The film Salmokji: Whispering Water surpassed 3 million viewers, setting a new box office record, and the director personally shared his impressions.
Today (the 10th) the film Salmokji: Whispering Water (director Lee Sang-min, provided/distributed by SHOWBOX, produced by The Lamp) surpassed 3 million viewers. With this, Salmokji: Whispering Water overtook GONJIAM, which had held the No. 2 spot among Korean horror films for eight years, to become the second highest-grossing Korean horror film of all time. It is now even eyeing the roughly 3.1 million viewers of JANGHWA, HONGRYEON, the highest-grossing Korean horror film of all time. Director Lee Sang-min, who achieved his first successful commercial feature with Salmokji: Whispering Water, directly shared his feelings with OSEN.
Director Lee Sang-min said of the film's box office performance, "The thought I had most often was 'what a relief.' Even now I keep saying 'really a relief.' I worried a lot about how audiences would receive it after release, and to be honest I was very afraid. Even when Salmokji: Whispering Water was receiving a lot of love after release, I was constantly tense. Only around the second week did the word 'relief' start coming out of my mouth. Now I feel not just relief but very grateful," he said with a laugh.
Salmokji: Whispering Water broke the formula that "horror films belong in summer" and captivated Korean audiences with the work itself. On the secret to that, director Lee Sang-min credited the actors. "The actors' acting ability and charm played a big role," he said, adding, "Because everyone acted so well, audiences naturally grew fond of the characters," and he emphasized, "The memes that were unexpectedly created and continue to circulate are also thanks to the actors' charm."
The actors, led by Kim Hyeyoon, are cited as the main reason for Salmokji: Whispering Water's success. In particular, Kim Hyeyoon, who challenged the horror genre for the first time, broke box office records and earned the title 'horror queen.' In response, director Lee Sang-min expressed gratitude to the actors, saying, "I'm truly thankful to the actors for creating Salmokji: Whispering Water together. Every moment each actor gave their best performance without lacking anything, so I approached it with the mindset that 'I just have to do well.'"
He also said, "The reason Salmokji: Whispering Water could receive such great love from audiences is largely thanks to the actors. After the film was released and we did stage greetings, I could directly feel how much love the actors are receiving. It seems Salmokji: Whispering Water received the power of that love as well. Above all, I'm really thankful that they completed every character far more attractively than I had imagined. Truly, all of this is thanks to the actors. I'm grateful," he said emphatically.
He added, "Outside of the film, the chemistry among the actors was so good that audiences seemed to enjoy that aspect as well, and thanks to the publicity and marketing team that highlighted that well, word of mouth continued to spread." He continued, "Our staff all clearly understood the direction this film should take and joined in, so we were able to move forward steadily and finish without wavering while making the film. It was a film that ran toward a single destination like a straight arrow, and the process of making it seemed to resemble that. I think that sincerity and energy were conveyed to the audiences as well."
The overwhelming sense of fear embodied by the water ghost, which represents Salmokji: Whispering Water, has also provoked widespread praise. As a horror film fan himself, what was director Lee Sang-min's directorial approach? Director Lee Sang-min said, "I felt that the water ghost was somewhat different from other ghosts, more like a representation of nature itself. I wanted to convey the helplessness humans feel in the face of nature's vastness and the terror of encountering an overwhelming presence that cannot be understood. So I used many shots where the character appears small compared with an overwhelming space, and I tried to portray the water ghost in a grotesque way."
The popularity of the film has also appeared at the actual Salmokji site. Around the Salmokji reservoir in Gwangsi-myeon, Yesan County, Chungcheongnam-do, which inspired the film, various eye-catching banners informing visitors that it was a filming location emerged. It's a scene you wouldn't see at a typical rumored haunted spot.
Director Lee Sang-min added, "Seeing decks appear at Salmokji or memes like 'corn steamed with Salmokji water,' the reaction 'exorcised by capitalism' was the funniest. The idea that Koreans' characteristic energy and fast action could instantly fill even a place like Salmokji with positive energy struck me as very impressive and amusing."
[photo] provided by SHOWBOX, OSEN DB, SNS sources.
[OSEN]