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| From left, director Kim Jin-woo, actors Jung Woo, Yoon Jin-seo, Park Ji-yeon, and Park Hee-soon pose during a press conference for the new crime series, "A Model Family," held in Dongdaemun District, Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Netflix |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Director Kim Jin-woo, who is known for leading the 2013 medical series, "Good Doctor," and Netflix's "Love Alarm 2" (2021), is set to roll out a new suspense-filled, crime series called "A Model Family," which will be released on the platform this Friday.
The 10-part series revolves around a cash-strapped patriarch, Dong-ha (Jung Woo), who is a part-time lecturer at a college. His life is on the verge of falling apart. He fails to get tenure and his wife Eun-ju (Yoon Jin-seo) asks for a divorce, while he lost the money for his sick son's surgery.
One day, he comes across a pile of cash next to a dead body and unwittingly steals it without knowing it belongs to a drug cartel. With both police and the cartel's second-in-command, Gwang-cheol (Park Hee-soon), after him, the lecturer finds the only way to save his family is by working as a drug courier.
"The word, 'model,' is usually used to refer to someone else, rather than to oneself. But the reality is different. A person, looking in from the outside, might call them a model family, but when you take a closer look inside, there could be a paradox in whether you can truly say they are ideal," the director said during a press conference for the series, held at a hotel in central Seoul, Tuesday.
"'Family' holds a sense of uniqueness in Korean culture. Building on that value, the series is about a story that asks the question, 'Were we a model family?'" he said.
Jung shared that he took the lead in the series as he was intrigued by the nail-biting story and the run-of-the-mill, yet multi-layered character.
"When I started reading the script, I couldn't put it down. It was in such detail that I could picture (the story) clearly in my head," he said. "This wasn't a type of role I've ever played before. I've played characters that were normal people, but (in this series), this normal person turns into a monster as he gets pushed to the edge. And there's trauma from his past that brings out a different side of him, which I felt made the character intriguing."
Park, who played a powerful crime boss in Netflix's action series, "My Name," last year, has once again taken on the role of a crime ring member.
The actor said that he felt overwhelmed taking on a similar role to his previous work, but nevertheless felt strongly that he wanted to take part in the series.
"I got the script when I was filming 'My Name.' It was very interesting but I did feel a little overwhelmed because (the characters in both series) were in the same field," he said. "But when I met the director, I felt confident in distinguishing the two characters. I didn't want to let this piece pass me by."
