The SBS Chuseok holiday special documentary "New Oldboy: Park Chan-wook," which aired Oct. 8, put the spotlight on the filmmaker.
But "Joint Security Area" ― the film that introduced Park Chan-wook to global audiences ― was anything but smooth sailing at the start.
"I came to this project when I was an actor in crisis after three box-office flops," Lee Byung-hun recalled. Lee Young-ae added, "I was also in a precarious place in the film world. My previous work hadn't delivered, and I hadn't yet cemented myself as a film actress."
Remembering his first meeting with Park, Lee said, "He showed up with a long ponytail and an eccentric outfit, so my first impression wasn't exactly favorable."
"I worried, 'How could a failed director and a failed actor possibly make something great?'" he admitted ― confessing that none of them could yet imagine the spark they'd eventually create.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Hyo-jung)