Actor Lee Minho surprisedly confessed that he "was gaslighted" while sharing his impressions of working with director Heo Jin-ho for the first time.
On the afternoon of the 8th at Megabox COEX in Seoul, a press screening for the film "Assassin(s)" was held. Director Heo Jin-ho and lead actors Yoo Hai Jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Minho attended the event.
The film "Assassin(s)" (director Heo Jin-ho, produced by (주)Hive media corp, distributed by (주)Hive media corp) follows the investigation into the suspicions and backers of the first lady shooting that shocked Korea on Aug. 15, 1974. It adds some imagination to the facts surrounding the assassination attempt on the wife of former president Park Chung-hee, the late Yu Gyeong-su. Director Heo Jin-ho, who opened new horizons for Korean melodrama with "August Christmas" and also directed "The Last Princess", "The Map Against the World" and "A Normal Family", has again delivered a highly complete work with meticulous and precise direction.
Taking a historical event that shook Korea as its motif, the film expands the event's underside with cinematic imagination, adding tight tension and deep emotional textures to complete a high-density mystery pursuit. It was officially invited to the gala section of the 51st Toronto International Film Festival, earning recognition for its artistic quality, and delivers intense immersion and a lingering resonance.
Yoo Hai Jin plays Cheol-gu, a detective who witnessed the first lady shooting at the scene; Park Hae-il plays Jae-hwan, a reporter and deputy head of the social affairs desk at Dongsung Ilbo; and Lee Minho plays Young-il, a rookie reporter at Dongsung Ilbo who pursues the truth of the case.
Lee Minho said, "When I read the script, if the deputy head reporter (played by senior Park Hae-il) was a character who was static on the outside but dynamic within, I felt that Young-il, whom I played, should be lively like a fresh fish from the start, and I discussed that with the director. For style, I wanted to show a background of coming from a well-to-do family and subtly use items to convey that without overdoing it."
He, acting as a reporter for the first time in his career, recalled, "When I first went to film in the press room, it was implemented so well, just like the art I had studied in advance, and that helped me immerse myself. They set the cigarette smoke thickly and filmed, so the set even smelled exactly like cigarettes."
Especially, Lee Minho said, "Director Heo Jin-ho naturally has a way of speaking that gaslights," drawing laughter, and added, "He always speaks softly, but there was intensity within that, and within that I could keep my color and work freely."
Lee Minho also worked with Shim Eunkyung on location in Japan, saying, "She performs so perfectly that she is called a genius actress. When the two of us met, we spoke in a style like Korean residents in Japan. She is shy, so we didn't share many personal stories. She was so immersed in the role that her way of speaking and everything fit perfectly. Just watching her generated emotion," expressing his satisfaction.
Meanwhile, "Assassin(s)" opens on the 23rd.
[Photo] reporter Ji Hyung-jun
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