Actor Jung Woosung is showing a new kind of prosecutor performance in Made In Korea that he has not attempted before. It sparked debate and even allegations of being viral, but that was not true and it was a thoroughly deliberate performance.
The recently released Disney+ original series Made In Korea (director Woo Min-ho) depicts Korea in the 1970s, when chaos and takeoff coexisted, and tells the story of company man Baek Ki-tae (Hyunbin) who seeks to make the state a revenue model to reach the pinnacle of wealth and power, and prosecutor Jang Geon-young (Jung Woosung), who pursues him with terrifying obsession to the brink, as they face huge events that span the era. Among this, the settings for prosecutor Jang Geon-young, portrayed by Jung Woosung, have attracted the attention of internet users.
Jang Geon-young is a figure whose childhood was ruined by drugs. His father, a forced labor victim during the Japanese colonial period, was subjected to brutal wartime labor and became addicted to Philopon because of the Japanese. After liberation, his father returned to his hometown and family, but he was already a drug addict. Under a father he could neither ignore nor be close to, Jang Geon-young became a merciless, yaksha-like prosecutor toward drug criminals. He even pursued drug cases disregarding Baek Ki-tae, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, in an era when the blade of power was sharp.
In this process, director Woo Min-ho asked Jung Woosung to perform a prosecutor role he had never done before. Not the easily corruptible ordinary prosecutor often portrayed as a symbol of judicial power, but a wounded figure because of family history. Therefore, when Jang Geon-young encounters turning points in drug-related cases that stir the wounds in his chest, he bursts into an exaggerated laugh that almost looks like a tic disorder. Rather than madness, awkwardly exaggerated laughter, speech patterns and behaviors that seem to hide the wounds leak out. That exaggerated behavior also leads to Jang Geon-young's obsession with drug cases.
Regarding this, director Woo Min-ho recently appeared as a guest on Maebul Show and said, "Before I created the Jang Geon-young character, the writer and I actually met with a psychiatrist. We asked, 'Could you make it like this?'" He said, "They told us that people in police or criminal investigation fields who have gone through such trauma often display exaggerated behaviors. They said, 'This is actually possible,'" revealing that the character setting was made based on the advice of a psychiatrist.
He added, "Moreover, if there is such a background, the laughter this person has can come out like a tic as a self-defensive feeling, so viewers might have felt slightly uncomfortable watching it," but he explained the directing intent, saying, "If so, it seems to have worked. That hearty laugh first sharply creates distance from the other person in that moment. The audience watching that feels the distance strongly and is burdened by it."
As director Woo Min-ho predicted, there were unpleasant reactions to Jung Woosung's performance. Some said, "It seems somewhat awkward and forced," and, "It feels like a performance that breaks immersion." On the other hand, there were defending reactions such as, "An intentional setting that fits the character," and, "It makes sense when you look at Jang Geon-young's narrative."
The problem arose when posts defending Jung Woosung's acting appeared on some online communities such as mom cafes, leading to suspicions of organized public opinion manipulation and viral marketing. In protest, a representative of Jung Woosung's agency Artist Company issued an official statement saying, "Groundless." The absurd allegations against the actor seem to have crossed the line beyond debate about the character.
Putting that aside, Made In Korea ends season 1 today (14th). As season 2 was already announced before season 1 was released, Jung Woosung's portrayal of Jang Geon-young does not end here. Attention is focused on whether his passionate performance, which decorates the first act, can persuade viewers through the controversy and into season 2.
[Photo] Provided by Disney+.
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