Interview with the director of the Korean film “Hear Me: Our Summer”

0:04 Director Nishi of Kuro-obi World recommends a movie!

0:09 Before starting Kuro-obi World, I worked as a foreign film buyer for a movie distribution company.

0:17 Naturally, I'm a huge movie fan.

0:19 Today, I'm introducing the Korean film “Hear Me: Our Summer”.

0:25 I interviewed Director Cho Sun-ho.

0:28 His direction is truly the "Kuro-obi" of film.

0:32 Let's uncover his craftsmanship.

1:32 This film is a remake of a Taiwanese movie that was a huge hit in Korea, right?

1:38 Why did you decide to make a remake?

1:41 And if there are any changes you made from the original film, please tell us about them.

1:47 In Korea, there are many remake projects of Taiwanese films.

1:53 The reason is the unique purity inherent in Taiwanese films.

2:00 Many films dealing with such emotions are remade.

2:04 The Taiwanese film that inspired this movie was released in Korea 15 years ago.

2:11 At that time, the purity this film possessed was deeply etched into the hearts of Korean audiences.

2:20 And I was one of them.

2:21 When my company's CEO proposed remaking this work to me, the wonderful memories of seeing the film 15 years ago came flooding back.

2:31 Though much time had passed since then, the feelings I had when watching the film back then,

2:36 the emotions that made my heart flutter, returned to my heart.

2:41 It felt like a very distant past, yet those feelings from that time came back.

2:46 On top of that, I wanted to weave the story I wanted to tell into the original film.

2:52 When I proposed this, the actors also said it was a good idea, and that's how we came to produce this work.

3:08 Next, regarding the differences from the original Taiwanese film.

3:12 The original focused on the pure first love between the male and female protagonists, truly expressing pure love.

3:27 I think it's problematic for a remake to be exactly the same as the original,

3:32 and it's also problematic to make it something completely different.

3:36 I added the story I wanted to convey to the original.

3:39 Of course, there is the romance between the man and woman, but beyond that,

3:45 I wanted to incorporate more about understanding and respect in human relationships.

3:52 So, I added the relationship with the parents.

3:56 I also wanted to deepen the sisterly relationship.

4:00 The sister relationship was present in the original Taiwanese film,

4:04 but I adapted it to include more understanding, respect, and communication between the sisters.

4:13 Also, as those who watched the film will understand,

4:19 scenes like the club scene, or the scene later on where Yong-jun walks through the city covering his ears.

4:29 The scene where Yeo-reum enters the water, wanting to understand Ga-eul's feelings.

4:35 These scenes were not in the original work.

4:42 Every scene I thought was great was your original idea!

4:52 That's wonderful.

4:55 Thanks to the actors' skillful performances, I believe I was able to infuse the work with what I myself wanted to express.

5:01 I hope my feelings come across not only to Korean audiences but also to Japanese audiences.

5:07 The relationships depicted in this film will resonate with audiences of all generations.

5:16 I'm very happy that you seem to have accurately appreciated what I myself wanted to convey and what I wanted to do.

5:27 While the foundation of this film is the story of a man and a woman's first love,

5:32 I believe that at its core, that first love between a man and a woman is ultimately about human relationships, emotions, and communication.

5:38 Similarly, in relationships with parents, each person has their own world.

5:45 I wrote the script and made this film while contemplating these ideas.

5:50 It captures the freshness of first love while also depicting relationships between people, like family.

5:58 I hoped everyone would feel these things.

6:02 And I'm truly glad you felt them.

6:09 The scene where Yong-jun falls for Yeo-reum at first sight was very memorable.

6:14 Yong-jun goes to deliver lunch to the pool and can't take his eyes off Yeo-reum on the other side of the pool.

6:22 That scene has many cuts and the camera smoothly pans sideways.

6:30 I imagine a lot of effort went into filming it, and it must have taken quite some time, right?

6:39 Please tell me about filming that scene.

6:44 Regarding the scene where Yong-jun sees Yeo-reum and falls in love at first sight.

6:51 Actually, the filming time for that scene wasn't that long.

7:06 But actor Hong Kyung, who played the lead Yong-jun, said he struggled a lot to grasp the emotion of seeing her for the first time and falling in love.

7:17 Also, during filming, he seemed to be genuinely wrestling with that feeling while acting.

7:24 Throughout filming this movie, we prioritized the act of “gazing” from start to finish.

7:30 I asked all the actors to focus on this during filming.

7:35 I wanted to express the movement of the heart through “gazing.”

7:42 In the latter part of the film, Yeo-reum opens her heart to Yong-jun.

7:47 When she spots Yong-jun across the crosswalk, Yeo-reum fixes her gaze and follows him the entire time.

7:55 This shot was actually framed similarly to the very first shot where Yong-jun gazed at Yeo-reum.

8:14 Here too, I aimed to express the relationship between people through “gazing.”

8:20 For example, in the very first pool scene, Yong-jun gazes at Yeo-reum, but Yeo-reum gazes at her sister Ga-eul.

8:30 The directions of their gazes are different.

8:32 I discussed these points extensively with the actors and also asked the cinematographer to skillfully incorporate such nuances into the visuals.

8:42 The “Kuro-obi” in Kuro-obi World is also a term used to describe someone who is “top-tier” in a particular field, as in “He's the Kuro-obi of golf.”

8:51 After hearing your explanation, I felt that you are a top-tier filmmaker = Kuro-obi.

9:01 So it only makes sense that I introduce you in Kuro-obi World.

9:09 Thank you so much for thinking of me like that.

9:13 My favorite shot in this movie was when Yong-jun, having met Yeo-reum at the pool,

9:19 leaves the building looking so happy—yet the camera captured his back, not his face.

9:29 I really loved that shot expressing his joy through his back.

9:34 When expressing human emotions in film, it's often done primarily through facial expressions.

9:43 But in reality, we can express ourselves using our whole body—through hand movements, the way we walk, or even humming a tune, right?

9:55 I wanted to express emotions like that.

9:58 Sign language is the same, isn't it?

10:01 In sign language, you don't just use hand movements; you express yourself using everything—facial expressions, gestures, and so on.

10:16 I wanted to express those emotions using as many parts of the body as possible.

10:25 What you created with that mindset truly remains in our hearts.

10:31 You are undoubtedly “Kuro-obi.”

10:45 I'm embarrassed by all the praise.

10:47 I really mean it.