Actors Lee Jae-in and Hong Kyung show the faces of young people who survive despite hardships like disaster situations through the film "Concrete Market."
On the afternoon of the 1st at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Jamsil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, a press screening and press conference for the film "Concrete Market" (director Hong Gi-won) were held. Director Hong Gi-won and the film's lead actors Jeong Man-sik, Lee Jae-in, Hong Kyung, and Yoo Su-bin attended the conference held after the screening to speak with domestic reporters about the film.
"Concrete Market" is a film about a Hwanggung Market that is the only market left in an apartment complex after a massive earthquake, where people buy and sell goods and start transactions in their own ways to survive. It deals with the aftermath of the film "Concrete Utopia," which was released in 2023 and drew about 3.84 million viewers domestically thanks to actor Lee Byung-hun's passionate performance.
"Concrete Utopia" was adapted from Kim Soong-nyung's webtoon "Pleasant Bullying" part two, "Pleasant Neighbor." It later developed into the Netflix film "Wilderness" starring Ma Dong-seok. "Concrete Market" completes the so-called "Concrete" trilogy. It is expected as a work that illuminates the post-apocalypse.
While senior top actors such as Lee Byung-hun, Park Bo-young, Park Seo Jun in the previous film "Concrete Utopia," and Ma Dong-seok in "Wilderness" played active roles, in "Concrete Market" Jeong Man-sik anchors the film as the villain Park Sang-young, with Lee Jae-in as Choi Hee-ro, Hong Kyung as Kim Tae-jin, and Yoo Su-bin as Park Cheol-min playing active roles. As promising young actors who recently represent youth in the Korean film industry gathered in one work, it is drawing attention.
Director Hong Gi-won said, "The only thing that is the same is that it deals with people's survival after a massive earthquake. Other than that, I think it is an original story and an independent film that faces a new world called 'Hwanggung Market.' Please enjoy it as a new film in that regard," sharing his opening impressions.
He continued, "Works set in a post-apocalypse often deal with situations that have already occurred, but we twisted that and based it on crime, with protagonists who are mostly teenagers and people who did not know who they were before or after the disaster. Since Hwanggung Market uses barter as a setting, I think it brought a unique charm," he said with pride.
Originally, "Concrete Market" aimed to be a seven-part series but was released as a film first. Regarding this, director Hong Gi-won said, "The film has multiple main narratives. Hee-ro's story of avenging Se-jeong is resolved. In addition, there are various supporting characters, different spaces, explanations, and sublines. The film tries to move relentlessly with incident-centered storytelling," he said.
On the film's detailed elements, director Hong Gi-won said, "I conceived it thinking of an actual mixed-use apartment complex. The parking lot hosts various markets, the first and second floors are markets where sales occur and important markets where people live, and the highest eighth and ninth floors are set like penthouses where people who rule the area unpleasantly stay," he said.
He especially explained about canned food as the barter currency, saying, "Even in actual disaster manuals, aside from water, items like canned food or retort pouch foods can be preserved for a long time and can be traded in accurate, measured amounts, so I thought canned food would be the most appropriate currency and set it that way."
The film includes situations involving prostitution and sexual bribery. Director Hong Gi-won added, "Although such situations appear, I essentially thought of these people as those exploited and surviving at the bottom. The eighth floor is a typical place that I absolutely did not want to depict as bright; I tried not to use vivid colors so it would appear as a place where people live. I wanted to show that those living there are not doing so voluntarily and tried to show even a bit of that."
Jeong Man-sik, who attempted a villain role again, said, "In the previous work I played a gangster. I even wore suits. This time, when meeting people who survived in a collapsed world, personally I would like for people to hold hands and live together, but surprisingly, whether the world is collapsed or not, there are always people who think 'one more, a little more, I want more.' I wanted to portray such people, and the film shows the omitted parts of how a simple salesman used what he had to claim a large position in the Hwanggung Market to survive. Fundamentally, I thought about a person who tries to live, to take, and to go all the way to the end."
He went on, "They are people surviving together, but to persuade someone that what I have will help you, I thought a salesman needs a so-called 'bite,' so I considered evasive speech or seductive, alluring approaches like con artists. I wanted the audience to feel like they were seeing someone they had seen before, so I approached more comfortably and familiarly; more precisely, I wanted viewers to have a sense of familiarity with the person. I tried various approaches like tone, eye contact, and even cooking things that might look appealing. I wanted to portray a familiar devil. I challenged myself that way, but I don't know how the audience will perceive it," he said.
How were the juniors' chemistry with the senior actors? Lee Jae-in said of Jeong Man-sik, "He was a senior I had always respected. In this work, I felt I couldn't lose. Hee-ro is a character who tries not to lose wherever she goes. Because he acted as he usually speaks, he wasn't scary, but I wondered why I should give in, so I acted to avoid surrendering in those parts," she said with a laugh.
Hong Kyung added, "I watched how the senior made his roles convincing whether they were good or evil, and I learned a lot from that." Yoo Su-bin also said, "He was so scary when acting together. He joked lightly, which made him even scarier. I admired the senior's unexpected acting born from his composure and experience. I think working with him was the most fun on set," drawing laughter.
The ensemble of peers is also interesting. Lee Jae-in said, "Hee-ro is 18 in the film, and I was 18 during filming. I was grateful because I thought there would be something to express only at this age. Although some co-actors are adults, most were similar in age. I appreciated having senior actors to rely on and working with two actors whose acting I had long admired was fun," she said.
Hong Kyung said, "A long time ago, when I had even less experience than now, I worked with actor Jae-in, actor Su-bin, and senior Man-sik. I remember receiving good stimulation and filming while learning from those with more experience than me."
Yoo Su-bin said, "Actor Lee Jae-in, despite being very young, held up the pillar of our film very well during filming. Actor Hong Kyung has focus that does not break in any scene, no matter what he shoots, so I ended up only learning from him," he said with a laugh.
As they take center stage, the film closely examines the next generation and youth in disaster situations. Jeong Man-sik said, "The first work was an adult story, the second was a clash of good and evil. We deal with the lives that the next generation, who survived, are experiencing and living. In the film, Chairman Park asks when they will stop whining and says they must become adults. In a previous scene, Tae-jin smokes a thick, long cigarette that seems like what someone in their 50s or older would smoke. I smoke a thinner one afterward. Watching these things, the film shows children who are not yet adults becoming adults without anyone helping them," he explained by comparing the characters to the series.
He added, "In the film, adults do not talk to the children and are afraid. There is no 'you must not do that.' The children grow up without knowing right from wrong. That is why Hee-ro says she hopes it would be like a school. School is the first society for children before they become adults. Because they did not receive social lessons, she said she wanted it to be like a school. It seems to show late-teen friends, who are not yet adults, surviving. No one can care for or protect them, so I hope the film shows well how they live together as a group," he said about the worldview and characters.
Lee Jae-in said, "I think a person's true nature shows when a crisis occurs. It is an enormous crisis, and when everyone goes through it, each character survives in different ways. Hee-ro is someone who tries to solve problems by pretending not to be that way. She devises strategies pretending to be an adult and to know everything, but she is afraid inside and does not avoid problems but faces them. Usually, strategy or brainy characters have a cold aspect. I find those characters boil with emotion. I thought that aspect showed a human side, so I found it interesting," she said about her character.
Hong Kyung added, "Trying to survive in extreme situations seems to be a common trait everyone has. If this friend shows a more human side, she is weak and vulnerable. I think there is warmth that blooms from that. I think that is one of this friend's many sides."
Yoo Su-bin introduced his character's charm, saying, "Cheol-min pretends to be relaxed and loud when dealing with people outside to survive, but when alone or with teammates, he shows much fatigue about reality. I think that duality makes the character attractive."
Director Hong Gi-won explained the casting reason that completed their combination: "Since I was young, I liked that senior Jeong Man-sik expressed a neighborhood uncle-like softness rather than straightforward fear, so I thought of him from the start. I felt he would need to be at that level to swing the children freely. I think he showed that well both on set and in his acting," he said with a laugh.
He continued, "Actor Jae-in was exactly that age, and rather than a character who looks strong, I thought a character like Jae-in who calmly and casually uses people and devises strategies in reverse would have greater impact, so I saw that in her."
He also said, "I watched actor Hong Kyung since 'D.P.' and thought he could fill the character's shortcomings by showing complex emotions in addition to his existing traits. As expected, he has since revealed it all, so I think he did well."
He added, "Actor Yoo Su-bin also has his own chilling moments, and in his previous works he sometimes played stereotypical characters, so when he plays the toughest character like Cheol-min, I thought there would be a completely new side. From rehearsals onward he exceeded expectations, and I was grateful."
Finally, on viewing points of the film, Yoo Su-bin said, "Our film features characters who each try to survive in different ways. It will be fun if you watch imagining which character you would act like." Hong Kyung said, "There are stories that could happen in real life and backgrounds you can encounter in a film, and I think that is a big part of the fun. Our work has that, so please watch freely," he said.
Lee Jae-in said, "It may be a somewhat big story, but I think the way this film focuses on young generations is meaningful. I thought that leaving a safe place and undergoing change can feel like a disaster to young people. Each adapts differently. I think those things will resonate with the young generation. Aside from that, the film has the suspense and fun of the nonroutine nature of a disaster and, apart from everything, it's a great film for fandom. I had a lot of fun 'fangirling' in it. I thought those parts would resonate and be enjoyable," she said with a laugh.
Jeong Man-sik said, "Our film features post-apocalypse stories of minors living in a collapsed world. I know minors living in a world that hasn't collapsed have it pretty tough too. It won't be easy. We know and are experiencing that. I think there will be sufficient common ground. Please, if possible, come with the whole family to see it," he urged.
Director Hong Gi-won added, "Seeing the film, you can also see truly growing actors and actors who have grown showing new sides. They worked to show different aspects little by little, and I think fans and audiences will be newly satisfied by that."
"Concrete Market" opens nationwide on the 3rd.
[Photo] OSEN reporter Min Kyung-hoon.
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