The director of the upcoming Korean action film “Tomb of the River” Yoon Young-bin said he got the idea for the film’s script from the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

The movie’s Korean title, “Gangneung,” is the name of a city in Gangwon Province, on South Korea’s east coast. The city is also adjacent to PyeongChang.

“After Korea was liberated, Gangneung never received any development assistance,” Yoon said during a brief press conference held at Lotte Cinema Konkuk University in eastern Seoul on Monday. “And then things changed after PyeongChang Olympics. More hotels were established and there was also a new KTX (Korean Train Express) line. As a person who lives in that city, I am excited about the change but at the same time, there are some worries. Part of me hopes for Gangneung to stay the same. With that mixed emotion, I wrote this script.”

In the film, a member of a crime gang Kim Gil-seok (Yu Oh-seong) became responsible for constructing the biggest resort in Gangneung before the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. However, things turn extremely violent when another crime gang member Lee Min-seok (Jang Hyuk) attempts to take over the resort.

During the brief press conference, Yu said the new movie has some similarities to his previous hit films “ Beat” directed by Kim Sung-su and “Friend” directed by Kwak Kyung-taek.

“They are all Korean crime action films. Also, they showcase stories about losers of our society. They also all have compassion for people,” he explained.

“Our film is the first Korean films to be released after adopting ‘With Corona.’ I hope audiences can enjoy it while being safe,” Yu added.

Yu’s co-star Jang talked about what he focused on while playing the villain role in “Tomb of the River."
 

“I thought of my character (Lee Min-seok) as a person that is constantly crossing an ocean. And to survive in that situation, his choices were inevitable,” Jang said. “So, instead of focusing on the fact that I am playing a villain role, I tried to understand his inner thoughts.”