Actors Park Jung-min and BLACKPINK's Jisoo are making their debut in the fresh K-zombie series ‘Newtopia’.
On the morning of the 7th, a production presentation for the Coupang Play series ‘Newtopia’ was held at the Conrad Seoul Hotel in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Park Jung-min, Jisoo (BLACKPINK), and director Yoon Sung-hyun attended.
The Coupang Play series ‘Newtopia’ is a K-zombie story where soldier Jae-yoon (played by Park Jung-min) and his girlfriend Young-joo (played by Jisoo) run towards each other across a zombie-infested downtown Seoul. Directed by Yoon Sung-hyun, who gained attention with the films ‘The Guard’ and ‘Time to Hunt’, it promises a differentiated fun and spectacle that sets it apart from existing zombie works, giving birth to a ‘zom-com’ (zombie comedy).
Director Yoon Sung-hyun expressed his thoughts on directing, saying, “I have always loved zombie films. After ‘The Guard’, I wanted to do a zombie project, so I started planning. I have wanted to work on a zombie project for a long time, and when I read the script, I found it very interesting. I think I was immediately hooked.”
Regarding the casting of Park Jung-min and Jisoo, he stated, “There have been many zombie works, but the most important thing was differentiation. I wanted to show a new perspective, and I thought I could showcase that through Park Jung-min.”
He continued, “I didn’t think this before filming, but Jisoo is very humorous. It’s not easy to laugh out loud while watching YouTube videos, but I found them funny. As we worked together, I couldn’t help but admire her. I thought Jisoo was perfect for the role of Young-joo.”
Park Jung-min said, “I made my debut with the director’s ‘The Guard’. Over the past 15 years, I have thought of him as the most grateful person. There was no reason to refuse the offer he made. When we were filming ‘Time to Hunt’, I mentioned that I wanted to try a comedy film, and I was curious. Then he proposed the project ‘Newtopia’. Personally, it was meaningful because I had never played a lead role before, and I was grateful that he offered me the lead. Of course, I decided to participate because the project was fun.”
Jisoo shared, “I have actually watched a lot of zombie films, but when I read the script, it presented not only zombie incidents but also colorful events. I felt that a new kind of zombie drama was about to be born, and I was curious. The character Young-joo also approached me as very attractive. I wanted to play a character that grows on her own, and I chose without hesitation.”
Park Jung-min and Jisoo will showcase their romantic acting. Park Jung-min said, “I have a place at home where I keep precious things. At the front is Jisoo’s signed CD album. I am a huge fan of BLACKPINK and Jisoo, so I asked Kim Go-eun to get her signature for me. The first CD has ‘Thank you for supporting me, Park Jung-min’ written on it, and the second CD has ‘I look forward to you, Jung-min oppa’ written on it. Looking at these two, I feel that I have lived well and think that I need to work even harder in the future. I never imagined that I would act with Jisoo and speak informally on the same stage. It’s a very honorable thing.”
He added, “I’m disappointed that I haven’t been able to act as a couple with Jisoo much. Please help me. Wouldn’t it be nice if Season 2 comes out and we can properly act as a couple?” which brought laughter.
Jisoo also attended an action school for ‘Newtopia’. She said, “At first, I couldn’t even do a forward roll, so I would roll once and just look. Since I went often, I was able to do five forward rolls in a row. The backward roll was difficult,” adding, “I trained my stamina at the action school, which helped a lot during the action filming.”
BLACKPINK is currently engaged in individual activities. Members Jennie, Lisa, and Rosé are all active as solo artists. Regarding this, Jisoo said, “When the members do well, people around me congratulate me. I felt even more that we have a family-like relationship, which made me work even harder during filming. I hope ‘Newtopia’ will have good results so that the other members can be proud.”
‘Newtopia’ will unveil on February 7 at 8 PM. It will be released in over 240 countries and regions through Prime Video.
[Shin Young-eun, Star Today Reporter]
