Meeting between the director of ‘Men’s Manual’ and the writer of ‘Beauty Inside’

The movie ‘Killing Romance’, completed by director Lee Won-seok, delivers a new experience through an interesting worldview.

'Killing Romance' is about top star Yeorae (played by Lee Ha-nui), who suddenly announces her retirement after falling in love with island tycoon Jonathan (played by Lee Seon-gyun), and meets Beom-woo (played by Gong Myeong), a student from the 3rd fan club, and plots an extraordinary comeback plan. It's a story.

The emergence of new technologies and generations in 2023, including the launch of Chat GPT and the emergence of the GEN Z generation, heralds great changes in the world. Currently, as the desire for something new is growing, 'Killing Romance' also appeals to audiences in their 20s and 30s with the special world view of director Lee Won-seok, who realized the desire a little ahead of these changes.

From the planning stage of 'Killing Romance', director Lee Won-seok planned to have a fantasy setting rather than a realistic setting, but to allow the audience to become immersed in the story itself. Park Jeong-ye, the writer of 'Beauty Inside' who wrote the screenplay for 'Killing Romance', was in charge of the entire framework of the film from start to finish, and director Lee Won-seok, who joined after seeing the first draft, worked together to add color to the film.

Director Won-seok Lee and writer Jeong-ye Park began their work under the motto of “let’s create something that has never existed in the world.” As the title is 'Killing Romance', the formula of romance genre films was excluded and a story close to anti-romance was completed.

The production team's tone is also revealed in the background of the film. The released stills clearly show the film's sensuous mise-en-scène, including the gorgeous visuals, colors, and characters that will unfold on the screen, raising expectations for the variety movie.

It stimulates the audience's interest with new spaces that are not found in everyday life, such as the mysterious island in the South Pacific called Kuala Island, Jonathan Na's mansion, which is reminiscent of a palace, and Beomwoo's house, which has a Siot roof that resembles the entrance to S University. Director Lee Won-seok explained, "It seems like a light story, but there are no wasted scenes. Although it is in touch with reality, I hoped that the slightly exaggerated device would create cinematic fun."

Meanwhile, 'Killing Romance' will be released on April 14th.

Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia reporter kkk39@tenasia.co.kr