The movie ‘Amazon Hwalmyeongsu’ Ryu Seung-ryong and Jin Seon-gyu took a pictorial for fashion magazine Harper‘s Bazaar. The cheerful comic vibe that continued off-camera throughout the shoot was captured in the photos.

Jin Seon-gyu said about his feelings about working on the same project again after the nationally beloved movie ‘Extreme Job’, “First of all, the script was really fun, and it was a comedy genre that I love, but more than anything, the fact that I could meet Ryu Seung-ryong again influenced my choice. I think I jumped into it with the same expectations as the audience who loved ‘Extreme Job’. For this project, I approached it with the thought that I should pick up and eat the scraps that my brother dropped while acting. Picking up and eating those scraps is also a skill.”

Ryu Seung-ryong replied, “When I read the script, I thought, ’Seon-gyu is the only one who can play a bread-like role.‘” This work has clearly dug up all the comedic DNA that actor Jin Seon-gyu possesses,” he said, once again raising expectations for their proven chemistry.

When asked about his first impression when he read the script for ‘Amazon Hwalmyeongsu’, the first domestic comedy film to feature the sport of archery, Ryu Seung-ryong said, “What struck me the most was that it all comes down to family. I felt that Jin-bong, who is persecuted at work but wants to make his children and wife feel good as the head of the household, was very similar to me. Things like ‘family’, ‘ordained life’, are the most universal of the forces that attract people. So it may sound obvious, but sometimes the universal is the most powerful. I was always on edge while filming this piece, worried that the message of the piece might evaporate or just seem ridiculous. I was in pain the whole time filming. Looking back, it was good stress,” he said, expressing his affection for the piece.

Meanwhile, Jin Seon-kyu said, “When I read the script, I didn’t really think it was ‘funny’,” and added, “The premise of leading the Amazon natives to the World Archery Championships may seem unfamiliar and absurd, but as you follow the story, it leaves a deep impression on what is truly precious in our lives. The pleasure that the sport of archery gives is also a point of interest.”

Lastly, Ryu Seung-ryong said about what he felt while watching numerous comedy films so far, “Comedy is really strange. Existentialism is a philosophy that developed under the premise of ‘let’s assume that God exists when there is no God,‘ and comedy seems to be exactly like that. For example, ‘Chicken Gangjeong’ is ‘Let’s say a daughter turns into chicken gangjeong’, and ‘Amazon Hwalmyeongsu’ is ‘Let‘s say a successful archer falls and goes to meet the Amazon natives’. I think the narrower the gap between this assumption and reality, the more empathy and response it can get from the audience. Laughter is the most effective medium to reduce that gap because it opens the heart. In my opinion, it is a specific remedy. So, when watching a comedy film, I hope you just open your heart without any boundaries or doubts,” he said, expressing his affectionate feelings.

Ryu Seung-ryong and Jin Seon-kyu’s pictorial and interview can be found in the November issue of Harper’s Bazaar and on the website.

Jeon Hyo-jin, reporter, Donga.com jhj@donga.com