‘Woong Nam’ featuring Park Sung-woong is Korea’s latest comedy flick

Park Sung-woong, a veteran actor with appearances in critically and commercially acclaimed films such as New World (2013), The Fatal Encounter (2014), The Shameless (2015) and Hunt (2022 ), is attempting a whole new genre in the upcoming movie Woong Nam.

The comedy flick follows twins who transform into superhumans amid an investigation by an international crime ring. Based on the Dangun myth, the mythological founding story of Korea, in which a bear becomes human by eating garlic for 100 days, “Woong Nam” is a harmless comedy led by Park’s outstanding performance. This is Park’s first time directing a comedy blockbuster.

“I tried to recreate the comedic scenes by focusing on the content of the story and not just the comedy,” Park said Tuesday during a press preview for Woong Nam at the CGV Yongsan branch in central Seoul. “I didn’t just focus on being funny, I wanted to arrange the humor so that it didn’t disrupt the flow of the story.”

Park has a dual role in Woong Nam as Woong-nam and his twin Woong-bok. Woong-nam and Woong-bok were separated at birth and each became an “unemployed neighborhood loser” and the surrogate of an international crime ring. As Woong-nam begins to realize his potential through the secret that he is actually a bear who has become human by eating garlic, in accordance with the Dangun myth, he faces his twin brother Woong-bok when they are in become involved in a large-scale crime. Battle.

Although the direction of “Woong Nam” is weak, Park’s performance in the dual roles of Woong-nam and Woong-bok makes the comedy worthwhile. “Woong Nam” is directed by first writer Park Sung-kwang, a well-known comedian. Expecting the film to be funny because it was directed by a comedian might be an easy mistake, but the real star of “Woong Nam” is Park Sung-woong.

Director Park tried to explain how he came to make Woong Nam during the press preview.

“I was trying not to pull too many punches and not focus too much on getting laughs,” director Park said. “I didn’t want to be burdened by too many gags. I was able to hire these great actors – Park Sung-woong, Lee Yi-kyung, Yum Hye-ran and Choi Min-soo – because of my background as a comedian, and I wanted to give my all for this film. I still can’t believe I’m debuting as a director.”

Perhaps Woong Nam would have been better directed if it had been directed by a more experienced director, as trying to stay away from viewers’ expectations of a comedian director seems to get in the way Park Sung-kwang did with the film really leave a mark.

While the actors’ performance is outstanding, “Woong Nam” lacks a grounded thread and the comedic elements feel forced at times. The characters, particularly Park Sung-woong’s dual roles as Woong-nam and Woong-bok, are lovable, but the film’s function as a comedy ends in the charm of the characters – the structure, plot and tonality of “Woong Nam” is no different than others B-movie comedies produced by domestic cinema in recent years.

That said, “Woong Nam” is a harmless comedy that’s no worse than the rest and does its job of delivering some solid jokes, but it’s debatable whether Park Sung-woong’s performance in itself is worth going to the cinema.

However, Park Sung-woong is hopeful as the actor expressed that “Woong Nam” could soon make it to the top of the box office.

“I hope a Korean film will be number one again this spring season,” Park said. “And I hope that our film will be the one that achieves that.”

Woong Nam hits theaters on March 22nd.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]