(Korean Movies) KUNDO: Age of the Rampant, 2014

I wanted to make a film where the heart reacts first. It's not a movie that you have to accept as reason, but a movie that makes your heart beat. That was the starting point of <Kundo: Age of the Rampant>. Before becoming a director, watching movies at the theater as a child made my heart beat faster without realizing it. Whether it's an action, western, or martial arts movie, basically, the reality of the pleasure that these movies give is an action play. From <The Unforgiven> to <The War on Crime: The Golden Age of Bad Guys>, I wanted to take a look at a different path from previous works that seriously talked about reality through an era and people who lived in that era, and that’s what I wanted to see in a different way. It was brought to the screen. How about Joseon drawn from the perspective of the people and people, not the Joseon in the movies we usually see, which dealt with power struggles within the royal family or the ruling class? The encounter with the 'gundo' Jirisan Chuseol, a group of robbers that existed from the late Joseon Dynasty to the beginning of the Japanese colonial period, in the historical documents, embodies an action drama with the vivid personalities and activities of individual characters that cannot be realized in a one-on-one confrontation. did it Through <Kundo: Age of the Rampant>, the story of thieves who happily overturned the ruined world ruled by the tyranny of the 19th century Joseon, the spectators can feel the pleasure and fun of heart-pounding action dramas, along with the catharsis of subversion. I wish there was
Director Yoon Jong-bin

[ ABOUT MOVIE ]

An action drama that went to Joseon! Western of swords, and the fragrance of martial arts!
Abalone catharsis that hits the heart directly! Damn the world, save the people!
<Kundo: Age of Rampant> is an action drama before a historical drama. As a representative of the grassroots who stand up against oppression, there is the righteous 'Kundo', and on the other side there are the oppressive coffins and tamgwan ducks. Unlike previous historical dramas that portrayed the dark struggles within the ruling class over kingship or power, <Kundo: Age of Rampant> is a drama of overthrow in which the heart, not the head, reacts first, drawn from the perspective of the people. Ha Jung-woo's do-chi-chi, who sharpens his martial arts for revenge, the absolute master who stands at the opposite point, Kang Dong-won's Jo Yoon, has the scent of martial arts, a story of heroic scoundrels who run wildly over the river, and Ha Jung-woo's inversion who wields two swords instead of a double pistol. Wow, Kang Dong-won's Jo Yoon, who flexibly uses a long sword instead of a long gun with a fluttering sword, reminds the audience of a sword Western rather than a gun, and excites the audience. <Kundo: Age of the Rampant>, in which the original fun of two genres, both heterogeneous and similar, coexist under the name of an active play, is a drama that seems to conflict with the background of Joseon, but also plays a dramatic role. It raises the atmosphere of the movie and promises a heart-pounding fun of an action drama that the audience has never seen before, along with the Western-style background music that speeds up the pulse.

The coexistence and confrontation between actor Ha Jung-woo, who moves the audience, and actor Kang Dong-won, whom the audience has been waiting for!
The first experience to meet the charm of the theater on one screen! <Kundo: Age of Rebellion>
At the beginning of <Kundo: Age of the Rampant>, there was Ha Jung-woo with bald hair. Director Yoon Jong-bin, who had an eye on Ha Jung-woo, who stood on stage with bare hair in a college play 10 years ago, thought of an action play and at the same time thought of Ha Jung-woo's bare hair, and from there, the thread of the story began to unravel. What the hell happened to the bald butcher? How did he come to join the bandit? His story was the story of the people, and Ha Jung-woo, a 'comrade' who worked with director Yoon Jong-bin in four films from <The Unforgiven> to <War Against Crime>, willingly decided to participate in the play, and would not have been able to appear in the world without him. The action drama <Kundo: Age of the Rampant> was born. And the 'enemies of the people' Jo Yoon, who sits on the other side, should not be a villain you see often but Dong-Won Kang with a unique aura of coolness and strange sadness. As a full-fledged villain, it's not an easy decision. However, Kang Dong-won decided to join as Jo Yoon, an unprecedented villain with complex charm, and created a beautiful villain, Jo Yoon, that was nowhere else in the world. Ha Jung-woo, who stands at the pinnacle of masculine charm that combines charisma and playfulness, and Kang Dong-won, who moves while drawing a unique line, with cool and story-like eyes, coexist and confront each other on one screen in <Kundo: Age of Rampant>. Maximizes the pleasure of an action play just by having two actors in one frame.

Ha Jung-woo, Kang Dong-won, Lee Seong-min, Cho Jin-woong, Ma Dong-seok, Yoon Ji-hye, Kim Sung-kyun, Kim Jae-young, Jeong Man-sik and Lee Kyung-young! Strong personality and reliable acting skills! 10 people, 10 colors, multi-character!
Opening a new chapter in ensemble character films! <Kundo: Age of Rebellion>
The opening credits of <Kundo: Age of the Rampant> are full of names of actors who are unmatched in their acting skills as well as their personalities, and who can easily take on one role for each. Starting with Ha Jung-woo, who joined 'Kundo' first, and Kang Dong-won who succeeded him, the elite members of 'Kundo' began to be filled with images and acting skills that would best embody different specialties and positions.
Regarding the casting principle of 'Kundo', which is well placed like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle in the right place, director Yoon Jong-bin said, "I hoped that the leader of the archipelago, Dae-ho, had charisma, but had a sense of leading the group with human beauty rather than strength. Seong-min Lee is the owner of a face that can embrace everyone and has a broad gracious face.” On the other hand, the pseudo 'Tsing Chu', which is a kind of general affairs that holds the center of gravity of the 'gundo', is "I feel an atmosphere of wisdom beyond simple age" Lee Kyung-young. And “Jo Jin-woong, an actor with excellent speaking skills, felt that he was perfect for a kind of acting character, such as impersonating a bureaucrat during a camouflage operation in the ‘Kundo’ group, so he played a major role in the camouflage operation of ‘Kundo’ with his natural ‘Gura’. He was cast as the strategist Taegi. Ma Dong-seok, “actually the most powerful among Korean filmmakers,” joined as Chunbo in charge of ‘strength’ in the archipelago, and Ma-hyang, the only woman who plays the role of a sniper, said, “It is essential to have a strong image that can deal with 10 men alone. It was. I liked the mask that had the classic feel and strength of a Joseon woman at the same time,” Yoon Ji-hye appeared. Kim Jae-young, who had previously appeared in <War Against Crime>, joined the role of Geum-san, a clown who specializes in fast attacks, saying, “He is a clown riding a rope, and he needs a new face with a fresh image to feel his action realistic.” On the other hand, Kim Seong-gyun appeared in the role of Seong-gyun, who was under exploitation by the nobles, and gave a presence to the 'people' with anonymity, and in the role of the butler, Jo-yun, the people's enemy, the only henchman of the people. Jung Man-sik appeared, completing the cast of the 'trust and see' ensemble. The coexistence and collaboration of famous actors who clearly imprint the character's personality in each scene with their distinct personalities and acting powers promises that <Kundo: Age of the Rampant> will become a new chapter in ensemble character films.

[ Production Note ]

Director Yoon Jong-bin and martial arts director Jung Doo-hong realize perfect action communication with 'Digital Action Continuity'!
Forget the wires! A new world of real action that shows the character's personality!
The first task of the movie <Kundo: Age of the Rampant>, which claims to be an action drama, was to maximize the pleasure of the audience while the action represented the character's situation and emotions. However, through Hollywood blockbusters and countless action movies, director Yoon Jong-bin's order to redesign the action that is no longer new to the height of the audience and the identity of the 'active play' was very difficult. In the case of wire action in which the character moves beyond gravity, it can show the action beautifully, but it was initially excluded because it was a far cry from the reality of <Kundo: Age of the Rampant>, which overturns the damned world symbolized by the duck. An action that reflects the character's characteristics while being realistic as if fighting. In addition, in order to meet the basic condition of allowing the audience to follow the actors as if they were watching from the side, the camera equipment was also provided with a long take, unlike a normal action sequence in which the cut was taken in segments. It preceded thinking about equipment and methods that can show the action as best as possible, such as Steadicam, Flying Cam, and Body Cam. In addition, Martial Arts Director Jung Doo-hong's 'Digital Action Story' was shot and edited with a digital camera in which the action actors of the Seoul Action School actually performed together, realizing the action that director Jong-bin Yoon had dreamed of close to perfection. to act as an accurate action acting guide. However, what martial arts director Jung Doo-hong had in mind the most was that the action would follow the character's personality before a special concept. In the case of Ha Jung-woo, who wields a double sword, his strength as a stone was the most important, and Jo Yoon, who was the highest military officer in Joseon, had to show the character of his character with his sharp and sharp swordsmanship. Of course, the realization was the responsibility of the actors. Ha Jung-woo had a lot of action acting experience, but it was his first time acting with a knife, and due to the difference in the length of the sword with Kang Dong-won as Jo Yoon, he had difficulties in action design and acting itself. In addition, in the case of Kang Dong-won, who plays the role of Jo Yoon, who has to deal with a group of swordsmen alone, and the setting of being the highest military officer in Joseon, it is a powerful action that the audience can understand. It presents a unique knife action. Here, Dae-ho (Lee Seong-min), the chief of staff, performs a bold action with a spear longer than his own height, like a boss, and Cheon-bo (Ma Dong-seok), a strong man with a heavy iron bead that is difficult to lift, is the only core member of 'Kundo'. Ma-hyang (Yoon Ji-hye), a woman, has a bow capable of sniping from a long distance, and Geum-san (Kim Jae-young), who is a clown from Namsadang and has a sharp body, is the biggest weapon. have a bout of In addition, it is a horse action that runs at a speed of more than 70-80 km/h to the extent that the actors gathered their voices to appeal to their fears. Let the action make the heart beat without missing the audience's feelings. The action of <Kundo: Age of Rampant>, which was designed for the single principle that action action action should aim for, and the actors put all their efforts into, opens up a new chapter in Korean action.

The excitement and pleasure of an action play completed with music! Meet Western, the active play of Joseon!
First Korean movie, performed, recorded and mixed at Abbey Road Studios in England!
Masterpieces of sound such as <The Lord of the Rings> <The Hobbit> and <Gravity> complete the rhythmic sense of the action play!
A film that makes the heart beat and accept it with the heart, not the head. In order to realize the action drama that director Jong-bin Yoon envisioned, music was as important as the action. The music does not stop at visual pleasure, but touches the audience's five senses at the same time, speeding up the heart rate, and injecting an atmosphere of action throughout the film. Through <War Against Crime>, the famous duo, who summoned 'Heard It Through the Rumors' as the background music of the 80s, made music that communicates with the present without missing the atmosphere of the era. We've already started talking about music. As a result, the two decided to create an original score unique to <Kundo: Age of the Rampant>, which is a western-style music that is the origin of an active play, but has a Korean mulberry flavor, unlike the melody of a traditional historical drama that arranges Korean music and changes it into an orchestra. did. It is a historical drama, but it is an OST of an active play where the electric guitar comes out, the harmonica melodies and the heavy bass of brass meet the drums. In the first sequence in which 'Kundo' overpowers the Tamgwan Duck, the percussion instrument gives a sense of rhythm to the action, and Jo Yoon's evil deeds. With light rock music in the background, the process of transforming the butcher into the ace of the archipelago, and the uprising of the people, the soprano's a cappella sound touches the heart with a cheerful melody. It unfolds a new world with a different track from that of historical music. In order to properly convey the emotion and pleasure of the action drama, the production team chose to go to Abbey Road Studios in England, which has been established as a famous place for sound since the Beatles' famous album Abbey Road, the first Korean film. The staff who participated in the music work, which had a variety of melodies such as <Star Wars> and <Harry Potter> series and <Gravity>, but had a commonality that engraved the emotion of the movie in the minds of the audience, performed, recorded, and mixed together. . A melody and rhythm that will captivate the ears and hearts of the audience at the same time until the moment the end credits go up. The music of <Kundo: Age of the Rampant> was born that way, which intensely conveys the feeling of an active play before the nationality and era.

The space of grasslands is realistic, and the wild plants of the archipelago are utopia! Between historical evidence and creation.
21st century Korea, no one knows, no one has been to
Bringing 19th century Joseon into action! Production design of <Kundo: Age of Rampant>
The Joseon Dynasty, which I was familiar with through movies and dramas. It is not an exaggeration to say that the entire country is under construction, so it is difficult to find traces of the old ones. Due to the nature of Korea, where filming locations for historical dramas are limited, differentiation from other historical dramas was the first concern of the director and production team. In <Kundo: Age of the Rampant>, which required various places such as a large-scale space with an open view, a river and a wilderness, as well as a tiled house or a fortress, the hunting team found a better location during pre-production as well as during filming. He worked hard on the location by finding and moving to a separate building. It is no joke to say that “I went to all but Jeju Island and North Korea” is no joke, so Gyeonggi-do Yangju and Yongin; Gyeongbuk Mungyeong; Gangwon-do Yeongwol; About 30 indoor and outdoor sets were made in places they found while walking around, creating a space unique to <Kundo: Age of the Rampant>. Among them, the place where the most hands were added was Sanchae, the stronghold of 'Kundo' in Jirisan. The basic characteristic of a hiding place is that it must be completely blocked from the outside as it is necessary to avoid the pursuit of the coffin. When the reality was first revealed in the movie through the gaze of 'Dolmuchi', who joined the archipelago, it had to give a feeling of utopia, so director Yoon Jong-bin realized a space that felt peaceful and healed just by looking at it like Nepal or a village in the high mountains. wanted to The director's idea, which is difficult to materialize in the narrow Korean land, is a sketch of production designer Park Il-hyun, which contains the first impression that comes to mind after reading the scenario, and the hard work of the hunting team. After a lot of hard work, it was completed with a set of wild vegetables like 'New World' where the audience can realize that it is an utopia through Dolmuchi's gaze.

In this space, the production team tried to approach the era of Joseon and riot in the 19th century more perfectly by adding detailed reality. In particular, when it comes to makeup, we put great effort into historical research to express the way our ancient ancestors lived. The yangbans were painted white, and the grasshoppers expressed their faces, hands and feet, and everything in the dark. The pain of the poor people in those days when they couldn’t eat properly adds realism by paying attention to the dead skin cells on their faces, chapped lips, and even between the toenails. The differences between the people were clearly revealed. The 19th century Joseon and the era of rebellion, completed with the sweat and effort of the staff, is realistically realized on the screen what it would have been like in reality, which traditional historical dramas did not show.

An honest fashion style that started from the texture of the Joseon Dynasty in the 19th century!
From the color of the land where you can feel the power of the grasses to the cool and maddening color of Jo Yoon.
People like people, yangbans like yangbans! It's not a fusion, it's proven! Back to the Basic!
Meet the imagination of the drama and complete a new style that breaks the classic of historical drama fashion!
In the 13th year of King Cheoljong's reign, the effort to express the 'era of riot' itself was the same with the costumes. Unlike the previous historical dramas that dealt with the royal family and nobles, and presented colorful costumes with gold and silver, the first thing designer Jo Sang-kyung, who was in charge of the costume for <Kundo: Age of Rampant>, did is to see the reality. Turning around was just the maximum amount of data research. Motifs such as the red soil of Naju, Jeollanam-do, which is the background of the film, dyeing using pears, and crudeness like earthenware led to the concept of realizing a 'texture that feels the power of grass' as it is. Here, the costumes with imagination inferred based on the circumstances and events of each character were made by hand in order to double the charm of both the character and the actor. For Ha Jung-woo, who plays the role of Dochi, who is a strong image of skinhead, he made the character richer by applying an unusual ink color to cotton and burlap, the colors of the common people. In addition, for the leader Daeho of the archipelago, a long silhouette was added to preserve the dignity, and for the mahyang, a famous archery that digests the action as well as a man, the active underpants horse group and short shorts worn by women of the noble class sometimes when riding horses. Tinchu's costume, which was made with a matching jeogori, was sculpted to the extent that it was comparable to a quilt, and was made by hand over two months with meaning in each rag.

In this way, if the costumes for the swordsman put individual characteristics on top of the commonality of the color of the land, which symbolizes the power of the people, then Jo Yun is a representative player who symbolizes the ruling class and the enemies of the people, and expresses the colors with the swords that represent the people. From there, we will show you other colorful costumes. Joyun's costume, which fully utilizes the characteristics of a hanbok with multiple layers, is made so that the lining is reflected under a single coat of various brightness levels, while the appearance of the hem flying layer by layer is cool and beautiful in harmony with Kang Dong-Won's tall height It maximizes the elegance of the villain Jo Yoon-man. Here, as the drama unfolds, props and plays such as a topcoat made of high-quality materials, which were worn by fashionistas among yangbans at that time, rather than staying on the cape, shoes, and topcoat to match the coat of arms (the official uniform of the Joseon military officer), Reflecting Jo Yoon's feelings, which are increasing the way of evil, the colorful color scheme that develops into a darker color showed the essence of the costume that perfectly made use of Jo Yoon's character from head to toe. The costumes of <Kundo: Age of the Rampant>, which are faithful to historical evidence but drawn with novelty that are not bound by history, are another reason to pay attention to the film.