Actor Hong Kyung, who grants in the Netflix film "Good News," learned the language for his Japanese performance.
On the morning of the 19th at Busan Cinema Center, a press conference was held for the film Good News (director Byun Sung-hyun), which was invited to the gala presentation of the 30th Busan International Film Festival. Director Byun Sung-hyun and lead actors Sul KyungGu, Hong Kyung, and Yamada Takayuki attended and discussed the film.
Good News is a film about a suspicious operation by people who gathered to do whatever it took to land a hijacked plane in the 1970s. After its world premiere screening in the Special Presentation section at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, it has drawn attention for its immersive story, distinctive characters and unique direction.
Among them, Hong Kyung plays Air Force Lieutenant Seo Go-myung. About the character, Hong Kyung said, "Seo Go-myung was a real person and a significant figure in that situation. As shown in our film's intro, it is a fiction that takes some event as a motif but is largely reimagined and reconstructed by the director. I also had freedom in how to get to know the young man the director wrote. I tried to develop Go-myung, who can be called the root the director wrote, in my own way."
Good News took inspiration from the Yodo-go hijacking incident that occurred in March 1970. The Yodo-go incident was when the Japanese Red Army hijacked the passenger plane Yodo-go and attempted to defect to North Korea. A variety of Japanese actors, including Yamada Takayuki, appear, and Korean actors also perform in Japanese.
Director Byun Sung-hyun said about this, "I was surprised when actor Hong Kyung spoke Japanese. Usually when performing in a foreign language, actors try to memorize the lines so they fit in the mouth. But Hong Kyung started by studying Japanese hiragana like the Korean alphabet. He said he wanted to listen to the other actor's lines. I listened and was surprised," he said, clicking his tongue.
Park Ga-eon, senior programmer for the Busan International Film Festival, who moderated the press conference, also said, "Actor Hong Kyung performs not only English but also Japanese, and it didn't feel like acting but like hearing an actual person use the language."
Hong Kyung himself said, "I don't think it was that outstanding. It's a bit embarrassing. The head of the production company and the producer gave me plenty of time. Thanks to the director, but as an actor, being able to have a long pre-production period was an important factor for someone like me with little experience. I think the roles of the head and the producer were important. Rather, I feel embarrassed that I didn't live up to that time. I'm grateful people view it favorably," showing humility.
Good News will be released on Netflix on Oct. 17.
[Photo] OSEN reporter Lee Seok-woo, provided by Netflix.
[OSEN]