Director Chu Chang-min recalled the courtroom scenes of the late Lee Sun-kyun.
Distributor NEW released a making-of video for the film ‘Land of Happiness’ (directed by Chu Chang-min) on the 30th. The video, with a total length of 3 minutes and 24 seconds, captured the efforts of both the actors and the production team.
‘Land of Happiness’ is a work that deals with modern history. It tells the story of Park Tae-ju (played by Lee Sun-kyun), who becomes embroiled in the 1979 presidential assassination case, and lawyer Jung In-hoo (played by Jo Jung-suk).
The highlight is the courtroom scene in the movie. It was necessary to properly represent the scene of that day. Director Chu explained, "It was a scene we were determined to portray accurately."
They made efforts to express the solemnity of a military court. They referred to actual documentaries. The positions of the defense team and the audience, and even the number of defendants were matched accurately during filming.
The content related to the visitation room at the army prison was also introduced. This was a real location, but no materials remain today. It had to be completed using only imagination.
They got ideas from locations like the corridor of the old army hospital in Gwangju. Based on this, they created additional spaces like iron bars. He expressed satisfaction, stating, “We were very pleased.”
The actors introduced their characters themselves. Jo Jung-suk explained his character, lawyer Jung In-hoo, as “a person who bases his judgment more on winning and losing rather than on the importance of right and wrong.”
Lee Sun-kyun played the role of Park Tae-ju, the secretary to the intelligence chief. He gets involved in the incident due to his superior's orders and stands trial. He interpreted the character as “extremely upright and clean.”
He left everyone on set in awe. Director Chu recalled, “I remember many staff members cheering for his makeup. He nailed the character more than 200%.”
Yoo Jae-myung played the role of investigation team leader Jeon Sang-doo. He added, “He is the power behind the scenes and the main instigator of the incident.” His imposing visual added to the anticipation for the film.
Meanwhile, ‘Land of Happiness’ will be released on the 14th of next month.
<Photo courtesy of NEW>
