'ONE: High School Heroes' is expected to faithfully recreate the emotion of the original work for the audience.
On the morning of the 28th, a production press conference for the Wave original 'ONE: High School Heroes' was held at Lotte Cinema in Konkuk University, Gwangjin District, Seoul. Actors Lee Jeong-ha, Kim Do-wan, Kim Sang-ho, Kim Joo-ryung, Yoo Hee-jae, Yook Joon-seo, Lim Seong-kyun, and director Lee Seong-tae attended the press conference.
'ONE: High School Heroes' is a high school action drama about the top student Lee Gyeom (played by Lee Jeong-ha), who suffers from his father's oppression, and Yoon Ki (played by Kim Do-wan), who seeks to use his innate fighting talent. Together, they form the masked 'High School Heroes' to unleash their repressed anger and overturn the hierarchy of school violence. Based on the popular webtoon 'ONE,' which has recorded a cumulative view count of 65 million on Kakao Webtoon and won the '2020 Today's Comic Award,' the show has garnered much anticipation.
On this day, director Lee Seong-tae noted about 'ONE: High School Heroes', "It is based on the webtoon by writer Lee Eun-jae. The original work itself is an extraordinary piece. The two friends, Lee Gyeom and Yoon Ki, hide a great pain in their hearts. They decide to become High School Heroes to take revenge on the bullies and those who commit bad deeds in school."
In the show, Lee Jeong-ha plays Lee Gyeom, who awakens his repressed fighting instinct. He explained, "Gyeom suffers oppression from senior (Kim) Sang-ho and his father Seok-tae. He aims only for medical school, but upon transferring schools, he discovers his innate talent for fighting. Yoon Ki, seeing this, plans to flip the school hierarchy with him as a cool character."
Previously showcasing aerial action in 'Moving,' Lee Jeong-ha stated, "Since I've done a lot of action in the air, I wanted to do it on the ground this time. It was intriguing and intense, and I had a lot of fun shooting it. It feels like a new challenge for me, and I'm really excited about it." He added, "Gyeom has innate talent in fighting. He can mimic martial arts after just one look and is a character who can effectively use that talent. As I tried to digest various actions, there were many action scenes created. The set prioritized safety, and the energy there motivated me."
Kim Do-wan plays Yoon Ki, who recognizes Lee Gyeom's fighting talent and leads the formation of the High School Heroes. He remarked, "Yoon Ki is cold and surprisingly sly. He has a very objective way of looking at fights. Amidst that, Gyeom is like a raw gem to him. Together, they form the heroes and pursue true education."
He continued, "Since I play a role that actively creates events within the drama, I discussed it a lot with the director beforehand. We considered how to make the character more flexible and cunning, discussing every detail before filming to build the character. I haven't done a lot of action before, so I trained primarily with the fight scenes, hoping that the emotions would come out naturally. In my previous work, I filmed romance, but in this piece, I hope people think, 'Oh, Kim Do-wan has that side, he's cold and sharp.'"
When asked about his reasons for casting the two leads, director Lee Seong-tae stated, "Kim Do-wan is very innocent and expressive. He can make people feel good, and once he smiles, it feels like everything melts away. The protagonist is a friend who has lost his own expression under oppression. However, I hoped that when the character experiences liberation in the story, Jeong-ha's expression would naturally emerge, melting people. When Jeong-ha creates emotions on his own, his eyes can be unsettling. I concluded that he could be a great actor to depict Lee Gyeom's character, so I offered him the role."
He continued, "I wanted to work with Kim Do-wan after seeing his previous works. He seems like a good person and acts attractively and skillfully. I modified his character slightly based on the original work. Due to the nature of the piece, Kang Yoon Ki must lead Lee Gyeom to drive the story. We looked for actors who could naturally create chemistry, and that's why I focused on Do-wan, who caught my eye. Also, I think being handsome is very important."
Lee Jeong-ha, when asked about his compatibility with Kim Do-wan, said, "We match so well that we can be counted among the best in South Korea. We filmed the action scenes with absolute priority on safety, which also resulted in more refreshing and cool action scenes. We are truly fond of each other."
Kim Sang-ho plays Lee Gyeom's father, Kim Seok-tae. He expressed, "Having grown up in a violent home, I inherit that violence. The director told me that I just need to keep things in balance. The children will generate the excitement from fighting and action, so both Kim Joo-ryung and I were given the order to just maintain the balance, and we did well."
Kim Joo-ryung, playing Lee Gyeom's mother Myung Da-bin, shared, "This role is completely different from my previous ones, so I think both I and the viewers will have expectations. I feel honored to become Jeong-ha's mother. I want to express how happy, joyful, and excited I am going to the set. The character Myung Da-bin, at first, appears somewhat powerless as she tries to protect her son Lee Gyeom from her husband Seok-tae's oppression, but upon seeing Gyeom change, I will show how I become determined to protect my son. I hope you will keep an eye on that transformation until the end."
Yoo Hee-jae plays the unyielding and strongest fighter in the area, Choi Ki-soo. He explained, "I aimed to depict Choi Ki-soo as a character who enjoys violence itself and commits meaningless violence almost as a joke. If the Heroes engage in violence with purpose and meaning, I wondered what kind of synergy could arise when they meet antagonistically. I will join in the latter half, so if you stay tuned, you might find entertainment in hating me. In past works, I believe I have shown strong sides to the audience, but in this piece, I think I can show the end of evil, the evil itself. I hope to showcase many strong moments and receive plenty of criticism."
Yook Joon-seo, who gained attention through 'Moving' and 'Solo Hell 4', will challenge himself by portraying the mysterious transfer student Lee Geol-jae. He said, "Geol-jae is a character who made an impactful appearance in a series connected before the work 'ONE.' As he has an existing fan base and a tremendous personality, I focused on maintaining and recreating it without damaging the original story in collaboration with the director. My acting activity seems so embarrassing that I am here without having firmly established my identity as an actor while auditioning for the role, and the director must have been worried. Although I only have a few scenes and lines, we spent a lot of time making them more authentic to me, and the director paid a lot of attention to that."
When asked about the reason for casting Yook Joon-seo, director Lee Seong-tae replied, "I thought a lot when casting. Geol-jae is an attractive character in the original work and comes from writer Lee Eun-jae's previous work 'Ten,' where he appeared as a legendary character. The difficulties in adapting a work that has an existing fan base could be daunting. If we fail to create a satisfactory character for the fans, it could be challenging. I worried significantly about who to cast and specifically discussed what kind of charm and force Geol-jae should have, ensuring the casting would not be superficial, as that would ruin everything and be dangerous. In contemplating this, I met with Joon-seo multiple times and discussed building the character. I discovered that he could produce the feelings naturally without trying too hard, which I consistently requested from him. Joon-seo also underwent fierce training to express such performance alongside martial arts, perfectly bringing it to life on set, which I think was very impressive."
Meanwhile, Lim Seong-kyun portrays the first-year delinquent Kim Seung-jun, who dominates the school through boxing. He shared, "I think the beanie is symbolic of Seung-jun's character. I pondered how to wear it beautifully while still being charismatic. Seung-jun dreamed of boxing but abandoned that dream and ultimately ruled the first year through boxing. After fighting with Gyeom, changes begin to occur within him. I thought the most about how to express those narratives dramatically. My previous work was quite bright. I wanted to play a manly character that holds weight even if it receives criticism. Fortunately, I think I can reflect a different side of myself through 'ONE,' so I'm excited and looking forward to it. Thank you for watching a lot."
When asked about the differences between the original work with a solid fanbase and the drama, director Lee Seong-tae explained, "The original is great. I personally believe it cannot be expressed solely as a school action genre. It provides a profound emotion that goes beyond that. Thus, I made great effort to implement the narrative of the original as closely as possible. It holds almost the same storytelling as the original. The parts adapted for the drama involve the protagonist's mother, which is not well expressed in the original. By setting up the protagonist's mother and grandfather, I added small devices to enhance the protagonist's trauma related to family traditions of violence, oppression, and the father's era."
He added, "I slightly modified Yoon Ki's character. In the original, he is a cold and serious character. I believe there are many fans who like that portrayal, but I thought it would be better to allow for more flexibility in the plot. I cannot reveal the spoilers, but both Yoon Ki and Gyeom have hidden past narratives. When that is revealed, I thought it would be better to modify Yoon Ki's character to resonate with the audience. Other than that, I tried to implement as much of the original as possible."
Particularly, with recent dramas based on webtoons addressing school violence, such as 'Weak Hero' and 'Study Group', gaining much love, when asked about the unique aspects of 'ONE: High School Heroes', director Lee Seong-tae stated, "Many dramas have dealt with school violence. That suggests that school violence is a significant issue in South Korean society. Our work also addresses that part, so I believe we cannot stray from what has been discussed in other works. However, the discourse on violence in the original work is impressive as it does not remain on a one-dimensional level. Both the protagonist and the recurring villains, including the father and mother, all harbor wounds and pains in their hearts. Throughout the drama, I had to shoot large-scale action scenes. I thought of these scenes not as mere action but as emotional scenes. Therefore, I believe it will offer a more emotional and intense feeling rather than glorified or stylized violence."
He further mentioned the points to watch, saying, "Every episode introduces new characters who showcase action. Essentially, with a dojang-breaking concept, we are fighting new villains, and each of those actions has been tailored to fit the new villain characters. Additionally, as portrayed in the original, the narrative does not stop at school violence. It addresses domestic violence and the societal pressure that pursues and demands sexuality as the utmost value. I think this will encompass a profound consideration of various layers of violence, delivering significant emotional impact."
He emphasized, "Some people said that the villain characters would receive a lot of criticism, but that is absolutely not the case. I believe that after watching the work, tremendous fan bases will form. From the audience's perspective, they will not criticize them. I think that is the differentiation of our work from others."
[Photo] OSEN Lee Dae-seon reporter
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