[Sportschosun reporter An So-yoon] Actress Lee Jung-eun, 56, found three precious daughters through the film 'The Journey to Gyeongju' — daughters she said were as dear as if she could never bear to lose them.
Set to open on the 26th, 'The Journey to Gyeongju' is a family revenge drama about four women who set out on a deadly journey after waiting eight years for their youngest daughter, Gyeongju, who never returned from a school trip. It is the first commercial film by director Kim Mi-Jo, whose debut feature 'Seagull' earned praise for its solid directing at major film festivals in Korea and abroad. Lee Jung-eun plays Ok-sil, a mother who lost her youngest daughter and has lived only for revenge.
In 'The Journey to Gyeongju,' Lee Jung-eun appears as a mother alongside Gong Hyo-jin, Park So-dam, and Lee Yeon. Meeting Sportschosun ahead of the film's release, she said, "I honestly didn't know the daughters were being cast. We started the film on a small scale, and I didn't ask in detail about which actors the director was choosing. The script was so good that I thought anyone interested in the story could join us, even if they were not very well known. I heard it was difficult to cast exactly the way the director wanted, so I was surprised when I later heard the lineup for the daughters. Gong Hyo-jin called me and asked, 'Unnie, are you doing this project?' and I said, 'Yes, I am. I've been waiting for about two years. Why?' She said the script was great too. So I told her, and I feel sorry to the film team, 'Don't do it just because of me' [laughs]. I said, 'I can't take full responsibility for everything, so if the script is good, why not join?' I was amazed that everyone took part so enthusiastically. In particular, Hyo-jin said she wanted to support me, and that made me feel like it was worth raising my daughter properly in 'When the Camellia Blooms.'" She then expressed her gratitude to the three daughters, saying she felt as if she had gained "an army of reinforcements."
Lee Jung-eun also praised the distinct personalities and charm of her three daughters. Speaking first about Gong Hyo-jin, she said, "Hyo-jin was like a senior to me, almost like a mentor. I learned a lot from her on set, and she was very dependable. When I was being chased by the character, Hyo-jin helped keep the production moving, just like the eldest daughter, Jang-ju." She added, "She was my reliable right hand." About Park So-dam, she said, "We had such a strange connection during 'Parasite.' In the scene, So-dam asked me to move aside, and she acted so well. My face turned red, and inside I thought, 'What on earth is this?' [laughs]. She seems like a daughter without a drop of blood or tears, but she is actually very soft-hearted. So-dam completed the second daughter, who has a delicate sensibility beneath her calculated side." Finally, about the youngest, Lee Yeon, she said, "She is truly a doer. Even in everyday life, she is very proactive. I like sets where I can learn and grow, and I think 'The Journey to Gyeongju' became that kind of set for Yeon as well. Because her older sisters encouraged her so much, she is a daughter with great potential for growth." She added, "During yesterday's interview, I heard Yeon cried, and I laughed for a long time."
Park So-dam had previously expressed her gratitude to Lee Jung-eun at the production presentation for 'The Journey to Gyeongju.' At the time, she said, "After I got sick and was recovering, I received a lot of help from my sister." She added, "She came to my house at dawn and listened to my stories. After going through that time together, I am happy that we are now meeting again as mother and daughter in a work."
In response, Lee Jung-eun said, "Honestly, I don't really remember going to So-dam's house at dawn [laughs]. We did have a few dates that were not really dates. We even went to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) together for 'Parasite.'" She continued, "I had just finished filming 'Our Blues' in Jeju Province and bought a house for my parents. Since they were staying in Seoul for a short while, the house had been empty for a long time. I was wondering what to do with it, and then So-dam said she would come down to Jeju Province. So I cleaned it up and told her to stay well. I also told her about places she could tour in Jeju Province and introduced her to acquaintances, and she said meeting them helped her heal. I couldn't stay with her then, but when So-dam talked about it, I thought, 'Did I really do that much good?'"
She also spoke warmly about Park So-dam, who has recovered after being cured of thyroid cancer. "For an actress in her early 30s, an acting career can take up a huge part of life. You have to do good work, and you can also get consumed by the pace," she said. "After So-dam got sick, I think her perspective widened. She seems to have thought more deeply about what she should gain through her work, and she seems more relaxed now. Seeing that makes me proud and touched. I am looking forward to what comes next because she is getting through this process so well. She recently did voice work for the animation 'Mungchi on the Road,' and she has also been very active in promotion."
What kind of mother did Lee Jung-eun want to portray in 'The Journey to Gyeongju'? "The conversations I had with the director helped a lot," she said. "I thought a mother is someone who never forgets her daughter and remembers her until the end, someone who struggles together and keeps moving forward one step at a time. Since she has lost her daughter, I styled her in an Oldboy-like way so she would look like someone frozen in time. While preparing for the role, I looked at various reports and searched for studies on the psychology of victims' families."
After the poster for 'The Journey to Gyeongju' was released, Lee Jung-eun was also mentioned as looking like singer Lee Sang-soon because of her shaggy bob haircut. She later appeared on MBC FM4U's 'A Perfect Day with Lee Sang Soon' to promote the film and took a warm commemorative photo. "It was my first time meeting Lee Sang-soon on the radio, and he was such a nice person," Lee said with a smile. "We also seem similar in personality, so I felt we got along well. Even now, I still think we look alike, so he feels very familiar to me."
Lee Jung-eun, who is currently filming the Netflix series 'Granny,' said, "I only slept for an hour today, but that's fine because 'The Journey to Gyeongju' needs to get on track. We prepared this film for a long time before releasing it, didn't we? It is a film made not only by the director and actors, but by many people, so I hope audiences will definitely come to the theater to see it."
An So-yoon, antahn22@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
