Director Lee Joon-ik says Tving sci-fi drama 'Beyond the Memory' coming after failed attempt

By Kim Eun-jung

BUSAN, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- Korean director Lee Joon-ik said Friday he is finally introducing Tving's upcoming series "Beyond the Memory" next week following one failed attempt a decade ago as he thought the time is ripe for the near future sci-fi drama.

Part of the six-episode series was premiered at the 27th Busan International Film Festival on Thursday in the "On Screen" section for highly anticipated drama series from streaming platforms.

Set in 2032, the drama presents the story of a widower (Shin Ha-kyun) who receives a mysterious message from his dead wife (Han Ji-min) inviting him to a place named Yonder where the dead can live on by uploading their memories. It is based on Kim Jang-hwan's 2011 sci-fi novel "Good-bye Yonder."

The 62-year-old master of Korean period dramas, best known for "The King and the Clown" (2005), began working on the novel's script 11 years ago but shelved it due to concerns that he might undermine the book's value.

"I put it aside, not ready at the time. Ten years later, I am humbly introducing it to the audience," Lee told the audience in BIFF's "Open Talk" session held at an outdoor theater of the Busan Cinema Center.

"It is definitely correct to say the time has come," he said, noting the public's rising interest in sci-fi themes.

One of the challenging parts of making the near future sci-fi drama for his team was creating believable visuals of daily devices and their interfaces, which transform rapidly in just a decade.

"If they look too different, it could get in the way of concentrating on the movie. If they look too similar with devices today, it would not be plausible," Lee said. "It was hard to strike the right balance."

Unlike his past low-budget projects, Lee said the upcoming series was shot in many places across the country to show beautiful scenery to the global audience.

"I enjoyed the luxury of traveling all around the country, taking a ferry to the southernmost island for a shot and traveling to a remote mountainous region for another shot, and so on," Lee said. "I wanted to show overflowing beauty of Korean scenery."

"Beyond the Memory," also known by the Korean title "Yonder," will be available on Tving, CJ ENM's streaming platform, next Friday.

ejkim@yna.co.kr
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