‘Black Nuns’ Jeon Yeo-bin “I thought the lights were only on around Kang Dong-won”[Interview]

MOVIES Jan 21, 2025

Translation

Photo courtesy of Management MMM
Photo courtesy of Management MMM
Song Hye-kyo and Jeon Yeo-bin are showing off their passionate ‘solidarity’ through the movie ‘The Nuns’, which will be released on the 22nd. In a recent film industry where it is difficult to find female-led films, they have taken aim at the Lunar New Year holiday box office with the ‘top two female leads’.

‘The Nuns’ is a spin-off of ‘The Priests’, which was released in 2015 and attracted 5.44 million moviegoers, and tells the story of two nuns struggling to save a boy possessed by a powerful evil spirit. Song Hye-kyo and Jeon Yeo-bin, who played the roles of Sister Junia and Sister Michaela, respectively, who perform the exorcism ritual in the drama, met at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 21st and expressed their affection for each other, saying, “We were able to immerse ourselves in our characters and act more because we had each other.”

O“Differentiate from ‘The Priests’

Jeon Yeo-bin, who will be starring in two films side by side with ‘The Nuns’, following ‘Harbin’, which told the story of independence activists at the end of last year, said, “Although they are two completely different genres, my approach to the two works was the same.”

“Both films have the basic emotion of selflessness, where there is something that goes beyond one‘s own existence that one wants to protect and one runs towards it. That’s why while doing both films, I asked myself many times, ‘Would I really be able to muster up that kind of courage?’” While filming both films, I came to the conclusion that courage is not the absence of fear, but the desire to overcome fear despite its existence and the will to face and confront it.”

Although it is garnering attention as a spin-off of Chungmuro‘s representative occult film ‘The Priests’, he expressed his confidence in its differentiation, saying, “It is a completely different work with the same roots.” More than anything, he said that unlike ‘The Priests’, which had the advantage of speed, this film stands out for its “emotional story”.”

“It has a similar format, but in our film, a life is not saved by just two nuns. The exorcism process requires help from not just the two nuns, but many other people. I think the process of solidarity where many people give each nun a little more strength is well-shown, which is a great advantage.
Photo courtesy of Management MMM
Photo courtesy of Management MMM
O“I’m happy to work with seniors Song Hye-kyo and Kang Dong-won”

He smiled, saying that he was especially touched that he got to work with and deeply empathize with Song Hye-kyo, the “goddess I‘ve held in my heart since childhood,” while working on this project.

“I’ve watched all the dramas (Song) Hye-kyo has been in since I was young. Back then, I just looked at her as a beautiful star, but after I started acting, I‘ve always looked at her as an ideal senior who tries to show a new face. I can’t tell you how great it was to be able to act with her by looking into her eyes and hearing her voice as a fellow actor. On set, she was like a big tree that supported the set with her small and delicate body. While acting, I cried many times looking into my lyrical sister‘s eyes.”

She also said that she can’t forget the moment she acted with Kang Dong-won, who made a special appearance at the end of the play. When she saw Kang Dong-won appearing on the set wearing a priest‘s uniform, she laughed and said, “It felt like flower petals were fluttering.”

“I thought they turned on the lights only around Kang Dong-won. It was really a feast for the eyes to see such a perfect suit fit, no, such a priest’s uniform fit. Haha.”


Reporter Seungmi Lee smlee@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.