Jeon Do-yeon, '50 years old', closes down her side dish shop and takes on killer action

Actress Jeon Do-yeon took on the challenge of acting as a killer action figure at the age of 50.

On the morning of the 21st, a production briefing session for the Netflix movie 'Gil Bok-soon' (director Byun Seong-hyeon) was held at the InterContinental Parnas Grand Ballroom in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Actors Jeon Do-yeon, Sol Kyeong-gu, Kim Si-ah, Lee Som, and Koo Kyo-hwan as well as director Byun Seong-hyun attended.

Regarding being invited to the Berlin International Film Festival on this day, Jeon Do-yeon said, "It was my first time in Berlin, so I was a bit curious about whether 'Gil Bok-soon' would fit the characteristics of the Berlin International Film Festival. I was so moved when I went and screened it. I was at that moment, at that time, in that theater. “I think it was so surprising that I couldn’t believe I was there,” he said.

Director Byun Seong-hyun said, "When I first went to Cannes with 'The Rogue', I was scolded a lot for saying that my impression was 'I got caught'. I didn't expect it to be the same this time as well. I thought the nature of our film was a little different from the Berlinale, so it was too much of a genre to go to a film festival. “I thought it might be our enemy, but I was truly honored to be invited,” he added.

Sol Kyeong-gu, who unfortunately could not attend the Berlin International Film Festival, said, "I was curious about what kind of reaction I would get from the 1,800 audiences in Berlin before it was released around the world, but I was disappointed that I couldn't go. I went to Cannes with 'The Rogue' and went to the Berlin International Film Festival with 'Gil Bok-soon.' “I hope I can go to Venice next time.”

Jeon Do-yeon played a lovely and bright character as Nam Haeng-seon, the owner of a side dish store, in the recently concluded tvN drama 'One-shot Scandal'. While this character is receiving great love, it is quickly making a comeback with 'Gil Bok-soon' and is garnering attention. Jeon Do-yeon said, “I didn’t know that ‘Gil Bok-soon’ would be revealed so quickly. As it became associated with the ‘one-hit scandal,’ many people called it ‘Nam Haeng-seon’s double life.’” She smiled, saying, “It’s good that there are a lot of comments, but I don’t know if I should be happy.” Jeon Do-yeon then added, "I'm not a killer by profession, but I also lead a double life. It's my life as a mother and an actress. I don't think there was a big difference."

Jeon Do-yeon performed the largest amount of action scenes in her filmography through her role as killer Gil Bok-soon in this work. He said, "I was scared and afraid, but I thought, 'I have to do it no matter what.' I think the director gave me a lot of brainstorming. I felt, 'I have to do this even if it means breaking my body.'" He continued, "I practiced constantly. The reason I did it was because I wasn't acting with an action actor, but with other actors, so I practiced a lot. And when I started filming, my emotions took precedence over my movements, so I could hurt someone, so those situations made me cautious and difficult." I confessed it.

Jeon Do-yeon also added, "The director filmed the action in long takes rather than cuts. It was scary, but I felt great pleasure when I did it. So I had mixed feelings."

Jeon Do-yeon, who is already over 50 years old, said, "The difficult part was that my mind wanted to fly, but I had a hard time because my body couldn't move as I wanted. I wanted to do well so much that even when my body broke down, I tried to overcome it by not resting and whipping myself. Even though I did that, I tried to overcome it." “I was very disappointed in the action part,” he confessed.

Director Byun Seong-hyun also shared the story behind the birth of the name ‘Gil Bok-soon’. He said, "I couldn't decide on the name Bok-sun. I don't tend to pay much attention to names. I sometimes use the names of people who were next to me when I was writing a scenario, and while I was talking to senior Jeon Do-yeon, I got a call on the phone saying, 'Aunt Bok-sun.' When it appeared like this, I just had a feeling. I said, ‘I want to use this name,’ but senior Jeon Do-yeon said she never wanted to use that name, so I felt rebellious and said I had to do it, so I wrote it and gave it to her,” he said, making people laugh.

In response, Jeon Do-yeon said, "I told this to my aunt. She said it was a great honor. Rather than saying I didn't want to do it, I had doubts about whether the name Bok-sun was right considering my job as a killer. I thought for a while about whether the image was right, but now that I think about it, “I wonder what I would have done if it weren’t for Boksun,” he said with a laugh.

'Gil Bok-soon' is an action movie depicting the story of Gil Bok-soon, a legendary killer in the contract killing industry, who is caught up in an inevitable confrontation where he either dies or is killed, just before renewing his contract with the company. The character of Gil Bok-soon, a mother who raises people and a killer who kills people, is the highlight.

Released on Netflix on March 31st.

Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr