri's feature film debut, 'Doheeya', was invited to the Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard section, as well as the Toronto International Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, and London International Film Festival. He also received the Best New Director award at the Baeksang Arts Awards and Buil Film Awards. ‘Next Sohee’ is the first film to be released eight years after ‘Doheeya’ and has entered the Cannes Film Festival for the second time in a row.
On this day, director Jeong Joo-ri said, "It was the end of 2020, and the production company said they wanted to make a movie about an incident where a field trainee died while working at a call center. Then, he suggested that he write the scenario and direct it to me."
He continued, "Actually, I didn't know it actually happened until you told me. From then on, I looked into it and found out that it happened in January 2017. When I looked back on that time, I vaguely remembered it. A friend who worked at a call center made an extreme choice. At that time, “It occurred to me that it had become an issue due to the work environment, emotional labor, etc. It also came to my mind decisively while watching a current affairs reporting program,” he added.
Director Jeong Joo-ri said, "At first, the focus was only on 'I Want to Know That.' I think it stood out more because it was a program that many people were familiar with, but in a way, there was a production company that suggested the story to me first. There were various issues, not just call centers. He explained, “Problems have been accumulating for a long time, with reporters pointing out and the labor community also pointing out.”
Also, "The biggest thing when fleshing out the character of Sohee was that I looked at a lot of data that reporters had covered and interviewed after the actual incident. What impressed me at the time was, 'She's not that kind of girl.' People who know that friend in common “I don’t know about other kids, but I wondered what it meant to say that that friend would never be like that. I mostly started out of curiosity as to why a friend who never seemed like that would end up like that.”
Director Jeong Ju-ri said, "I really wanted to make him an extremely ordinary child of his age. So I thought he would be a child with more personality, who would never be like that, who would be confident and say everything he wanted at any time. I talked about why I chose that in the end." .
Director Jeong Joo-ri said about casting Kim Si-eun, "I really didn't know anything about the actress. I just watched videos that came up on YouTube from time to time. She hosted EBS' 'Boni Hani' for a while. Basically, I wanted to meet a lively and lively friend. I met her. As we continued the conversation, he said, 'I wish Sohee would come into the world,'" he recalled.
He said, "The reason why it felt special is that right before making my first film, I sent a script to cast Bae Doo-na and said that I would do it, and when I met her in person, she said, 'This movie must come out to the world' and 'It must be shown in theaters.' It's a low-budget movie." “They said they wanted to help in some way. I felt a sense of déjà vu. Actress Si-eun Kim expressed her affection by saying, ‘I felt like I was looking at the story objectively rather than saying, ‘I’m that So-hee.’”
Director Jeong Joo-ri said, "If there was a role she could play, she had an extraordinary desire to do it. She told the story comfortably and naturally. While talking to her at the time, I thought, 'She's like Sohee,' and the next time I meet her, I'll say something like this." “I said let’s give it a try. If you think about it, I think actor Kim Si-eun showed me on the spot a character that was only in my head and could have been vague.”
Meanwhile, 'Next Sohee' will be released on the 8th.
Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia reporter kkk39@tenasia.co.kr