Director of ‘My Sassy Girl’ to take on a more serious movie
Korean director Kwak Jae-yong is perhaps best known for his romantic-comedy “My Sassy Girl” (2001), but he’s decided to try his hand at a more somber story and will take on a film about the so-called “comfort women” of World War II.The movie, to be called “Flower Shoes,” will be set from 1930 to 1945 and will detail the experiences of the Korean women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese during that time period.
“I’ve been touched by the stories of these courageous women and have thought about their plight for some time now,” Kwak said. “Of course, I want to impact the society at large with this work, but I also want to tell a story about love, focusing on the psychological aspects of what happened more than just the mere facts.”
The director attended a gathering of former comfort women and asked about their experiences before starting further preparations. Production will begin once casting is complete later in the year.
The budget for the movie has been set at roughly 10 billion won ($8.6 million), and local media reported that Chinese production companies have expressed interest in investing in the film.
By Carla Sunwoo [carlasunwoo@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)