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| yna@yna.co.kr 2025-10-21 15:39:46
SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- “When we wrapped up the final shoot for this film, I actually screamed. I had a strong sense that this might be my best work yet, and we filmed it with real intensity.”
Director Byun Sung-hyun of the Netflix film "Good News" said he felt an unusual sense of liberation after finishing the project — unlike his previous works, which often left him with feelings of emptiness or regret.
Released on Netflix on Oct. 17, Good News is a black comedy about people struggling to negotiate with hijackers and rescue hostages from a hijacked plane. The story is inspired by the real-life 1970 “Yodo-go Incident,” in which members of the Japanese Red Army Faction hijacked a Japan Airlines flight carrying 122 passengers and seven crew members in an attempt to defect to North Korea.
“Black comedy isn’t a genre that audiences usually love — it’s a difficult one,” Byun said in an interview with reporters in Seoul on Monday. “But I wanted to challenge myself. The fact that no one was killed in the actual incident made it possible to approach the story this way. I hoped viewers would chuckle during the film — and then feel a chill at the end.”
The movie opens with a scene in which members of Japan’s Red Army hijack a civilian aircraft midair, led by Japanese actors Takayuki Yamada and Sho Kasamatsu.
“I didn’t want this to just be a Korean film featuring Japanese actors,” Byun explained. “I wanted to capture the tone and emotional texture of a film that might actually have been shot in Japan. The Japanese actors helped a lot — I would ask them how people in Japan might realistically react in each situation, rather than just following my script.”
The film’s protagonist, known only as “Mr. Nobody” (played by Sol Kyung-gu), is a fixer who handles sensitive national matters while remaining anonymous. Byun said the character was partly inspired by Sol’s own wish to play a similar role in his previous film Kingmaker (2022), where he portrayed politician Kim Woon-bum opposite Lee Sun-kyun’s character Seo Chang-dae.
“When I started writing Good News, I remembered Sol saying he had wanted to play Seo Chang-dae,” Byun recalled. “So I created a version of that character tailored to Sol — more shabby, more desperate, and more human.”
Byun also spoke highly of actor Ryu Seung-bum, who plays the Korean Central Intelligence Agency chief Park Sang-hyun. “Even as the director, I sometimes felt like I was watching a celebrity at work,” he said. “The energy he brings to the set is incredible. His scripts are always full of handwritten notes, worn like ancient scrolls — he prepares so many options and then acts on instinct in the moment.”
He also praised actor Hong Kyung, who plays Air Force Lieutenant Seo Go-myung. “Among actors his age, I think he’s one of the best in Korea,” Byun said.
As for what comes next, the director hinted that his next project may be a thriller or romance. “I don’t have anything concrete yet,” he said. “But it’ll probably be something I haven’t tried before — maybe a thriller or a love story, with my own twist.”
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