The upcoming film "Diary of June" seems a typical investigation thriller about a serial killer, but its director and actors say that the movie also tries to shed light on the problems caused by people's indifference.
Directed by Im Kyeong-soo, the movie is a story about serial murders, which take place one by one as they are described in a diary of a dead middle school student, who long suffered from "wangtta", or bullying, by his classmates.
"Accidentally, I saw a television documentary program about the issue (of bullying in school), and I realized how serious it was", Im said Wednesday during a news conference at Seoul Theater in downtown Seoul after the preview screening of "Diary of June". "I thought it resulted from social indifference, and I wanted to talk about it in my film".
"The portrayal of a student being bullied in the film may be seen as too extreme, but it is entirely based on my long research and that's just the reality", the director emphasized.
Although the film takes the genre of a conventional detective thriller, he put more emphasis on the story and message in it, but, at the same time, he was careful not to make it sound too instructive, he added.
Starring Moon Jeong-hyeok, Sin Eun-kyeong and Kim Yoon-jin, the film revolves around two detectives Chu Ja-young (played by Sin) and Kim Dong-wook (Moon), who investigate the murder cases and get closer to the secret behind them.
Shin also explained that the film is not just a story about revenge but it carries the strong message that indifference can be worse than hatred.
"The film shows that individualism could create dangerous consequences, which finally return to ourselves like a boomerang", Shin said.
The conference was also attended by Kim Yoon-jin, who plays Seo Yun-hee, the mother of the dead boy in the film. To promote the film, Kim flew from Hawaii where she is now shooting the second season of "Lost", an American TV drama series.
Regarding her role in the second season of the prime-time drama, Kim said that as all the 13 characters have their own episodes her character would be portrayed like in the first season.
"I don't know if my role will be more or less important in the second season, but I'm having fun shooting my scenes", Kim said.
Along with the two veteran actresses, Moon, who is also known as Eric Moon from popular boy band "Shinhwa" shows his different images as a young detective in the film. The film is the first time for him to play a main character although he starred in many TV series as a main character.
Moon gave his impression of starring in the film saying that a movie is much more difficult format than a TV drama, demanding more physical and mental effort.
"I thought starring in a TV drama and movie were almost the same in the beginning, but I learned that I should care about every single and even minor shot while shooting the film", Moon said.
"Diary of June" will be released at local theaters on Dec. 2.
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