Kim Byung-wook [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

It has been a year and a half since "High Kick 2" ended. And it's sequel, "High Kick 3," premiered on September 19. Below is 10Asia's interview with producer Kim Byung-wook of the famed sitcom series.


<#10LOGO#> How was the first shoot for "High Kick 3"?
Kim: I had actually been very worried up until we went into shoot. It was more so the case because I'm the type that always thinks of the worst-case scenarios. But I was relieved because it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I thought that Yoon Kye-sang's character in particular might be too plain but Yoon is actually doing well in bringing his character's personality out. Seo Ji-suk too did better for the shoot than script reading. And it was into the second shoot with Ahn Nae-sang that I felt that there's a great vibe about him. I think he has a proper grasp on what he's supposed to do.

<#10LOGO#> I think the biggest characteristic to "High Kick 3" is that there are no children or elders. And I think this may, to a certain extent, be related to raising the efficiency of your work because I'm sure you can't help but overwork yourselves due to the working environment and all.
Kim:: I do think that has to do with it. And I always feel bad about it to the younger actors but I sometimes can't accomodate them on set. And of course, Mr. Lee Soon-jae who was with us for our previous series was someone who didn't want to a special environment created just for him. But you just can't help doing things in consideration of the elders.

<#10LOGO#> I think there may be some difficulties you must face in creating comical situations due to the absence of elders and children.
Kim: Of course it's difficult. Luckily, we have time right now but I get very nervous when I think of how much an obstacle that'll be to our show later on. Honestly, we were able to go with easy comedic elements in the past such as Mr. Lee Soon-jae simply singing a song like "Never Ending Story" or Harry doing a parody of "Temptation of Wife" when we had nothing to do but we can't depend on such things anymore. Plus, the main characters are of similar ages so there's a high chance that their stories will overlap. And every character should be complete -- from their appearance to disappearance -- but there are so many characters that I'm worried if I'll be able to show that in detail and whether I'd been too greedy. About what will happen towards the ending. I think that the older I get, the less confident I become so I worry a lot about whether I'll be able to complete the show well and how I'll complete it.

<#10LOGO#> In the case of Yoon Kye-sang, I heard you cast him first and then came to decide on what his character would be like.
Kim: Were it not for him, I would've probably given up on his character's relationship with high schooler Ji-won. I went for it because Yoon may not be young but there's a fresh charm about him that doesn't make such a relationship seem like it's too much. There'll be some important romance that'll go on with his character so I've set him as a comprehensive person which at the same time, won't make him seem as funny as the other characters since this is a sitcom. But I see some other possibilities after shooting him.

<#10LOGO#> Will the show's story be stronger and move at a faster pace because there are more young people in it this time?
Kim: Well, in terms of pace I'd say it was faster when there were elders and children because the show could end with them whining for something. (laugh) But it's less uncomfortable for me to ask them to do the more excessive scenes. For example, when I ask, 'How would you eat black paste noodles in ten seconds?' they say, 'I'll just give it a shot.' On the other hand, they can't go overboard when expressing their emotions, they need to be cool with them to a certain extent, so it takes more time and effort to do those scenes.

<#10LOGO#> Is it really because of 10Asia that you cast Ko Young-wook? (laugh)
Kim: I'd always liked Ko Young-wook and came to read your article on him too because I read almost all of your articles. And although he did well for rehearsals, he got very nervous for the first shoot. He was supposed to do a scene where he was supposed to speak while he's worked up but he was so nervous so it was only his face that would be worked up while his body was stiff. (laugh) But all of the actors I'm working with this time, including Ko, are nice people, but also not just softies but they have such good mindsets that I'm almost never stressed over human relationships.

<#10LOGO#> I guess having a good personality a quality you can't ignore when casting actors because sitcoms are shown over extended periods of time and a lot of characters appear on them.
Kim: I always say that one's personality counts for 50 percent of it.

※ Any copying, republication or redistribution of 10Asia's content is expressly prohibited without prior consent of 10Asia. Copyright infringement is subject to criminal and civil penalties.

10 아시아 Senior Reporter : Beck Una one@
10 아시아 Photographer : Chae ki-won ten@
10 아시아 Editor : Jang Kyung-Jin three@
10 아시아 Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@
<ⓒ즐거움의 공장 "10 아시아" (10.asiae.co.kr) 무단전재 배포금지>