[Interview] 'The Silent Sea' Director Choi Hang-yong "Water=Currency, Starting from the Irony of Depletion and Flood"

Photo by Netflix

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] "The Silent Sea" is a work whose thematic consciousness shines amid a flood of sensational content. The irony of depletion and flood unfolds intriguingly. Director Choi Hang-yong made it as a graduation project and submitted it to the 13th Mise-en-sc?ne Short Film Festival in 2014. After seeing it, actor Jung Woo-sung rolled up his sleeves to produce it, leading to a collaboration with Netflix.

In a recent written interview with Asia Economy, Director Choi said, "The Netflix series 'The Silent Sea' started from the ironic idea of people drowning on the moon where there is no water."

"The Silent Sea" is a Netflix series depicting elite members on a special mission who leave for a research base abandoned on the moon in the near future Earth devastated by the depletion of essential resources. It portrays the mystery encountered by the exploration team that went to the moon in search of clues for human survival.

Actors Bae Doona, Gong Yoo, Lee Joon, Kim Sun-young, Lee Mu-saeng, and Lee Sung-wook play elite members volunteering for a life-risking mission, and Jung Woo-sung produced the series.

Below is a Q&A with Director Choi Hang-yong.

= Amid a flood of sensational content, the thematic consciousness of 'The Silent Sea' was fascinating. Was it overwhelming to expand a short film into an 8-episode series?

Since this was my first work, I don't really know because there was no comparison target. (laughs) I made 'The Silent Sea' thinking of it as a long film. I tried to shoot each scene densely, and perhaps because of that, the six-month shooting period was physically tough.

= How do you view the polarized reactions?

I think 'The Silent Sea' is a work where opinions can naturally differ. I humbly accept it while reflecting on various reviews.

= I'm curious whether you received a direct love call from Jung Woo-sung after the Mise-en-sc?ne Short Film Festival, and how you met and discussed. What kind of exchanges did you have between producer and director?

I felt that CEO Jung Woo-sung is a senior with much experience who wants to advise and lead juniors. What surprised me unexpectedly while observing him closely was his overflowing passion and hunger for achievement. I think maintaining such a mindset in one field for a long time is very difficult.

= The thematic consciousness shines, but it seems like a difficult subject to plan as a graduation project. What did you feel while shooting the short film?

When making the short film, I had no time to feel anything, and only after completion did I have the mental space to look around. Seeing the reactions of those who watched the short film, I thought this work might have moved people who only dreamed of SF works in their hearts a little.

= The use of the moon and water as motifs, and the ironic situation of depletion and flood were interesting. How did you come up with this idea?

From the time I made the original short film, it started from the 'ironic idea' that 'people drown on the moon where there is no water.' I thought this idea was the hooking point of 'The Silent Sea,' and as I added meaning and expanded the idea, it naturally reached the Earth's environment and the lives of people.

= Why did you bring in the rating system setting?

I thought it was a phenomenon that could naturally appear in a capitalist country of that era. In the world of 'The Silent Sea,' 'water' is equivalent to 'currency.' When this water (resource) becomes scarce, livelihood-type self-employed and the poor suffer first, widening the wealth gap and intensifying class conflicts. This is a phenomenon seen in past history as well.

= What was the most important point and difficulty when serializing from a short film to a 6-episode series?

The SF genre requires simple settings. As the story expands, settings can become complicated, and if settings become complicated, it becomes difficult to understand the world, explanations increase, and story progression slows. I kept this in mind the most, and it was also a difficult point to solve. I expanded the story by filling in hidden stories or empty spaces from the short film. Among them, showing the Earth suffering from water shortage played the most crucial role. Also, by properly showing Wol-su and Luna, which were not satisfactorily realized in the short film, I tried to enhance the completeness of the world.

= Were there any characters changed or added in the feature-length version?

The characters appearing in the short film were somewhat losers, but the feature-length is composed of elites, which is one of the differences. Except for Song Ji-an, Han Yoon-jae and other team members are all newly added characters.

= What was the focus during the feature-length implementation?

I wanted to properly show scenes that were difficult to realistically realize in the short film. Scenes of Wol-su multiplying, Luna's outstanding physical abilities, the vast lunar surface, the maze-like interior of the base, etc. From a story perspective, I wanted to depict more the process of the protagonist meeting 'Luna' and building a bond with her.

= Is there a character or scene you feel most attached to?

The most interesting character was Luna, but personally, the character I feel most attached to is Ji-an. I delved deepest into this character and watching Bae Doona's acting bring the character to life made me feel more attached.

The scene I feel most attached to is when Ji-an meets her sister. Even during filming, watching Ji-an's acting, I remember shedding tears unconsciously. Since the story progression does not fully follow Ji-an's emotions, it could have been difficult to empathize with Ji-an, and her emotions could have been abstract in that scene. The original intention was that not only Dr. Song Won-kyung appears but the space also changes to a past space. The art and CG teams suggested shooting Ji-an and Won-kyung separately due to realistic conditions, but I decided to focus more on Ji-an's emotions than the image and gave up on the space change, choosing to shoot Ji-an and Won-kyung together. As a result, we got a good scene.

= How much were you involved in casting?

During the casting process of 'The Silent Sea,' the director's opinions were listened to a lot. The casting process involved listing actors suitable for each character, followed by multiple meetings and auditions.

= What kind of works do you want to direct in the future? Are you preparing any works, and what stories attract you?

I have many stories I want to tell in the future. (laughs) I am generally interested in exploring humans, and I will probably do another SF work next.

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