The dawn of K-space

CEBU, Philippines —  “Like an athlete playing for my nation with a flag on my chest,” is how 43-year-old South Korean actor Jin Sun-kyu is feeling as one of the lead stars

of “Space Sweepers,” Korea’s first space blockbuster that’s premiering today on Netflix at 4 pm (Philippine Standard Time).

After making Hollywood history last year with the black comedy “Parasite” winning a Best Picture Oscar – the first non-English language movie to nab the top prize – the Korean film industry is seemingly announcing that they are now more than ready to take a slice out of the science-fiction genre that’s long been the domain of US cinema.

“I am excited, nervous and just being able to talk about the movie here, I’m just really happy. I feel almost like playing for the nation as an athlete with a flag on my chest. Back how I felt when Korea was doing well in the World Cup even. I feel like we are going out into space as representatives,” said Sun-kyu during a Feb. 2 virtual press conference with Asia Pacific media outlets that included The FREEMAN.

In “Space Sweepers,” it is the year 2092 when people have built houses and grew plants in space to create habitable biomes through massive scientific advancements. The Earth has undergone severe desertification and is barely habitable. Five percent of the population inhabit the skies where there are two groups: You’re either a UTS citizen (bourgeoisie) or a non-citizen (the working class).

The crew members of Spaceship Victory live off salvaging the vast amounts of debris floating in space – a result of all the space travel. Crewed with genius space pilot Tae-ho (Song Joong-ki),  ex-space pirate Captain Jang (Kim Tae-ri), spaceship engineer Tiger Park (Jin Sun-kyu), and a reprogrammed military robot Bubs (Yoo Hai-jin), Spaceship Victory surpasses all other space sweepers.

After successfully snatching a crashed space shuttle in their latest debris chase, Victory’s crew is surprised to find a seven-year-old girl inside. They realize that she’s the extremely dangerous human-like robot wanted by UTS Space Guards, and decide to demand a ransom in exchange for her. In their quest to earn money, these misfits just might save the world.

The spectacle also stars English actor Richard Armitage (The Hobbit, Ocean’s 8) as Sullivan, the CEO of space pioneering corporation UTS, the man who divided the two classes, and created a new home to replace the sick Earth.

Hallyu superstar Song Joong-ki of “Descendants of the Sun” fame thought the burden of being part of Korea’s first sci-fi film fell mostly on the shoulders of their director, Jo Sung-hee, leaving the cast the luxury of relishing the experience of working on a movie that’s a first of its kind in their country.

“To have the title of Korea’s first space blockbuster is almost like having the Korean flag on our chest. We didn’t want to be pressured by that. On the contrary, I was more excited,” said Joong-ki. “I felt like I was a child again. When I first read the script, it reminded me of when I was a young kid. I don’t know if you know the movie ‘Goonies,’ it was such an amazing adventure film and that’s exactly how I felt: another amazing adventure but only taking place in outer space.”

Kim Tae-ri (star of the critically acclaimed film “The Handmaiden” which is getting a Philippine adaptation with Kylie Verzosa in the title role) is eager to see what other Korean sci-fi will follow in the path of their galactic flick, the trailer of which has ignited comparisons to Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy.” A Korean reporter who has previewed the film also thought the chase and battle sequences are at par with those of the “Star Wars” films.

“For SFX, the supervisors and technicians put in a lot of effort to make sure the quality was impressive,” the director said. “There were two elements: we tried to visualize the light shining on the surface of these objects as best as possible to make it look realistic, and the sheer speed of all these objects travelling in outer space, we wanted to make it look intense and suspenseful. What we focused on the most was to balance out all these technical aspects.”

Compared to his previous projects (A Werewolf Boy, Phantom Detective), Director Jo Sung-hee endured a meticulous and extensive pre-production process for this film which had been in development for the past 10 years after hearing the idea of space sweepers from friends.

“When we were shooting the actual scenes it required a great deal of imagination from all of us. There were definitely challenges however there was also a lot of excitement on how this was going to look like on screen, and that really drove us.”

More from the press conference edited for clarity and brevity:

On what made them take on the role:

Song Joong-ki: When I worked with the director on ‘Werewolf Boy’ I heard back then that he was planning to create this space sci-fi movie and I thought it would really be interesting and amazing. After a decade he proposed this role and I immediately thought I would definitely do it. Back then the storyline was a bit different from how it came out to be but when I first heard it from Director Jo I was shocked because it was so new and fresh.

Kim Tae-ri: The script was amazing I was really grateful to have been offered the role. In the first meeting, he told me about his vision and what he pictured the film would be. He had prepared so much and I could see how much passion he had for the film so I immediately trusted him.

Jin Sun-kyu: I read through the script and when I met with the director and when we talked about the unwritten parts of the movie I really felt his passion for it, how well-prepared he was. Tiger Park looks like a tough cookie and ruthless but he’s actually a very warm person. He is a very sentimental person who loves children.

Yoo Hai-jin: I also read the script thoroughly. It was very entertaining. As to what it was gonna be like on screen, I admit I was quite concerned in the beginning. The director drew pictures on a white board…he drew what he was thinking of in terms of what Bubs was going to look like. He was very well-skilled in drawing. When I saw his artistic sense and the amazing script, I felt like we could really make something good here. Bubs is not a typical robot. He’s the accounting manager, he’s savvy with the numbers. He’s a robot but he’s also very warm-hearted, almost like a human being. He’s very skilled with spears. He’s very cute and adorable. He also has his own dream that he wants to achieve. Since I did the motion capture acting, you’ll be able to see me behind the robotic figure. It was a new experience. While I was acting I was very curious and excited to see how it turned out on screen. All the other staff had to go through a hard time because of the technical issues. They had to shoot a scene without me and then again with me. I saw the crew members kind of struggling.

On the challenges they encountered on set:

Tae-ri: It required a great deal of imagination from all of us. Once you lose touch of that imagination, it’s easy to forget what you’re doing. So we would constantly ask and discuss the scenes and the director’s vision and continue to do image training, looking at the green background but continuing to imagine what we would be seeing as characters.

Jin Sun-kyu: At first it’s really tough because ‘Where should I be looking at while I do my lines?’ It takes some time getting used to, but going through the process, I think I actually saw outer space with my own eyes on screen.

Joong-ki: The creators really went through an extensive preparation process so it wasn’t too tough to imagine the scenes with the effects. The first scene where I was flying through space, that was very challenging. There’s this scene where we’re floating in space and our crew members are outside cleaning the spaceship. That was quite tough because it had to do with loss of gravity so that was new and challenging. But then again a lot of preparation went into it and I was really satisfied.

Hae-jin: I had all types of sensors attached to my body and I had to wear these tights. All in all,  it was a very new experience and quite fun.

On the film missing a theatrical run due to the pandemic:

Joong-ki: The schedule has been pushed back for quite a while. I tried to think about it this way: as an actor, the most important thing is how you communicate with the audience. We wanted to reach out to the viewers as soon as possible. We wanted help them watch the movie as soon as possible.

Tae-ri: I do feel a bit sad because I’m also an audience and I love watching movies. But I still feel very happy and grateful that we get to meet the audience thru Netflix and I would like to ask of you, when you’re watching it at home, pay attention to the sound effects. Make sure the volume is very loud. I think that would make it more vivid, intense and a better experience.

Hae-jin: I heard it’s going to be released simultaneously in 190 countries and this is my first time that my movie will meet the global audience at the same time.

Director Jo Sung-hee: I’m only just nervous and excited to see the final outcome. I’m happy to meet the audience of 190 countries. I just want people across the world to understand that there’s a large variety of movies being produced in Korea.