'Himalayas' taught Hwang humanity

Hwang Jung-min poses during an interview at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, Tuesday. / Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

Actor Hwang Jung-min has already starred in two consecutive blockbusters this year.

After featuring in the smash-hit film “Ode to My Father,” which became the second-most successful film in local box office history with more than 14 million tickets sold, Hwang had another box office success with cop-action flick “Veteran” this summer, which ranked as Korea’s fourth-highest-grossing film.

Following the back-to-back box office successes, the 45-year-old stars in another box office offering ― the mountain-themed film “The Himalayas,” which will hit local theaters on Dec. 16.

In “The Himalayas,” Hwang features as renowned Korean mountaineer Um Hong-gil, who became the first person to reach the 16 highest mountain peaks on Earth.

Actor Hwang Jung-min, right, in a scene from “The Himalayas” / Courtesy of CJ E&M

Based on a real story that took place in 2005, Um and his expedition team ascend Mount Everest in search of the dead bodies of three Korean climbers who died climbing there a year earlier, including Park Moo-taek (played by actor Jung Woo), one of Um’s expedition team members. Though they only recover Park, the journey to recover the bodies touched many people as their footage was made into a television documentary titled “Human Expedition Team.”

When sharing his experiences from shooting “The Himalayas,” Hwang learned the importance of humanity and the grandeur of nature.

“While shooting I learned how important the relationships between humans are,” Hwang said in an interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul, Tuesday. “Also, I could feel the grandeur of nature and how small we are compared to it.”

Hwang said his most difficult task was to distance himself from the real events.

“When I decided to appear in the film, I just thought it would be a mountain-climbing flick combined with humanism. But while shooting, the fact that it is based on true events became a burden to me,” Hwang said.

“While agonizing how to mark the film off from true events, I had a chance to take a look at Um’s recording of his team’s 2005 activities. After reading the book, I couldn’t stop crying because I finally realized the film version doesn’t need to be different from the true events.”

“The Himalayas” took about six months to shoot from November last year to this May at three locations -- Yeongwol in Gangwon Province, the Himalayas and Mont Blanc.

“When shooting in alpine regions, every crew member had to be cautious not to contract acute mountain sickness, as the highest point where we shot scenes was located at an altitude of 4,500 meters,” Hwang said.

Hwang said Um gave much advice for the film.

“There is a scene where I make curry rice at a mountain cabin in the Himalayas at the beginning of the film,” he said. “At the cabin which was recommended by Um, the whole view of Mount Everest spread out before us. It was really fantastic.”

Another hardship he felt was the lack of reference.

“As there have been only a few mountain-climbing films in Korea, there was no reference,” said Hwang. “Ranging from how to look cold at a certain altitude to how much snow will cover the face up there, we didn’t have any clue. That was one of the hardest parts of shooting.”

Despite those hardships, he was satisfied with the outcome.

“When I finally saw the final version of Himalayas at a premiere Monday, I was stunned by the final product” he said.

Although the film runs only about two hours, he spent about seven months with the crew, he said. “During that period, there were all kinds of emotions we went through, such as laughter, yelling, crying, annoyance and comradeship,” he said. “There was no way not to be overwhelmed. I will never forget those experiences with them.”

“The Himalayas” will hit theaters nationwide Dec. 16.