Yoon Jong-bin, director of Netflix’s ‘Suriname'[사진=넷플릭스]
The Netflix drama ‘Suriname’ tells the story of a civilian who is framed for a ‘drug godfather’ who has taken over Suriname, a South American country, and accepts a secret mission from the National Intelligence Service.
The films ‘The Unforgiven’, ‘War on Crime: The Age of Bad Guys’, ‘Kundo: Age of Rebellion’ and ‘The Peacock’ are the first series directed by director Jong-bin Yoon, the representative of the Korean noir genre. It is gaining worldwide popularity, ranking first globally in the weekly non-English TV category on Netflix.
“After ‘Suriname’ was released, I got a lot of calls. I was even contacted by my classmates in elementary school. Not long ago, Nicholas Cage also wrote about ‘Suriname’… “
Director Yoon Jong-bin received an offer to direct ‘Suriname’ and turned it down once. The reason he said was “I can’t afford it.” It was judged that it was difficult to make a ‘movie’ because it is a work that deals with real events and people and contains a vast story.
“It was a time when I thought I wanted to shoot a crime drama after filming ‘Cooperation’. At that time, I received an offer to direct ‘Suriname’ again, and I said, ‘If I make it into a series, I’ll try it’.”
Director Yoon Jong-bin thought that the warrior of ‘Kang In-gu’ (played by Ha Jung-woo) was important. It was thought that unraveling the warrior of ‘Kang In-gu’ in ‘Suriname’, which contains the story of real events and characters, would be different from existing undercover films.
“It’s also the reason why I insisted on the series. Why did ‘Kang In-goo’ do the undercover? I thought that if I cut all the characters’ warriors and shortened them to two hours, it wouldn’t make a difference.”
Yoon Jong-bin, director of Netflix’s ‘Suriname'[사진=넷플릭스]
‘Suriname’ is a dramatization of a real incident. It is an adaptation of the story of Cho Bong-haeng, a Korean drug lord who acquired Surinamese nationality, and his civilian collaborator K, who played a decisive role in his arrest.
“When I first heard about ‘Suriname’, I thought it was absurd. When I saw it documented, I was like, ‘Does this make sense?’ It was so movie-like.”
However, director Jong-bin Yoon actually met Mr. K and removed all doubts. Mr. K, described by Jong-bin Yoon, had a strong appearance and appearance, and had an overwhelming atmosphere. He said that he decided to understand everything by looking at Mr. K and saying, “I can do this enough.”
“The warrior in ‘Kang In-gu’ borrowed a lot of the story of Mr. K. He lived a life different from others. He had no choice but to live a strong life. After meeting him and hearing his story, I understood. And I tried to reflect that to ‘Kang In-goo’ too. I thought that viewers would be convinced just like me if I explained that I was a ‘strong soul owner’.”
The story of Mr. K, which looked like a movie, was rather difficult to make into a drama. Because it was close to a cinematic cliché.
“The things that Mr. K showed to gain the trust of Jo Bong-haeng are things we see a lot in noir films. He even fights with Chinese gangs on purpose. It’s like DiCaprio from the movie ‘The Departed’! I couldn’t do it, so I worked to reduce it. Meanwhile, the character of ‘Kang In-gu’ was humorous and smirk.”
‘Suriname’ still cut[사진=넷플릭스]
In Yoon Jong-bin’s work, ‘father’ is a very important topic. He has dealt with the story of his father directly or indirectly in a number of works such as ‘War on Crime’ and ‘Kundo’.
“‘Kang In-gu’ is a character who says, ‘I don’t want to live a life like my father,’ but in the end he also lives a life like his father. ‘Father’ is not the big theme of ‘Suriname’, but I envisioned a character called ‘Kang In-gu’. It became inevitable while I was doing it. In fact, it is the driving force for ‘Kang In-gu’ (undercover activities) just like Mr. K.”
Director Yoon said that after becoming a real father, there were changes in the work as well.
“The difference between ‘War Against Crime’ and ‘Suriname’ is that I became a father. Perhaps that experience was reflected in the work as well.”
Director Yoon explained that ‘Jeon Yo-han’ (Hwang Jung-min) and ‘Kang In-gu’ have similarities in that they have an obsession with money, but there is a clear difference.
“The reason the two are different is because of the ‘line’. One crosses the line and the other does not. I think of it as ‘father’ and ‘non-father’. She doesn’t cross the line, and she’s a person who sees a little girl like her daughter and wins her heart.”
‘Suriname’ boasts a lineup of actors such as Ha Jung-woo, Hwang Jung-min, Park Hae-soo, Jo Woo-jin, Yoo Yeon-seok, and Jang Chen. Director Yoon said, “All the actors’ performances were excellent, but I was always surprised when Ha Jung-woo and Hwang Jung-min met.”
“Jung-Woo Ha and Jung-Min Hwang have very different acting styles and dispositions. If Jung-Min Hwang shows a fiery smoke that eats everything, Jung-Woo Ha shows a flexible and skillful water. Looking at it, I thought, ‘Does it fit better than I thought?’ I admired it.”
He also mentioned the actor Chang Chen, who played the role of ‘Chen Jin’. He also added that he put a lot of effort into the casting.
“The amount of ‘Chen Jin’ in the play isn’t much, but he’s a very important key character. I thought we needed an actor with a strong presence. The one that came to mind was Mr. Chang, and he worked hard to persuade him. “I can, but I really need you.”
Yoon Jong-bin, director of Netflix’s ‘Suriname'[사진=넷플릭스]
He directed an online video service (OTT) work and confessed that he had a thirst for movies.
“While making ‘Suriname’, I was rather thirsty for film work. I realized, ‘Oh, that’s what I was doing.’ Unlike OTT, movies are made on the premise that they will be screened in theaters. Big screen Small details stand out when you look at it, so you have no choice but to stick to it and make it meticulously.”
However, director Yoon also expressed concerns about ‘theater movies’.
“I want to make a movie. The world seems to be changing too quickly. What I feel these days is that ‘theater movies’ are becoming a genre. It seems to be limited to works that emphasize blockbuster or spectacle. ‘Do I really want to do that? ?’ If you ask me a question, it’s not. It’s true that I still have a lot of trouble in that regard.”
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