'Jeong-i' Ruined Space in 2194... "Late Kang Soo-yeon Was the Driving Force"

Netflix Movie 'Jung-i' Released on the 20th
Yeon Sang-ho's Korean-style SF... Late Kang Soo-yeon's Final Work

What if, in the 22nd century future, combat mercenaries were revived through artificial intelligence technology? The captivating worldview dreamed of by young Yeon Sang-ho unfolds in living rooms.

Director Yeon Sang-ho, who has continued creative worldbuilding and new attempts by depicting zombies, superpowers, and the afterlife in the movie Train to Busan (2016) and the Netflix series Hellbound (2021), takes on a new challenge with Jung-E. At the production presentation of the Netflix film Jung-E held on the 12th at Lotte Cinema Konkuk University in Seoul, Director Yeon stated, "I tried to realize the process of a character, who has lived as an objectified being within ideology, being liberated through SF imagination."

[Photo by Yonhap News]

Releasing on the 20th, Jung-E is an SF film that tells the story of people who attempt to develop the ultimate combat AI by cloning the brain of the legendary mercenary Jung-E to end the war that broke out in a shelter where humanity migrated after Earth was devastated by climate change. In 2194, after leaving the ruined Earth, humanity faces a new opportunity in a shelter built in space, but soon falls into the crisis of civil war again. The story begins when Jung-E (Kim Hyun-joo), the elite leader of the allied forces, becomes a vegetative state due to an unexpected accident. Jung-E, a legendary icon who led the allied forces to victory in numerous operations during the civil war, is developed into an AI through brain cloning technology at the Chronoid Research Institute.

Director Yeon Sang-ho expressed confidence, saying, "Even those unfamiliar with SF will be able to see the emotions that young Yeon Sang-ho felt through Jung-E. The unfamiliar aspects of this future story will feel fresh." Kim Hyun-joo, who plays Jung-E, the brain cloning subject for developing the ultimate combat AI, said, "Director Yeon gave me a character that could perform bold action in Hellbound, but in Jung-E, there were even more intense action scenes and emotional parts."

[Photo by Netflix]

Jung-E became the final work of the late Kang Soo-yeon. Kang Soo-yeon had not appeared in commercial films for 11 years since director Im Kwon-taek’s Moonlit Winter (2011), returning to the set with Jung-E. In the film, she played the head of the research team developing brain cloning and AI technology. After finishing filming, Kang Soo-yeon passed away in May last year due to acute cerebral hemorrhage.

Director Yeon Sang-ho reflected on the special meaning that Kang Soo-yeon was the beginning and the end of Jung-E. He said, "The project started the moment senior Kang Soo-yeon said, 'Let's give it a try.' I wondered who could play Yoon Seo-hyun, and suddenly Kang Soo-yeon’s name came to mind. From that moment, I strongly wanted to make it into a film. When I first spoke with her on the phone, I was so nervous that my short-sleeved shirt was soaked with sweat."

[Photo by Yonhap News]

Directors and actors who worked with Kang Soo-yeon on Jung-E were moved to tears. Director Yeon recalled, "She was an actress who loved being on set." Kim Hyun-joo remembered, "She was more serious than anyone else on set." Ryu Kyung-soo said, "I want to become an adult like her, and that feeling has not changed even now," and tearfully added, "Being able to act with senior Kang Soo-yeon was the greatest honor of my life."

To realize the brain cloning experiment set in the 22nd-century future, collaboration across various fields such as art, cinematography, and VFX was essential. Director Yeon said, "All the staff, including those in cinematography, art, and martial arts, were excited. Everyone tried their best to perform at their highest ability." Ryu Kyung-soo said, "It felt like being on a spaceship, very unfamiliar, but the familiar props inside enhanced the film’s details." Regarding the movements of mercenary Jung-E, Director Yeon explained, "Although it is SF action, I wanted to convey a more desperate, heavy feeling."