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An ordinary office room changes into a place of horror. Assistant manager KIM Byun-kuk is an ordinary company worker. KIM brutally murders his family and vanishes. Then, a serial murder case ensues. Somebody is killing the workers of the company he worked for one by one.

 

The film Office follows unexpected events among friendly people in a familiar place through its engaging development and story. It is the enigmatic characters that add tension to the situation, which reaches its height in a closed space. KO Asung set herself apart from other actresses in their 20s, while placing a foot toward Hollywood after she showed her impressive talent in The Host (2006), Snowpiercer (2013) and Thread of Lies. In this film, KO plays the mysterious intern LEE Mi-rye who desperately tries to become a full-time worker. PARK Sung-woong, who struck audiences as a skilled actor by playing a villain in New World (2013), plays a cop who investigates the murder. By playing officer Jong-hoon, PARK shows levelheaded and charismatic acting.

 

Previously, director HONG exclusively adapted various kinds of stories for thrillers such as The Chaser (2008), The Scam (2009), The Yellow Sea (2010) and Confession of Murder (2012) before debuting as a director through Office. In 2005, the Cannes International Film Festival also invited The Chaser, for which HONG provided the original story, to the Midnight Screenings section.

 

The film is a thriller, which describes a serial murder case in a closed space. Did you refer to any films with a similar setting?
I watched The Shining (1980), a Stanley Kubrick film, many times.

 

In this film, the location is of great significance. In this context, what did you pay more attention to?
Composing a scene in an office space has limitations. I thought that since the room was an ordinary and familiar space, plainly shot cinematography would make the film monotonous. I tried my best not to make it monotonous.

 

You mainly arranged original stories for thrillers such as The Chaser , which was screened in the same section of the Cannes Film Festival, The Scam, The Yellow Sea and Confession of Murder . Do you have any principles in writing thriller screenplays or arranging original stories for thrillers?
I have no specific principles. I think thrillers have to have meatier screenplays than films of other genres. Thus, I always muse over suspense and catharsis.

 

The story of The End of an Alley (2004), your debut short film, came across as quite impressive. An interesting point is that both The End of an Alley and Office deal with people who disregard the existence of individuals to maintain organizations and social structures.
I have always pondered over stories about individuals and their organizations since my college days. Young Korean men have to finish their compulsory military service. They go through such a thing at least once. When I grew older, the background of the military seems like our society in miniature. Basically, I found that Korean society is no different from the military.

 

The End of an Alley features an extreme situation where an auxiliary policeman beats one of the lower ranked auxiliary policemen in his squad. Does a similar situation happen in Office ?
Of course. The male lead character, the cop, has his own position while there is a relationship between the female lead character, the intern and another intern who entered the company as a competitor. The situation does not surface as it did in The End of an Alley. It is delivered through the entire film as an underlining fact. I let the traditions of the genre take precedence over irrational elements in social structures since this film is a thriller with elements of social commentary. But I tried hard not to exclude these irrational elements. I like films in which ironic situations are well placed. I’m referring to films like The Hunt (2013) with Mads Mikkelson and Secret Sunshine (2007) by LEE Chang-dong.

 

Office is loaded with many Korean character actors and actresses. As a director, who do you want audiences to pay attention to?
KO Asung. You will understand if you watch the film.