A soldier of the lowest rank writes a note to the higher ranking officers about his violent superior. When the senior soldier finds the note, he gets violent once again trying to find the writer, and in the process, Private Philip LEE’s tooth is broken. The Seeds of Violence is about Philip’s immediate senior, Ju-young, and the events he faces as he takes a short outing to help Philip get treatment. The film questions where the history of violence so deeply rooted in Korean culture came from. With this debut film, director LIM Tae-gue won the Grand Prize in the Korean Competition section at the 18th Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF), as well as distribution support from CGV ARTHOUSE. The film also played in competition under the New Directors section at the 65th San Sebastián International Film Festival. We met with LIM Tae-gue to share various stories about his first feature film.

It was encouraging enough just to be invited to JIFF. When I won the distribution support award, I was excited to be able to release the film in theaters. As for the Grand Prize, I feel like it was the best support I could have asked for. I wasn’t sure if I could make another film, so I think I was lucky.

There is a woman I know, and I couldn’t meet her for a year when she got married. It turned out that she suffered an abusive marriage. Knowing her, it was very unexpected for her to stay in such a relationship, but she had maintained the marriage for a year. That’s when I heard the news about Private YOON and other soldiers who had died or committed suicide. To me, how the violence was created isn’t much different. That’s why I was able to have two stories that reflect like a mirror to be made into a film. In the last 2 to 3 years, a lot of news dealt with violence. What I found strange about the public reaction to these reports is that they were scared of cases involving psychopaths, while they were more nonchalant about violence and suicides in the army. However, violence in the army or at home is more common than psychopaths. I realized that we’re too accustomed to being exposed to daily violence.

The writer served as a conscripted policeman, but the way they operated wasn’t much different from the regular army. We researched for information about domestic violence. When we were developing the story, victims of domestic violence were statistically proven to keep their experiences private. They didn’t try to tell others or to change their environment. More than 50% of the victims tolerated the violence. I agreed that this was a problem.

The film is about the different incidents that Ju-young experiences in a day. It was hard to decide when he would change and how he would gradually express his stress. This was actor LEE Ga-seop’s first feature, and it was my first film too. I’ve never had the chance to direct actors nor perform as an actor myself, so those points were hard to decide.

When I first met him, the impression I got from him was that he’s a calm person. He had a young face, but he was mature inside. I thought maybe he was hiding his true self since it was our first meeting. When I asked him about his usual personality, he told me he wasn’t necessarily like that when he’s in a comfortable setting. That’s why I thought he was someone with diverse characteristics and I could see that in his face. He looks innocent and pure, but at certain times, his expressions look like there’s much more than that. I wanted a face you couldn’t read right away, and that’s what I saw in him.

While thinking about how I was going to shoot the film, I thought I’d add music later in moments where there wasn't any dialogue. But in the editing stage, I felt like adding music disturbed the pace I had created. Also, I wanted the credits to become a time for people to reflect. I thought having music might disturb this purpose.

A middle school student gets caught while smoking, and he is sent to do volunteer work with other problematic students. He meets a girl there, and although he doesn’t do anything wrong, people misunderstand him and he’s pushed into the corner.

I think it’s a habit of mine when I develop films. I’m interested in social phenomena. Some people start with characters or the framework, while I get interested in social phenomena that are interesting or strange.

At the time of the festival, the news in Spain about female victims of domestic violence murdering their partners was a hot topic. That’s why many audiences could relate to the domestic violence in the film. Some audiences also identified with the story about the military. Just because it’s Korean subject matter doesn’t mean it can only be understood locally. The film festival had a great vibe. They were very supportive of new directors, so I feel energized.

I’ll be shooting soon. “The Hankyoreh” had a special report earlier this year on fishermen that were kidnapped to North Korea. They were locked up in jail and were tied. Some of them are still alive. I read about a 70-year-old fisherman. His son must be in his late 40s, and his grandchild would be in his or her 20s. With collective punishment in mind, I started to wonder how the fisherman’s son would have lived. The film is about the three generations of men with the 20-something grandson as the protagonist.

If my first film was about what I wanted to talk about, I want to make films that can speak to the larger public in the future. Then at a certain point, I’ll be able to make films that reflect my ideas. I want to be a director who is talented in doing both.