Interview with director Park So-yeon… “I don’t feel comfortable” about the side effects of ‘imitation bullying’
Director Park So-yeon of TVING’s original series ‘Pyramid Game’
(Seoul = Larose.VIP) Reporter Hwang Jae-ha = “I wanted to say that everyone’s indifference can lead to such scary school violence. I also thought it would be good for adults to watch ‘Pyramid Game’.”
TVING’s original series ‘Pyramid Game’, whose final episode was recently released, is about students at Baekyeon Girls’ High School deciding each other’s grades through voting and bullying the lowest grade, F. Students call this cruel voting the pyramid game.
Director Park So-yeon, whom we met at a cafe in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 25th, said, “Through this work, I wanted to raise awareness of the seriousness of school violence.”
As he explains, in the ‘pyramid game’, it is a small number of masterminds who plan voting and bully fellow students, but what makes bullying possible is the aid and neglect of other students and adults.
Among the 25 students in class 5 of the second year, most of them are afraid of getting an F grade in the vote, so they conform to the system and participate in group bullying. Adults turn a blind eye and condone it, saying it is a child’s prank.
Director Park said, “The reason games were born was unconsciousness and indifference,” and added, “I believe that adults who neglect children playing these games are the ones who created games out of unconsciousness and indifference.”
Director Park So-yeon of TVING’s original series ‘Pyramid Game’
‘Pyramid Game’ is attracting attention for its high performance despite using new actors as the main characters. This work ranked first in TVING’s weekly paid subscription contribution index, and also ranked second in Indonesia and Singapore on Viu, an overseas online video service (OTT).
As it has gained great popularity, there are concerns about school violence imitating the drama, contrary to the original intention of emphasizing the seriousness of school violence.
Some local elementary and middle schools distributed notices to parents saying, “After the release of the drama ‘Pyramid Game,’ the phenomenon of group bullying under the guise of play is spreading.” ‘Pyramid Game’ is a work that is not suitable for viewing by minors and requires guidance from a guardian.
Regarding this phenomenon, Director Park said, “I tried to raise awareness of the seriousness of school violence by showing the students themselves destroying the game, but I felt uncomfortable hearing stories like this (side effects). The most important principle is not to justify violence.” “It was taken as a ,” he emphasized.
It is said that the production team’s hearts were heavy as they filmed a work with young actors on the theme of school violence.
Director Park explained that he burst into tears along with all the actors present during the filming of the scene where Suzy was assaulted for the first time. It is said that Kim Ji-yeon (Bona from the group Cosmic Girls) started crying first after seeing her acting in which her self-same character was assaulted, and everyone shed tears as if it was contagious.
“At the end, we finished filming that scene by clapping and cheering each other on. It felt like all the actors and staff on set became one while filming that scene.”
Still from TVING’s original series ‘Pyramid Game’
At the end of the work, the students lead the protagonist Seong Su-ji (played by Kim Ji-yeon) to eliminate the pyramid game, and each of the masterminds is punished.
However, in the final scene, two twins transfer to a school where peace has been restored, and they appear to be trying to revive the game, so some interpret it as an allusion to Season 2.
Director Park explained this by saying, “Actually, that part was just a correlational expression and did not imply that a new school violence would begin.” In the last scene, there is a narration in which Seong Su-ji introduces her name to her twins, which is reminiscent of the way Seong Su-ji introduced herself when she first transferred to the school.
Director Park said, “I tried to express Seong Soo-ji’s voice in the last narration as if she was blocking and laughing at the two twins who were trying to start the pyramid game again. Just as Seong Soo-ji came to Baekyeon Girls’ High School and eliminated the pyramid game, the twins created a new game.” “It’s an indication that even if they try, they will block it,” he added.
Director Park So-yeon of TVING’s original series ‘Pyramid Game’
‘Pyramid Game’ was especially notable for the performances of new actors. Kim Ji-yeon, who plays Seong Soo-ji, has lead roles in the past, but most of the important roles were filled with newcomers, including Jang Da-ah as Baek Ha-rin, Ryu Da-in as Myeong Ja-eun, Shin Seul-gi as Seo Do-ah, and Kang Na-eon as Im Ye-rim.
Even though this is Jang Da-ah’s debut work, she gave a great performance as Baek Ha-rin, a dark figure who designed the pyramid game and has a painful past. She is Jang Da-ah, and she is also well known as the older sister of Jang Won-young of the group I’ve.
Director Park said, “I auditioned for actress Jang Da-ah after finding out that she was ‘Jang Won-young’s sister,’ but in fact, the background of such an actress was what made me hesitate to cast her.” He continued, “But not only her appearance, but also her hand and foot gestures, eyes, and tone of voice. “I felt like it was all Baek Harin himself,” he explained.
In particular, Director Park shed tears during the interview, explaining that Jang Da-ah worked hard in this work, taking notes to the point where the script was completely black.
He said, “I always try to be calm during the casting process. I try not to look at anything else, and only look at how much the actor resembles the role.” He added, “Some acquaintances asked me if I cast the actor because of his background, and I said, ‘See it for yourself and feel it.’ “I answered confidently,” he emphasized.
jaeh@yna.co.kr
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