Na Hong-Jin Traces His Iconic Films to Fear of War and Bar Talk

Director Na Hong-Jin addressed an eager audience at the 31st Busan International Film Festival during a masterclass titled 'Na Hong-Jin, A Genre of His Own.' Designed primarily as an educational walk-through for students, the session detailed the eccentric and immersive methods behind some of modern cinema's most harrowing thrillers.

Na disclosed that his film 'Hope' originated from a profound sense of foreboding around 2017, when he became convinced that war was imminent on the Korean peninsula. Amid news reports of U.S. bombers flying near Pyongyang, he anticipated armed conflict around the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. He noted that this intense geopolitical fear, combined with a deep-seated unease regarding human communication and deception, forms the foundational ingredients for his creative undertakings.

His upbringing played a crucial role in cultivating his dark aesthetic. Na recalled how his mother consumed horror and mystery novels, sending him and his brothers to local bookstores to collect them. Early hardships, such as having his Walkman repeatedly stolen by neighborhood boys, also shaped his worldview. Eventually studying crafts at university rather than traditional two-dimensional art, he developed a tactile appreciation for materials like wood, metal, and ceramics.

Rather than actively hunting for stories, Na allows source material to organically find him through interactions with diverse groups of people. He recounted how his breakout hit 'The Chaser' began during a night out watching football, where a conversation with intoxicated detectives at an adjacent table revealed shocking details about a serial killer's escape. Similarly, 'The Yellow Sea' was inspired by chaotic crime reports from Garibong-dong, leading him to conduct extensive research and interview gangsters in Yanbian.

For his acclaimed folk horror film 'The Wailing', Na immersed himself in the spiritual underworld by living alongside shamans at a mountain hermitage for several months. His preparation for 'Hope' involved taking fishing trips with strangers on the east coast, even naming a character after a friend he made on those journeys. By deliberately avoiding other filmmakers and steering clear of watching other people's movies to prevent unconscious borrowing, Na maintains a fiercely original vision.

Before ever putting pen to paper for a screenplay, Na meticulously establishes a genre and a precise rhythm, knowing that once production begins, the path is irrevocable. On set, he views his role not merely as an author, but as a meticulous supervisor overseeing every minute detail. This uncompromising dedication continues to cement his status as one of South Korea's most visionary directors.