Director Yeon Sang-ho on May 20 talks about his latest work "The Colony" at a media screening and news conference for the zombie-themed film at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Seoul's Yongsan-gu District.

By Xu Aiying
Photo = Lee Jeongwoo
Video = Showbox's official YouTube channel

"The Colony," which was invited to the Cannes Film Festival's Midnight Screenings section, was released nationwide on May 21.

As the latest work by director Yeon Sang-ho, who helped set the Korean zombie genre with his blockbusters "Train to Busan" (2016) and "Peninsula" (2020), "The Colony" is about a group of people quarantined in a building due to an unidentified infection and their unpredictable interactions.

Yeon used the concept of "evolving zombies" to question human individuality in an age of artificial (AI) and collective intelligence.

Concluding their schedule at the festival, the director, cast and crew on May 20 held a media screening and news conference for the movie at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Seoul's Yongsan-gu District. Actors Jun Ji-hyun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Shin Hyun-been and Kim Shin-rok attended to give their insights on the film.

Actor Jun Ji-hyun on May 20 poses at the media screening and news conference for "The Colony" at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Seoul's Yongsan-gu District.

Shown for the first time to domestic media, reporters kept mentioning the film's screening at Cannes.

Director Yeon spoke first and recalled his interviews with foreign media.

"I was worried if the film could clearly convey the story of AI in modern society, but I was impressed that all foreign media accurately got the message," he said. "'The Colony' deals with very universal themes and tension, so I was both surprised and delighted that the reporters' questions captured nearly exactly what I intended."

"I went to Cannes to introduce our film but actually returned feeling as if I had received more energy," Jun added. "This occasion gave me a lot of courage and strength as an actor."

Actors (from left) Ji Chang-wook, Kim Shin-rok and Shin Hyun-been, director Yeon Sang-ho, and actors Jun Ji-hyun and Koo Kyo-hwan on May 20 pose for a group photo at a media screening and news conference for "The Colony" at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Seoul's Yongsan-gu District.

Marking her return to the silver screen for the first time in 11 years since "Assassination" (2015), Jun in "The Colony" plays Kwon Se-jeong, a biotechnology professor and the leader of a survivor group.

She described her role "not so much as a special character, but someone who allows the audience to become Kwon themselves, immerse themselves in the film, wrestle with the questions and follow along together."

"The simultaneous connectedness of the zombies in 'The Colony' was intriguing," she added. "Whereas infected characters in other zombie movies are uncontrollable as individuals, the ones in this film evolve in real time through an unknown network and move as one large groups."

Pre-sold to 124 countries including the U.S., Japan, Taiwan and France amid high anticipation, "The Colony" will be released on May 27 in France, Singapore and the Philippines, June 11 in Australia and New Zealand, August 28 in North America and next year in Japan.