Ko Hyun-jung to Make Film Debut

Mar 23, 2006

Update : Mar 22, 2006 KST 13:55

Actress Ko Hyun-jung will make her film debut in a picture by Hong Sang-su. Film company Bom said Tuesday that it cast Ko for the movie with the working title "A Woman on the Beach," which begins shooting within two months. The company had taken extra care to cast her by contacting her behind the scenes, it added.

The movie, whose setting is a special day of spring which comes every 200 years by lunar calendar, will be the seventh work by Hong, who has pursued unique visual aesthetics in previous works — "The Day a Pig Fell into the Well," "The Power of Gangwon Province," "Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors," "On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate," "Woman is the Future of Man," and "A Tale of the Cinema."

The company quoted Ko as saying, "It was not easy for me to decide on a film in which to debut, because people have such high expectations of me. But I decided on this film without hesitating because I have always admired director Hong and the Bom company. I will try my best just like a beginner."

Ko left the entertainment world when she married after performing in the SBS hit drama "Sandglass" in 1995. A decade later, she returned to TV by appearing on another SBS drama, "Spring Days." She then announced that she would choose a movie as her next work, which prompted many film companies to try to cast her.

Actor Kim Seung-woo is cast opposite Ko. He said, "I am excited about working with her, and at the same time feel pressure because this is her first time acting in a movie. I will try my best to help her." Already busy shooting a picture in Japan, Kim said that he decided to appear in the film with Ko because he admires Hong’s work, and because "Ko is an actress everybody wants to work with."

Director Hong expressed his thoughts about working with the two actors, saying, "I am happy to be able to work with Ko and Kim, who I have always wanted to work with. This is the first time that I have shot a film with a spring setting. I will work with fresh determination."

Bom will hold a ceremony to announce the production of the film in mid-April and plans to release it in fall.