[Interview] 'Dr. Brain' Director Kim Ji-woon "Feeling Thrill When Curious Ending Works"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] "Repeating familiar works with guaranteed success is meaningless. Even at this age, I continue to feel curiosity."

Film director Kim Ji-woon teamed up with Apple TV+ to direct his first drama series, 'Dr. Brain.' When asked about the significance of these two challenging endeavors, he responded this way.

In an interview on the morning of the 10th regarding the Apple TV+ original series 'Dr. Brain,' Director Kim Ji-woon stated, "The director, lead actor, writer, and studio coordinated opinions in a horizontal relationship to create the work."

'Dr. Brain,' released on the 4th as Apple TV+'s first Korean original series, tells the story of genius neuroscientist Ko Se-won (played by Lee Sun-kyun), whose family becomes victims of a mysterious accident and suffers a terrible tragedy.

Director Kim Ji-woon, well known to overseas audiences through films such as 'A Tale of Two Sisters' (2003), 'A Bittersweet Life' (2005), 'The Good, the Bad, the Weird' (2008), 'I Saw the Devil' (2010), and 'The Age of Shadows' (2016), took the helm.

Taking on the challenge of directing his first drama series, Director Kim said, "Everything was new. For dramas, we had to shoot two to three times more than for films within the given time. We focused on accurately conveying the story."

He said films and dramas were definitely different. "I realized that it was important for each episode to have a complete story and make viewers look forward to the next episode," he said. "I wanted to enjoyably explore the attractive aspects of dramas."

"Although it wasn't intentional, each episode felt a little different. Each episode emphasized different elements such as mystery thriller, action, and humanism, resulting in varied tones. I believe this was the result of focusing on effectively conveying the story."

When asked about the process of adapting the popular webtoon by writer Hong into a drama, he honestly replied, "I thought it would be successful just by maintaining the atmosphere of the webtoon."

Director Kim recalled, "The theme of looking into the human brain was fascinating. When I saw the illustrations, they had a noir style with emphasized light and shadow, a graphic novel format I like, so I was pleased."

Regarding the challenging subject of 'neuroscience,' he said he consulted Professor Jung Jae-seung of KAIST. Director Kim Ji-woon said, "We first had to solve whether it was theoretically possible to enter a person's memory. We researched books and sought advice, and found it was possible. Based on actual successful experiments, we added dramatic elements to create the story."

Unlike other original series on online video streaming services (OTT) platforms, which release all episodes at once allowing for 'binge-watching,' Apple TV+ releases one episode per week.

When asked about this, Director Kim Ji-woon said, "I would like to show all at once and hear overall feedback, but I think we have to accept the reactions depending on the platform." He added, "Waiting a week can be exciting or tiring, which might lessen the impact. It has pros and cons, but after watching the entire series, I hope it will have the effect of refreshing the previous episodes."

Director Kim Ji-woon has experience working on film sets both in Korea and within the Hollywood system. How was working with Apple TV+?

He explained, "Having experience with mid-to-low budget commercial work in Hollywood, the local studio system was not unfamiliar. Although it has changed a lot now, Korean film sets have vertical relationships and a monarchic system. In contrast, in the U.S., everyone from directors to actors has a horizontal relationship. Decisions are made by coordinating opinions."

He continued, "Honestly, when I first started directing, I worried whether I could share my personal fantasy, but I realized that forming empathy with the audience is important. It was an environment where each member was respected while working toward the same goal," expressing satisfaction.

With the global film market shrinking and the OTT market growing, the content industry is undergoing changes. When asked how he views this as a director,

he candidly answered, "As a film director, I want to continue making films. It's unfortunate that cinematic experiences cannot be realized on a big screen. Since I want to showcase cinematic characteristics spectacularly, I will continue to work on films as long as they do not disappear."

At the same time, he said, "With the activation of the OTT industry, the range of subjects that can be expressed has diversified. It has become possible to tell challenging and adventurous stories." He added, "If the shrinking film market does not improve or if one wants to attempt challenging projects but cannot, I think they will have no choice but to move to OTT or dramas."

Director Kim, who also found interest in directing dramas, said, "There were enjoyable parts when I tried it. I felt pleasure when I thought about making viewers look forward to the next episode and it resonated with the audience. The response also comes faster in real time than with films." He concluded, "Continuing both films and dramas together might be the most ideal path."

Photo = Apple TV+

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.