[Limelight] Gang Dong-won Guides Through the Hellish Chaos of Abigyuhwan

Movie 'Peninsula' Kang Dong-won returns as Jeong-seok in chaotic Peninsula
Difficult to coordinate action scenes among actors... Focused on subtle facial expressions due to few inner monologue scenes
Prioritized artistic value over role size "Hope this signals revival of the film industry"

Actor Kang Dong-won

In the movie Peninsula, South Korea quickly descends into chaos. A zombie virus outbreak originating from a bio factory rapidly spreads across the entire country. The survivors, struggling to stay alive, become refugees. Thanks to the help of the U.S. military, they board a passenger ship bound for Hong Kong.

Even the vast ocean is not safe. A man crouched in a corner of the underground cabin turns into a zombie. He bites people indiscriminately, turning the passenger ship into a sea of blood. Jung-seok (Kang Dong-won), a soldier, uses his impeccable marksmanship to handle the chaos. However, he loses his family. Although land is visible in the distance, he sits dazed, a face that has lost all hope and reason.

Jung-seok represents a world ruled by savagery. Four years later, both his appearance and personality have changed. His hair is unkempt, and his T-shirt is tattered. His face is deeply sunburned. He is no different from those hiding and unable to escape Korea.

Kang Dong-won described the role as "one that offers no catharsis." "I tried to clearly express the emotions that change as he meets various people. While the inner growth process is important, I wanted to guide the audience well into this hellish world."

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The role closest to a guide lacks depth. This is because the camera’s focus is aligned with the people and world he observes. Jung-seok heads back to Korea with his brother-in-law Cheol-min (Kim Do-yoon) to retrieve a truck carrying a bag of money. After that, there is only one story to expect: whether they can escape from a desperate situation.

Director Yeon Sang-ho quickly resolves the conflict arising from the reunion between Jung-seok and Min-jung (Lee Jung-hyun) in the middle of the film. Unlike George Romero’s Land of the Dead (2005), it does not dwell on the fractures among surviving humans. Perhaps for this reason, Kang Dong-won defined Peninsula as an action movie.

"Honestly, I didn’t particularly like zombie movies. There are many startling scenes, but I didn’t feel psychological pressure. So I preferred occult films like The Priests (2015). But once I started filming, I understood their appeal: the thrilling action and the setting close to reality. Keeping these two in mind, I developed Jung-seok’s character."

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-You have honed various action skills in films like My Wife Is a Gangster (2005), Jeon Woo-chi (2009), Secret Reunion (2010), Gangnam Blues (2014), and Illang: The Wolf Brigade (2018), so it seems you acted relatively easily...

"Actually, it wasn’t like that during filming. It was tricky to coordinate with the zombie actors. Zombies don’t defend themselves; they just keep rushing forward, so the pre-planned choreography often got tangled. I was also troubled by saliva flying from their mouths (laughs). The stunt team actors portrayed zombies realistically. Since Train to Busan (2016), many zombie-themed works have been produced domestically. Perhaps due to accumulated experience, they all showed skillful attacks. When Director Yeon Sang-ho shouted 'Cut,' they would shy away as if nothing had happened."

-Unlike Train to Busan, Peninsula has longer action cuts and many handheld shots...

"Some scenes were filmed for over a minute. Although it was difficult during acting, I think emotions like anger were better expressed because the flow wasn’t interrupted."

-Since Jung-seok’s character is not deeply illuminated, it seems you put considerable effort into this aspect...

"That’s right. Although he leads the story, there aren’t many scenes showing his inner self. Since it also has the nature of a heist film, there was concern it might be portrayed flatly. So I thought a lot about how to convey emotions through action, especially the emotional changes when meeting Min-jung’s family. Even slight changes in facial expression could appear exaggerated, so I had to find a compromise myself."

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-Jung-seok’s role seems to diminish from the middle of the film...

"From the first time I read the script, the role’s size was irrelevant. The theme of Peninsula is children finding hope amid despair. I thought adults who have lost hope and reason shouldn’t stand out more. Negatively speaking, Jung-seok is merely a supporting role for Jun-i (Ire) and Yoo-jin (Lee Ye-won). Perhaps Director Yeon Sang-ho expected me to decline the offer. When we met before filming, he repeatedly expressed gratitude, saying, 'I really didn’t think you would appear' (laughs)."

-Many actors are busy securing their own screen time; how did you break away from that mindset?

"There was no special trigger. As I got older, my sense of responsibility naturally grew. I began to focus more on the completeness of the work rather than the role’s size or importance. Perhaps because of that, the stress I felt while acting greatly decreased. I’m enjoying filming with the production team and feeling a strong camaraderie."

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-Did your signing of the 'Post Bong Joon-ho Act' in February, which restricts large corporations from simultaneously distributing and exhibiting films, stem from that camaraderie?

"I participated at the suggestion of Director Lee Chang-dong. Small and medium-sized companies must survive for large corporations to survive. This is even more true in the film industry. Coexistence must come first for films with diverse colors to emerge. In my twenties, I wasn’t aware of institutional problems. I began to open my eyes little by little by listening to my colleagues. Since I’m an actor, people around me sometimes discourage such actions. But these are issues in the film industry where I work. I believe I can and should raise my voice."

-What does the release of Peninsula mean amid the film industry’s collapse due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

"It’s the first film to be released worldwide after the COVID-19 outbreak. I hope it becomes a signal for the film industry’s revival. Moreover, I hope it offers comfort to audiences exhausted by COVID-19. There are many car chase action scenes never before seen domestically. You’ll be able to blow off stress for a change."