Na Hong-Jin Ties 'Hope' to 2017 War Fears at Busan Masterclass

Director Na Hong-Jin said his film "Hope" grew out of a conviction he formed around 2017 that war was about to break out on the Korean peninsula. He made the remark during a masterclass at the 31st Busan International Film Festival titled "Na Hong-Jin, A Genre of His Own," according to Variety.

At the session, Na described how personal history feeds his screenwriting. He said he named a character in "Hope" Yang-bae after a friend he goes fishing with, and that the role is played by Eum Moon-suk.

Na also walked the audience through his working methods. He said he did not look at his storyboards on "The Wailing," instead talking through each day's shots with his cinematographer in the car every morning.

Origins of earlier films

The masterclass also covered "The Chaser," which Na said began on a night out watching football at a local bar, where he drank with detectives who told him about serial killer Yoo Young-chul setting a fire and escaping after being taken into custody by police in Mapo.

"The Yellow Sea," he said, started with reports of a killing a day in Garibong-dong, and his research took him to Yanbian, where he met a well-known gangster. For "The Wailing," he spent several months living alongside shamans at a mountain hermitage.

Na said he believes post-production is undervalued by the Korean industry and is squeezed into too little time. He noted the masterclass was planned as an hour-long walk through his process followed by half an hour of audience questions.