Movie 'Cheonbaksa Toemayeonguso' Press Screening
Chuseok 3-Way Battle "Honored to Compete with Song Kang-ho and Ha Jung-woo"
Actor Kang Dong-won (42) returns as the exorcist Cheon Bak-sa. His shoulders feel heavy as he stands alongside Song Kang-ho and Ha Jung-woo in the Chuseok box office. Which movie will the audience choose?
On the afternoon of the 19th, Kang Dong-won attended the press screening of the film Cheon Bak-sa Exorcism Research Institute: The Secret of the Snowy Scenery held at CGV Yongsan in Ichon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. He was asked about his determination to release the film on the same day, the 27th, as Song Kang-ho’s starring film Spider’s Web (directed by Kim Ji-woon) and Ha Jung-woo’s 1947 Boston (directed by Kang Je-gyu).
He began by saying, "It’s the first time that my leading role is opening on the same day as Song Kang-ho and Ha Jung-woo." He added, "Since various films are being released, I hope many Korean film audiences will come. I hope the theaters will be full of guests."
Cheon Bak-sa Exorcism Research Institute: The Secret of the Snowy Scenery tells the story of a fake exorcist Cheon Bak-sa (Kang Dong-won), who does not believe in ghosts but possesses ghost-like insight, and begins when he is commissioned to handle a powerful case unlike any he has experienced before.
Kang Dong-won takes the lead role as the fake exorcist Cheon Bak-sa. He emphasized, "I thought there might be overlapping points since the character is somewhere between Jeon Woo-chi (2009) and My Annoying Brother (2016). I tried my best to avoid that." He said, "I worked hard to build layers of emotion for Cheon Bak-sa, who has inner pain," and added, "I also mixed in humor so it wouldn’t be boring."
(From left) Actors Heo Jun-ho, Lee Dong-hwi, Esom, Director Kim Sung-sik, actors Kim Jong-soo, Park So-yi, Kang Dong-won [Photo by CJ ENM]
Regarding the criticism that Cheon Bak-sa is similar to Jeon Woo-chi, director Kim Seong-sik said, "Of course, I referred to it," but drew a line by saying, "I differentiated it with themes of revenge and madness."
Kang Dong-won said, "There were overlapping points in lines and emotional expressions with Jeon Woo-chi," and added, "I tried my best to make it different." He further explained, "Jeon Woo-chi is a character without any complexes or pain, which is different from Cheon Bak-sa."
Cheon Bak-sa Exorcism Research Institute: The Secret of the Snowy Scenery is a film adaptation of the Naver Webtoon Possession. Although it was introduced under the title Possession, the title was finalized as Cheon Bak-sa Exorcism Research Institute: The Secret of the Snowy Scenery ahead of its release.
Director Kim Seong-sik said, "I wanted to visually express the possession from the webtoon." He continued, "If we focus too much on fantasy, it can become childish, so I tried to maintain a middle ground. I blended technology within reality. Please see it as computer graphics added on a real base."
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