▲ This photo, provided by Tving, shows director Jang Kun-jae, screenwriter Ryu Yong-jae, director Yeon Sang-ho, actors Koo Kyo-hwan, Shin Hyun-been, Kim Ji-young and Kwak Dong-yeon. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

 

SEOUL, Apr. 23 (Yonhap) – Director Yeon Sang-ho, who has caused the "K-genre series" craze with the movie "Train to Busan" and the drama "Hellbound," has returned with the supernatural thriller series.

Director Yeon Sang-ho, who co-wrote the Tving’s original series "Monstrous," which will be released on Apr. 29, introduced the work as "a strange melodrama" during an online press conference on Apr. 22.

"I started to develop the drama with the thought of writing a melodramatic story of a married couple,” adding with a smile, "Then, I was bored writing it, so I added the story of some occult-genre elements and crows, and it came out not much different from the previous works."

"Monstrous" depicts the story of people facing hell in their hearts in a village, where a cursed Buddhist statue appeared, and searching for strange phenomena that take place.
 

▲ This photo, provided by Tving, shows actors Koo Kyo-hwan, Shin Hyun-been, Kim Ji-young and Kwak Dong-yeon. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Ryu Yong-jae, who wrote the series with director Yeon, said, "’Monstrous’ portrays a series of events that take place as people are influenced by the presence of ‘Gwibul’ in the huge space of Jinyang County,” adding, “It is a mixture of disaster entertainments unlike the existing occult thriller series.”

He also showed confidence, saying, "While the boundary between good and evil is clear based on the Christian worldview in the occult thriller in the West, those in the East have a perspective that ‘it is entirely up to people’s mind,’” adding, “I think this series could be a foundation for more interesting works that depict that perspective.”

Jang Kun-jae, who directed the series, said, "Even though ‘Monstrous’ mainly portrays the stories of a family drama and a melodrama, it still contains various genres that make the entire story mysterious, making the series more diverse,” adding, "I wanted to make a challenge since I felt the difference from director Yeon's previous works."

Besides the participation of director Yeon, “Monstrous” already drew great attention with the cast of actors Koo Kyo-hwan, Shin Hyun-been, Kim Ji-young and Kwak Dong-yeon. 

 

▲ This photo, provided by Tving, shows the poster of Tving's original series "Monstrous." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Actor Koo Kyo-hwan, who received favorable reviews for his own style of acting in the Netflix’s original series "D.P.," played the role of archaeologist Jeong Ki-hoon in "Monstrous."

The actor explained, “What makes Jeong Ki-hoon attractive is that he has invested a long period of time to research one thing he loves,” adding, “Even though I’m not an archaeologist, I’ve loved and studied things for a long time so I thought I would play the character by connecting them with Jeong’s major.”

Shin Hyun-been, who has received attention with the series "Hospital Playlist" and continued to build her career with the drama “Reflection of You,” plays Jeong’s wife, Lee Soo-jin.

The actress introduced the character, saying, "Soo-jin lost herself when she lost her child one day due to the unfortunate incident,” adding, “From her point of view, this drama was a story of finding herself who had been lost."

In recognition of its quality of work, "Monstrous” was also invited to the non-competitive selection of the “2022 Cannes International Series Festival” even before its release. 

 

▲ This photo, provided by Tving, shows director Jang Kun-jae, screenwriter Ryu Yong-jae, director Yeon Sang-ho, actors Koo Kyo-hwan, Shin Hyun-been, Kim Ji-young and Kwak Dong-yeon. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
"Monstrous” has been evaluated to expand "Yeon Sang-ho Universe" as the existence of Gwibul, which appeared in the drama "The Cursed: Dead Man’s Prey” written by director Yeon, comes out as the main subject and given that the series set the setting of Jinyang County, the region where the zombie virus broke out in the movie "Train to Busan."

Director Yeon said that he created the image of the Buddhist statue in the work based on Gwibul, which appeared in the ghostlore "Eou yadam" from the Joseon Dynasty. He explained, "In ‘Eou yadam,’ the two Buddhist statues become Gwibul, and I brought the idea of that setting,” adding, "When writing the script, I tend to set the setting of Jinyang Country for the place where ominous things happen.”

"Everyone has a dark side in their heart. It can be either anger or guilt and I think there are many kinds of feelings. I thought it was necessary to reflect on that. In this sense, I hope 'Monstrous' can become a series that comforts people who notice the feelings after watching it.”

The whole series of “Monstrous” will be revealed on Tving on Apr. 29 at 4 p.m.

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Kim Sun Min.)

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