Director Kim’s first new work in 13 years… Tang Wei, Suzy, Park Bo-gum, Choi Woo-sik, Jung Yu-mi appear
Park Bo-gum “As soon as I read the scenario, I thought of Suzy”
Tang Wei stands out
(Seoul = Larose.VIP) Reporter Oh Bo-ram = “First of all, I liked the idea of this movie. It was also because I was waiting for the opportunity to work with director Kim Tae-yong again.”
At the press conference for the movie ‘Wonderland’ held at CGV Yongsan I’Park Mall on the 9th, Chinese actor Tang Wei responded as follows when asked why he decided to appear in this work.
This movie, which will be released on the 5th of next month, is director Kim Tae-yong’s new work 13 years after ‘Late Autumn’ (2011). Director Kim and Tang Wei, who met as the director and lead actor in ‘Late Autumn’, later became lovers and got married in 2014.
Director Kim said, “Tang Wei is an actor I personally respect, and (in this work) I felt that she had become braver than in ‘Late Autumn’. It was a huge help to be able to talk at home about things that I couldn’t do on set. It felt like I was working 24 hours a day.” “He laughed.
Tang Wei also said, “Both of us are the type to only talk about work,” and “We are workaholics who mainly talk about movies and characters (even at home).”
‘Wonderland’, written by director Kim, is a story about people who reunite with their loved ones through a video call service that restores dead people with artificial intelligence.
Director Kim explained, “I thought that one day there would come a time when even the dead would be able to continue to communicate with us,” and “I wrote this while thinking about how we could build relationships with the people we’ve missed, the people we sent before, and the people we’ll send in the future.”
Director Taeyong Kim giving a greeting
This movie features not only Tang Wei, but also prominent actors such as Suzy, Park Bo-gum, Jung Yu-mi, and Choi Woo-sik. Gong Yoo also appears in the form of a special appearance.
Director Kim recalled the time of filming, saying, “These actors are so captivating that it makes you smile just by looking at them on screen. It’s a gentle drama genre, so I had to film at a bit of a distance from the actors, but I kept wanting to move forward.”
Tang Wei played the role of Bai Li, a mother who requested the Wonderland service to hide her death from her young daughter.
To play this character, who is also an archaeologist, he said he prepared by meeting an archaeologist in China, consulting with him, and reading books on archeology.
Tang Wei, who met audiences once again with a Korean work after director Park Chan-wook’s ‘Decision to Break Up’ (2022), said, “It was a happy experience to be able to work with great Korean actors.”
Suzy played Jeong-in, who restored her boyfriend, who was lying unconscious in the hospital after an accident, through the Wonderland service, and Park Bo-gum played Tae-ju, Jeong-in’s boyfriend. Suzy and Park Bo-gum have worked together several times as MCs for awards ceremonies such as the Baeksang Arts Awards.
Actors of the movie ‘Wonderland’
Park Bo-gum, who said, “As soon as I read the script for ‘Wonderland,’ Suzy came to mind for the role of Jeong-in,” added, “We worked well together while acting and created the narrative of the two characters well.”
Suzy also agreed, saying, “Jeong-in and Tae-ju are lovers who are like friends, and thanks to them starting filming after becoming close friends, I think their chemistry was captured well in the movie.”
Jung Yu-mi plays Harry, a veteran planner who designs the artificial intelligence for Wonderland’s service, and Choi Woo-sik plays Hyun-soo, a new planner at Wonderland who discovers an unexpected secret in the requested service.
Choi Woo-sik and Jung Yu-mi have always been close friends, but this is their first time acting as a duo together.
Choi Woo-sik said, “Because we were so close and knew each other well, I felt like I had to do better,” and reflected, “I was more nervous about acting than other times.”
Jung Yu-mi did not attend the production briefing session that day due to health reasons. He previously worked with director Kim on ‘Birth of a Family’ (2006).
Director Kim described Jung Yu-mi as “an actress who gives me tremendous trust,” and added, “After seeing her perform well in a difficult role in ‘Birth of a Family,’ I decided to take on the role of Harry in the new work.”
Beautiful Tang Wei and Suzy
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