A look into funeral culture, grief in ‘Move to Heaven’

CEBU, Philippines —  Netflix Original Series “Move to Heaven,”

directed by Kim Sung-ho, is a tear-jerker and an eye-opener for the occupation of trauma cleaners and the sad realities of modern society.

“When I was working on my previous film, I was able to truly experience how important or how great of a power film has in comforting viewers. I was actually unaware of the occupation of trauma cleaners and when I looked into that, the way these people are able to hear and feel the untold stories of those who passed on, the amount of power the story must have, I was really moved to direct the series,” Sung-ho said during a virtual press conference.

Having directed heartwarming films such as “How to Steal a Dog” and “Notebook From My Mother,” Sung-ho is no stranger to moving audiences with stories that shed light on certain realities.

“Move to Heaven” is a series about Geu-ru (Tang Jun-sang), a young man with Asperger’s syndrome, and Sang-gu (Lee Je-hoon), who becomes Geu-ru’s guardian after being released from prison. The two work as ‘trauma cleaners,’ a group of people whose job is clearing out the last possessions of the deceased and uncovering stories that were left behind. Geu-ru and Sang-gu join hands to help the final move of those who have passed away, and deliver their messages to loved ones.

Writer Yoon Ji-ryun and Sung-ho teamed up to present diverse stories left behind by the departed, told from the honest and unbiased point-of-view of Geu-ru.

The show received attention for its cast who are known to bring sincerity and passion to their roles: Lee Je-hoon, Tang Jun-sang and Hong Seung-hee. In addition, Ji Jin-hee and Lee Jae-wook make special appearances along with cameos from Lim Won-hee, Hong-seok, Jung Dong-hwan, Kevin Oh, and more.

“Things Left Behind” is a nonfiction essay that inspired the series and was written by Kim Sae-byul, who happens to be one of the first trauma cleaners in Korea.

“In modern society, it is very dry and very stressful. When someone passes away, some people don’t have anyone left behind who will come to their physical empty spaces and clean up after them. So this very dry times that we live in, especially in the cities, lonely and solitary death and these social issues, I wanted to tell a story about these issues and I thought that if we brought that to the screen, those who watch it will get an opportunity to really think about how we can be better neighbors to one another and members of society,” Sung-ho shared.

Sung-ho hopes that with this series, viewers realize that society will improve if people were to become better neighbors to one another and be more compassionate to those who are in pain, especially during the ongoing pandemic.

Ultimately, “Move to Heaven” for Sung-ho is all about comfort and consolence. “It deals with the funeral culture, the topic of grief and mourning and I truly hope that this series will stretch out a hand of comfort to anyone that watches them,” he added.

When it came to casting, Sung-ho stated that the main actors had great synergy from the get-go. He is a big fan of actor Lee Je-hoon and admired his ability to switch to his character, San-gu, almost instantly.

Je-hoon shared that he would do his best to essay his character to the point where others on set would feel intimidated or scared to approach him.

“My visual appearance for San-gu was one that was meant to sort of intimidate people or to put people off so I think I’d be very excited to find out how viewers will react to the character,” Je-hoon said.

All the projects Je-hoon has been in, he values dearly, and “Move to Heaven” is no exception. He always tears up when he gets into the story and would recommend everyone to watch this series first before checking out his other popular work.

As for Tang Jun-sang, Sung-ho describes him as a genius actor capable of nailing five-minute-long takes in one go. The character Geu-ru, who Jun-sang portrays, has Asperger’s syndrome so he really put in time to perfect the mannerism and behavior.

“I talked to director Kim about the tone of acting, tone of my words. I also referred to the main character in ‘Good Doctor,’” said Jun-sang.

Jun-sang cried after first reading the script as it was so moving and sad for him. It made him reflect on his life and hopes that through his acting, the audience can understand his message of self-reflection, empathy, and compassion for others.

Actress Hong Seung-hee plays Yoon Na-mu – a childhood friend of Geu-ru who has been looking out for him for a long time. She also keeps an eye on Sang-gu and is not intimidated by him that much.

Seung-hee’s vibrant and positive energy are what caught Sung-ho’s attention as it was a quality that fit perfectly with Na-mu’s character.

“We had hundreds auditioning for Na-mu, we had first round, second round, third round, fourth rounds and a few dozen at the very end, but I decided in the end I wanted to work with Seung-hee because of her vibrant energy,” the director said. - Dheif Daniel Yunting, USC Intern