‘The Boys’ Director Chung Ji-Young: “For People Who Have Authority In Korea, I Am Their Public Enemy No. 1” – London East Asia Film Festival

Damon Wise
·3 min read
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South Korean auteur Chung Ji-Young came to the eighth London East Asia Film Festival on Wednesday night with his latest film The Boys, which opens in its homeland on 1 November. Based on real events, which saw three innocent country boys imprisoned in 1999 for a callous murder-robbery in North Jeolla Province, the film stars Sol Kyung-gu as detective Joon-cheol. Once known as “Mad Dog”, Joon-cheol has mellowed over time, and when he receives information many years later that suggests the real criminals have gone free, Joon-cheol begins a crusade for justice — bringing down the wrath of the area’s corrupt lawmakers, who begin a campaign of intimidation intended to destroy his career and credibility.

Speaking after the movie, Director Chung acknowledged that, after 40 years in the film business, making films that have often ruffled some very important feathers, he did not have a particularly good relationship with the powers-that-be. “In short, for people who have authority in Korea, I am their public enemy No. 1,” he laughed.

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As for his motivation for making the movie, Chung told the audience that he hoped The Boys would provoke some introspection from viewers and make Koreans in particular see how easily authority can be abused. “I wanted people who already knew about the case to watch the film and then take a closer look, or a deeper look,” he said. “Because I wanted them to ask themselves if maybe they had a part in contributing to [the narrative] that turned these innocent people into ‘killers’.”

Host Ian Haydn Smith noted that The Boys forms a thematic trilogy with two of Chung’s previous movies: Unbowed (2012), about a disgraced math professor who takes the law into his own hands, and Black Money (2019), a thriller inspired by a real-life banking scandal. “Somebody called it ‘The True Story Trilogy’,” said Chung. “That wasn’t me. But, like you mentioned, these three films deal with people who have power or authority.”

“The question [in The Boys],” he continued, “is: How do these people who have authority or are in power treat or look at boys like these three innocent kids? Kids who are alienated, marginalized or poor. How do they treat them, and what do they think of them? Because that could be a reflection of the reality that we live in. And so, I wanted people to think about that and to try and prevent themselves from becoming indifferent to cases like this because of their personal lives. I felt that it’s very important for everyone to continue asking questions, and to continue discussing cases and issues like this.”

Director Chung Ji-Young receives his Lifetime Achievement award from LEAFF director Hyejung Jeon.
Director Chung Ji-Young receives his Lifetime Achievement award from LEAFF director Hyejung Jeon.

Now approaching 77, Chung spoke after being presented with a special Lifetime Achievement award by festival director Hyejung Jeon, the driving force behind the now-annual event. But when asked how much longer he would continue working as a director, Chung spoke realistically about the chances. “To be very frank with you,” he said, “I don’t know how much longer I can continue making films, because the way people watch films now is very different. But then I don’t feel like I’ve changed that much. And I don’t think I will change that much. [In my career] I’ve made films in different styles, and sometimes it has to do with the trend at the time. But content-wise or subject-wise, I’m probably not going to change. So, I’m always asking myself: When will people stop coming to the theaters or stop watching my films? I’m always thinking about that. Because if there’s no audience, then that’s my cue to stop.”

The London East Asia Film Festival runs until 29 October and closes with the UK premiere of Concrete Utopia, South Korea’s entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2024 Oscars.

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