Three macho guys find a balance in Park Hoon-jung’s latest thriller

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Three macho guys find a balance in Park Hoon-jung’s latest thriller

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Choi Min-sik, Lee Jung-jae and Hwang Jung-min star in “A New World,” Park Hoon-jung’s latest crime thriller. Provided by NEW

Park Hoon-jung’s upcoming “A New World” (working English title) is the latest in a string of dark crime thrillers, this time presenting a modern day crime ring that operates like a big corporation.

The film revolves around undercover police officer Ja-sung (Lee Jung-jae) who infiltrates Gold Moon, the biggest crime organization in Korea.

He poses as a loyal member in an attempt to investigate the group under the command of his superior Kang (Choi Min-sik). After eight years, Ja-sung becomes the right-hand man to the ring’s second-in-command, Jung Chung (Hwang Jung-min).

When the mob boss dies and Gold Moon threatens to fall apart in a power struggle, Ja-sung is forced to confront demands from both bosses. Caught between Jung who trusts him with his life, and Kang, who thinks of him only as bait, Ja-sung feels torn apart.

As the crime thriller features three high-profile actors, the director said that his primary focus was to keep balance among them.

Park has significant experience with this genre, having written the screenplays for dark thrillers “I Saw The Devil” (2010) and “The Unjust”(2010). He also directed “The Showdown”(2010).

“The three actors are very energetic and have a strong presence. So I was a little worried about their interactions,” Park said. “But the three of them were very skilled at adjusting and creating a balance between them.”

Lee Jung-jae, the youngest among the actors, expressed his own concerns about working with such talented colleagues.

“When I heard that my co-stars would be Choi Min-sik and Hwang Jung-min, I thought my acting career could have been put in jeopardy,” he said.

Choi, by now an expert at violent gangster movies, also touched upon his interactions with co-stars. But for him, there seemed to be too little rather than too much.

“The two-hour running time was little short to portray all the complex characters and the tensions between them,” he said. “I think three or four hours might have been better.”

He also said jokingly that he is fed up with the genre.

“What I want is to live in a world without blood.” he said.

“A New World” is slated for release on Feb. 21.


By Park Eun-jee [ejpark@joongang.co.kr]
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