During a press conference held last Wednesday (June 22) for Money Heist: Korea — Joint Economic Area, the host pointed out an interesting fact about Hae-soo — he seems to have a knack for being cast in shows where he wears monochrome outfits.
The 40-year-old first wore a green tracksuit in K-drama Squid Game and he’s now donned a wholly red jumpsuit in Money Heist: Korea — Joint Economic Area.
This good-humoured observation was responded to in kind as Hae-soo replied: “I think [my outfits] are like traffic lights so maybe I’ll wear yellow next time.”
He and his team wore a red jumpsuit as part of their disguise in the Netflix series. Song Jung-ho is a North Korean prison escapee with violent tendencies.
Jung-ho, aka Berlin, joins a team of misfits as they attempt to pull off a grand heist — to the tune of 4 trillion won (S$4.3 billion) — in the joint economic area between a tentatively unified Korea.
The drama also stars Yoo Ji-tae as Professor, Jeon Jong-seo in Tokyo, Jang Yoon-ju in Nairobi and Lee Hyun-woo in Rio. Kim Ji-hoon is (Denver), Lee Won-jong In Moscow, Lee Kyu-ho Oslo.
It wasn’t easy for Hae-soo to step into the role of Berlin — he had to learn the North Korean dialect to properly take on Jung-ho’s persona.
“It was very, very challenging,” he said. “Prior to the shoot, we had a lot of rehearsals and the director helped us prepare.
“We also had a North Korean dialect tutor. So we learned the Pyongan dialect or the Hamgyong dialect and then the tutor would help us out with perfecting our accent.”
While North Korean dialects may seem easier to understand, South Korean dialects are more difficult to master.
Ji-hoon and Won-jong, co-stars, had to learn the Kyonsang dialect in order to perform as father-son duo Moscow/Denver respectively.
Won-jong, 56 said that they worked hard for a month in order to master the dialect and accent. She added that they would practice the scenes by using full body movements rather than sitting at a desk and reading the script.
Lee Won-jong (left), plays Moscow, while Kim Ji-hoon portrays his son Denver.
Credit: Netflix
But of greater note was the sizzling chemistry between the duo — the two are even calling each other “father” and “son” outside of the set.
“Won-jong really cared for me like I was his real son… he was a dad that I’ve never met, who just really pulled at my heartstrings,” Ji-hoon, 41, said. “It was just natural that we felt this love towards each other.”
Ji-hoon also remembered the first scene they shot together, which featured an explosion. Denver is trapped between two buildings, escaping his enemies. Moscow saves him by blowing a hole through the wall and pulling his son to safety.
“I could feel the explosion in my ears because it was so loud,” Ji-hoon recounted. “It looked realistic… and dangerous.”
Money Heist: Korea — Joint Economic Area is now available on Netflix.
This article was published for the first time in Asiaone.
Source: Her World
