Director Min Yong-geun “Kim Da-mi is like a blank sheet of paper”

Director Min Yong-geun, who directed the movie 'Soulmate', mentioned Kim Da-mi, who played the role of Miso.

Director Min Yong-geun met with Ten Asia at the 'Soul Mate' pop-up store located in Seongdong-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 6th and told various stories related to the upcoming movie 'Soul Mate'.

'Soul Mate' is the story of two friends, Miso (played by Da-mi Kim), Ha-eun (played by So-ni Jeon), and Jin-woo (played by Woo-seok Byeon), who recognized each other from their first meeting and shared everything together, including joy, sadness, excitement, and longing.

‘Soul Mate’ is currently operating a pop-up store in Seongsu-dong. It is decorated with a variety of experience zones, as well as an exhibition of actual movie props, postcards containing various movie scenes and famous lines, and a space where you can freely leave graffiti.

On this day, director Min Yong-geun laughed, saying, "I came with the actors during a mini talk the day before the pop-up store opened. It's amazing. I saw the props on set a long time ago, and it's amazing that they are still there. It's a space with a window, so it feels different from seeing it in a photo."

Director Min Yong-geun, who made an impressive debut with the movie 'Hyehwa, Dong', returns with 'Soulmate' 10 years after 'A Certain Perspective - Ice River'. It sheds light on not only friendship but also individual life, and by bringing in the subject matter of painting, it not only raises emotions more dramatically, but also differentiates itself from the original work to stimulate interest.

Director Min Yong-geun said, "I also talked to the actors. It's a strange feeling. When a movie is released, the score is important and I worry about it. Still, I'm glad that I can show the movie in theaters. I feel excited. If I think about the score in isolation, I don't feel nervous. “I feel hopeful and excited,” he said.

Previously, Da-mi Kim said, "The director initially said that he thought more of Ha-eun out of the two roles. After watching the movie, I thought that I wanted to be free in my acting while playing the character Miso. I thought I wanted to play around on camera, so I played Miso. “I appealed that I wanted to,” he said.

Director Min Yong-geun said, "I think it was at the beginning of the script, but the roles that actress Kim Da-mi played at that time were like 'The Witch', and her external appearance in 'Itaewon Class' was strong. I wanted to discover the other side of the character. “We didn’t say let’s do it, but we met and talked to each other occasionally,” he began.

He said, "The role of Ha-eun is that she has to suppress a lot. She suppresses it and then the energy comes out, and I wanted to show that side of her. But when we met and talked and talked on the phone, I changed my mind. Actress Da-mi Kim wanted to portray the character called Miso." He said.

He continued, "The essence of the character called Smile has one aspect of freedom, and another aspect of lack. I felt strongly that the actor wanted to express certain emotions that come from that. The two talked on the phone for a long time and I liked the energy. “In the end, we went to the casting stage and talked about the role of Miso,” he added.

The original work of 'Soulmate' is the Chinese movie 'Hello, My Soulmate'. Joo Dong-woo and Kim Da-mi, the smiling characters in the original work, look alike. Director Min Yong-geun said of Kim Da-mi and Joo Dong-woo, who look alike, "They are matchless, but they have a different feel. Personally, I like actor Joo Dong-woo a lot. As is often said, he was a beautiful woman in the past, but because he does not have double eyelids, his face feels like a blank slate." .

He also said, “I think that kind of face is suitable for expressing various characters.” When deciding on the character in the first place, I didn't give him the role of a smile because he resembled actor Joo Dong-woo. It was separate from that. The fact that actor Da-mi Kim wanted to express the feelings of freedom and lack that comes with a smile played a big role. “It didn’t matter what was external,” he explained.

Meanwhile, 'Soulmate' will be released on the 15th.

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