'The King's Warden' director Jang Hang-jun shared his thoughts on reaching 10 million viewers.
On the 13th, KBS 1TV's 'Newsline W' featured director Jang Hang-jun, who directed The King's Warden, and actor Yoo Ji-tae, who gave a passionate performance as Han Myeong-hoe.
The King's Warden portrayed the story of Cheongnyeongpo in 1457, a village headman who volunteered to be exiled for the village's revival, and the young dethroned king who was exiled. After becoming the 34th film in history to reach 10 million viewers, it surpassed 12 million viewers on its 36th day after release and remained No. 1 at the box office in its fifth week, establishing itself as one of this year's representative hits at the theaters.
First, director Jang Hang-jun, reflecting on becoming a 10 million director, said, "The break-even point was 2.6 million, and even that seemed hard to surpass, but on opening day the score was half of what I expected. I thought we would fail to pass the break-even point, but rebound began the next day after that. In the early days, the production team's mood wasn't good," and added, "It's unbelievable. It's something I couldn't have imagined. It's like a huge hidden camera, like a dream."
Director Jang Hang-jun also said about the fact that a 10 million viewer film appeared after two years, "There are young people, but there were also viewers in their 90s. I was happy to see people across generations laughing and crying together. I'm glad that those things seemed to be realized through our film."
About directing his first historical film, director Jang Hang-jun said, "There are more things to consider than with contemporary works. If the costumes and other daily-life depictions are wrong, you get criticized even before release. For period pieces, people usually take clothes out of the warehouse to use, but we made even the extras' costumes. It wasn't easy, but the costume designer put his heart and soul into the designs."
Regarding the message he wanted to deliver with The King's Warden, he said, "In some ways I think it's an era where meaning has disappeared. Friends and lovers calculate things even among themselves, but I wanted to portray the stories of those who risked death to do the right thing in the brutal, frenzied times of our ancestors, and the stories of those who tried to protect them. I wanted to pose the provocative questions to the audience: should unrealized justice be forgotten, and should successful treason be acknowledged?"
When asked about his future plans, director Jang Hang-jun said, "I'll rest first. I'm preparing and reviewing projects. There are not many markets creating a film market in their own language, but Korea is one of them. Korean cinema is in crisis, but theaters are showing strength. If you pay attention to many films in the future, I think this culture will be passed on to future generations."
When asked to predict the final audience number, director Jang Hang-jun added, "I've never had a prediction come true. I'm satisfied to be receiving more love than I deserve now, and in the industry people talk numbers, but I think the figures have left our predictions and human hands."
Meanwhile, The King's Warden, the biggest hit of 2026, is now showing to rave reviews in theaters.
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