The main stars of the movie 'Bigwang'—Ryu Seung-ryong, Ha Ji-won, and Kim Si-a—have directly introduced the special meaning behind the film's title.
'Bigwang' is a deep family chronicle directed by Lee Ji-hee of 'Miss Baek', following top star couple Jung-gu (Ryu Seung-ryong) and Nam-mi (Ha Ji-won), whose marriage breaks down following the sudden appearance of Jung-gu's daughter Dong-ju (Kim Si-a), and their journey as they risk everything left to uncover the truth and rescue Dong-ju after she gets caught up in a shocking incident eight years later.
The intriguing title 'Bigwang' was conceived by Director Lee Ji-hee from seeing families sitting around playing Go-Stop. Bigwang, one of the Hwatu (flower card) tiles, is an ambiguous entity that is neither a regular tile nor a fully recognized Gwang (bright tile). While any three Kwang tiles excluding Bigwang are recognized as 3 points, three Kwang tiles including Bigwang are only worth 2 points. However, Bigwang is indispensable to completing the 5-Kwang combination. An incomplete entity on its own, Bigwang takes on true completeness only when brought together with others, serving as a core device symbolizing the family solidarity and hope that the film seeks to portray.
The actors also deeply resonated with the symbolism of the title and personally explained its meaning. Regarding the title 'Bigwang', Ryu Seung-ryong described it as "a dual meaning of not being complete on one's own, but gathering together to finally draw strength." Ha Ji-won stated, "It is an implicit title that captures the message of the movie and fits the work so well. It represents an indispensable existence—someone you might not realize is precious, but who is entirely necessary at crucial moments." Kim Si-a similarly expressed her affection for the project by interpreting its meaning: "It is an entity that may look insignificant when alone, but shines brighter when together."
Furthermore, Nam-mi's narration in the film further expands this meaning of the title. The narration—"On a rainy day, a frog kept jumping to grab a weeping willow tree to avoid being swept away by a rapid current. It jumped and fell, and fell and jumped again, but the frog did not give up and finally managed to catch the weeping willow and survive"—shows that Bigwang is not merely a picture of a rainy day, but a symbol of perseverance and effort in overcoming adversity.
This connects directly to the narrative of Jung-gu, who was once a top baseball player but plummeted to the bottom in an instant, only to rise again by risking everything to save his daughter. True to the message and emotion embedded in its title, 'Bigwang' is set to deliver a deep resonance through the story of people becoming a source of strength for one another in moments of crisis.
Depicting a profound story of individuals who shine brighter together just like the title, 'Bigwang' is scheduled to be released on September 2.
(Photo: SBS Entertainment News)
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