Kwon Sang Woo: 'I Filmed Movie with Debut Mindset'

"I filmed this movie with the mindset I had when I debuted,” actor Kwon Sang Woo said at the production presentation for the movie “Into the Gunfire,” which was held on May 10 at Imperial Palace Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. He added, “Thanks to the veteran actors Kim Seung Woo and Cha Seung Won, I could film this movie successfully.”

Kwon Sang Woo portrayed the protagonist Kap Cho, a student soldier fighting against North Korean soldiers. The movie tells the story of battles fought between 71 student soldiers and North Korean soldiers. During the Korean War, the army led by Kang Seok Dae (Kim Seung Woo) had been withdrawn from Pohang to defend the Nakdong River area and left only 71 student soldiers behind. Among the students, Jang Bum (T.O.P) was appointed as a company commander, but his troops periodically caused friction with other soldiers led by Kap Cho. Park Moo Rang (Cha Seung Won), a commander of North Korean soldiers who devastated the Youngduk region with his 766 guerrilla troops, disobeyed the Communist Party’s order to advance to the Nakdong River, instead secretly changing course into Pohang and ending up fighting with the student soldiers who were left behind.

Kwon Sang Woo said, “I felt comfortable and excited because I filmed the movie with only male actors. I felt like as if I had become a member of the Boy Scouts. I was especially happy because I worked with outstanding actors.”

He wore a school uniform again years after his movie “Once Upon A Time in High School (2004).” Kwon Sang Woo smiled, saying, “I was almost excluded from the cast members because I am too old.” He is 34 years old.

T.O.P, a member of the idol group “Big Bang,” debuted as a movie star with “Into the Gunfire” and said about the movie, “It was like I was going out to the playground for learning. Whenever I looked exhausted, other senior actors have given me great help. It was a good opportunity for me to become more mature through filming this movie.”

Actor Kim Seung Woo, who worked with T.O.P again after the drama “IRIS,” evaluated T.O.P’s acting by saying, “When I watched him, I thought, ‘He completely became the character Jang Bum that he plays.’ He did better than I expected.”

All cast members including Kwon Sang Woo, T.O.P, Cha Seung Won, and Kim Seung Woo agreed that the filming itself was very exciting and interesting, but enduring the cold weather was the most difficult part.

Director Lee Jae Han, who has directed movies such as “A Moment To Remember” and “Sayonara Itsuka,” directed the movie. Lee said, “I tried to focus on creating a balance while I made this movie. As it is a war movie, I wanted to film battle scenes.”

A blockbuster war movie funded with an 11.3 billion won investment, “Into the Gunfire” will be released on June 17.

source: KBS Global