'Bangguseok 1yeol' Director Im Kwon-taek of 'Seopyeonje' "I Wanted to Tell Our Nation's Story Beyond Hollywood"

JTBC 'Banggu-seok 1yeol' Director Im Kwon-taek / Photo by JTBC

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Park Hee-eun] Director Im Kwon-taek, famous for the film 'Seopyeonje,' talks about the philosophy embedded in his movies.

On the 5th (Sunday), the 100th special episode of JTBC’s ‘Banggu-seok 1-yeol’ will feature Director Im Kwon-taek and actor Kim Myung-gon.

In particular, this broadcast will focus on Director Im Kwon-taek’s films 'Jjakko' and 'Seopyeonje.'

During the recording, when reporter Joo Sang-chul described 'Jjakko' as "the first work to portray partisans in a humanized way," actor Kim Myung-gon explained, “It is a work that deeply deals with the tragedy of our nation beyond ideology more than any other film.”

Director Im cited 'Jokbo' as a significant work in his career. He said, “I made so many films that I was shooting five a year, following Hollywood movies," and added, "I felt the need to break free from the shadow of Hollywood films and tell the story of our people.”

He added, "Only after producing ‘Jokbo’ after ten years of effort did I feel liberated from Hollywood movies.”

Meanwhile, on this day, Director Im Kwon-taek also mentioned Director Bong Joon-ho’s Academy Award win. He said, "It proved that Koreans are making films that stand shoulder to shoulder with many great films worldwide," and revealed his connection with Bong Joon-ho, saying, "Since ‘Memories of Murder,’ I thought, ‘He’s going to make a big impact someday,’ as he was a noticeable junior director.”