“This is the first time we‘ve seen Kim Yun-seok and Lee Seung-gi like this!”

Kim Yun-seok and Lee Seung-gi are ready to target this winter’s theaters with the movie ‘Big Family’, which will be released on December 11. The two people‘s ‘drastic transformation’ is a powerful weapon.

The movie ‘Big Family’, which depicts the ups and downs of the family of the dumpling restaurant ‘Pyeongmanok’, is the first comedy directed by Yang Woo-seok, who received ‘double acclaim’ from critics and audiences for serious works such as ‘The Attorney’, which is based on the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, and ‘Steel Rain’, which deals with the inter-Korean issue.

Above all, the movie is garnering extraordinary attention from audiences early on due to the drastic transformations of Kim Yun-seok and Lee Seung-gi, who play father and son. The chemistry between Kim Yun-seok, who has let go of his signature charisma and is completely ruined, and Lee Seung-gi, who even shaved his head, is the movie’s secret weapon.

○Kim Yun-seok, “A movie like dumpling soup”

Kim Yun-seok, who mainly played charismatic characters such as the fearsome villains in ‘Tazza’, ‘The Yellow Sea’, ‘1987’, and the hero Yi Sun-sin in ‘Noryang’, has transformed into Ham Mu-ok, the owner of a dumpling restaurant who is bitter because his family line was cut off due to his son becoming a monk, in this film that will be recorded as his first comedy in his filmography.

“An actor who looks like a craftsman no matter what he does. When Director Yang said, “If you make dumplings, wouldn’t you look like a dumpling artisan?” Kim Yun-seok laughed and said, “I think chefs are also great artists.”

He also emphasized that this film is “an extremely rare and precious work.” “I was captivated from the moment I first read the script,” he said. “It was a script like a ‘novel’ that I encountered at a time when there were so many works that were fast-paced, genre-based, and dealt with stimulating events. ‘I dare say with pride that this work will be like ‘A bowl of warm dumpling soup’.
○Lee Seung-gi “I didn‘t feel any resistance to shaving my head”

Lee Seung-gi plays Ham Moon-seok, the son who runs away from home to become a Buddhist right after graduating from medical school and becomes the chief monk of the Buddhist world’s ‘Superstar’ and takes after his father Ham Mu-ok.

He even shaved his head for the monk character in ‘Big Family’, his first screen return in six years since ‘Compatibility’ in 2018. Lee Seung-gi said, “I didn‘t feel any pressure about shaving my head when I decided to appear in the film. The moment I shaved my head, I thought, ‘This is a big deal.’ “I had to wear a wig for 3-4 months because I had a schedule that required me to keep my head shaved,” he said.

In fact, “rather than shaving my head, it was more important to work with actor Kim Yun-seok, whom I respect,” Lee Seung-gi said. “It’s a blessing to be able to see someone who has demonstrated abilities that transcend any realm up close. Even on days when there was no filming, it was fun to watch senior Kim Yun-seok act and learn from him on set. In fact, it was filming that was no different from an ‘educational site,’” he said with a smile.


Reporter Lee Seung-mi smlee@donga.com