At the press screening and media conference for the film ‘Gunche’ held on the 20th at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, the actors pose for photos. From left: Ji Chang-wook, Kim Shin-rok, Shin Hyun-bin, Jun Ji-hyun, Koo Kyo-hwan. Photo courtesy of|Yonhap News

‘Master of zombie films’ director Yeon Sang-ho has this time joined hands with ‘top star’ Jun Ji-hyun. Adding the new keyword of ‘collective intelligence’, he completed his new film ‘Gunche’. Declaring, “The zombies this time are different,” he expressed confidence in the work's freshness.

At the distributor press screening and media conference for ‘Gunche’ held on the 20th at CGV I'Park Mall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, director Yeon Sang-ho, Jun Ji-hyun, and, among others, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Shin Hyun-bin, and Kim Shin-rok attended and answered questions about the film.

Director Yeon Sang-ho gives opening remarks at the press screening and media conference for the film ‘Gunche’ held on the 20th at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo courtesy of|Yonhap News

‘Gunche’ is a film about isolated survivors inside a building sealed off by a mysterious outbreak, who face off against the infected as they evolve in unpredictable ways. Whereas in conventional zombie fare the zombies select targets by sound and hearing, in this ‘Gunche’ the zombies evolve at each stage and charge at targets in new ways.

Yeon Sang-ho said, “I am most interested in humanism. I have long pondered ‘What is humanity?’” and “The first starting point of this project is AI. The principle by which AI operates was interesting to me, and it seemed like the sum of universal thought. As the strength of that sum grows, it felt as if individuality becomes powerless,” and “In a world where artificial intelligence and collective intelligence govern everything, I thought the most human thing is individuality. So I put forward a character who voices a minority opinion, because I thought there is a difference from what is called collectivity. I wanted to show that in the film,” explaining his planning intent.

Regarding casting Jun Ji-hyun as Kwon Se-jeong, a professor of bioengineering who fights the zombie hordes in the film, he said, “What I worried about most while making this work is that the rules keep changing and audiences have to follow them, so if a viewer misses the rules, that viewer cannot enjoy the film. Therefore, the process of finding and realizing the rules had to be through the character of (a familiar face) Jun Ji-hyun.”

Actor Jun Ji-hyun gives opening remarks at the press screening and media conference for the film ‘Gunche’ held on the 20th at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo courtesy of|Yonhap News

Asked about performing action in her first project with director Yeon Sang-ho, Jun Ji-hyun said, “After all, ‘Kwon Se-jeong’ is a professor of bioengineering. I suddenly wondered, ‘Is it okay for a professor to be this good at action?’ So I filmed with restraint,” adding, “Because ‘Kwon Se-jeong’ is a character who has to get through crises in any situation, I tried to keep the action at an appropriate level.”

He also hinted at how it differs from existing zombie works. Director Yeon said, “It was not conceived as a zombie story from the start; it began with collective thinking born of ultra-fast development and the resulting powerlessness of individuality, and I thought, ‘This could become a zombie piece.’ I decided to plan zombies that keep updating, whether in the wrong direction or the right one,” adding, “Previously, I worked with breakdancers to realize uncanny movements for zombies, but this time it was a difficult task to portray group movement, so I conveyed the feeling I wanted to a contemporary dance team that performs more avant-garde dance.”

‘Gunche’ opens on the 21st.