[Edaily Starin Choi Hee-jae Reporter] "I wanted to create a mysterious character that’s unpleasant just to look at."

Actor Eum Moon-seok spoke about his character in the film *Hope*. Having gone through countless deliberations to develop his unique portrayal of Yang Bae, Eum Moon-seok’s large eyes sparkled even brighter when he talked about Yang Bae.
During an interview held on the 29th at a café in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, to celebrate the release of “Hope,” Eum Moon-seok said, “These days, when I go around doing stage greetings, about 30 to 40 percent of the people don’t recognize me.” He added with a smile, “When I deliberately say the line, ‘I’m right here at home,’ they go, ‘Oh my goodness!’ It gives me a sense of satisfaction knowing that I’ve truly brought Yang Bae to life.”
“Hope” is a film that depicts the story of Beom-seok, the head of the Hopo Port branch office near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), who, after receiving a report from the village youths about a tiger sighting, faces an unbelievable incident that shakes the entire village.
Eum Moon-seok plays Yang Bae, the carpenter who sets off the chain of events that leads to the chaos in Hopo-ri. Eum Moon-seok showcased a striking transformation, from his appearance to his acting. As a result, quite a few audience members reacted with surprise, asking, “Was Yang Bae actually Eum Moon-seok?”
Eum Moon-seok, who met with director Na Hong-jin before his audition, said that while discussing the dialect used in *The Wailing*, he spontaneously delivered Yang Bae’s lines in the Chungcheong dialect. “As I was doing that, I could feel the director snickering behind me,” he said. He then laughed and added, “When I looked at it from Yang Bae’s perspective rather than Eum Moon-seok’s, I got so annoyed. That actually helped me focus better.”

Yang-bae is, just as Eum Moon-seok described, a character who seems devious just by looking at him. His smacking sounds and inscrutable gaze sometimes made viewers feel uncomfortable. Director Bong Joon-ho not only praised Eum Moon-seok’s performance—in which he embodied Yang-bae perfectly—but even joked, “Are you sure you’re washing yourself properly?”
Eum Moon-seok said, “Since I had fake teeth fitted like dentures, my upper lip would stick and keep lifting up after just a few lines. I ended up constantly scraping my gums.” He continued, “The director watched me and told me to scrape my upper gums all the way. I think the director noticed those details and helped shape the character into Yang Bae.”
He then drew laughter by adding, “I expected the makeup to take four or five hours, but it didn’t take that long. It took less than 20 minutes.”

Eum Moon-seok said the final car-chase scene was the most difficult. This was because Director Na had instructed Eum Moon-seok to portray Yang Bae as “an absolute evil—neither good, nor bad, nor strange.”
He said, “The director said I was like the lowlifes you see on TV—even lower than Yang Bae,” adding, “Those people got caught, but Yang Bae didn’t, did he?” While struggling to nail the character, Eum Moon-seok got an idea from “a niece of an acquaintance.”
Eum Moon-seok explained, “My older sister’s nephew tried to put a pair of scissors in his mouth but had them taken away; yet, he immediately moved on to something else and smiled brightly. That look was scary.” He continued, “It’s just a casual, offhand action, but that’s what makes it problematic, and I thought it could create suspense for the audience.”
Ambiguity was key not only in the final “cat” scene but also in the scenes featuring the alien “Kali.” He surprised everyone by saying, “Even though it was a scary and brutal situation, I tried not to think of it that way,” adding, “I just treated it as everyday life—my comfortable day. I even gave her a nickname of my own.”
Eum Moon-seok, who named Kali “Chokkomi,” explained, “People took Chokkomi away and destroyed the house—from Yang Bae’s perspective, that’s heartbreaking. That’s why he cried.”

He also shared his thoughts on his co-stars Hwang Jung-min, Jo In-sung, and Jung Ho-yeon. Regarding Hwang Jung-min, he said, “He looked out for me without coming across as a tsundere, and he played a lot of pranks on me.” He added with a laugh, “This is just my own impression, but I could feel that he really liked me.”
She continued, “After filming wrapped, Senior Hwang Jeong-min suggested we do a play together. We performed in a play called ‘Guerrilla Theater.’”
Regarding Jo In-sung, who played the role of Seong-gi, she said, “He’s one year older than me. I only have two older sisters, so I found myself wondering what it would have been like to have an older brother like him.” She continued, “I was so grateful that he looked out for me to the point where I didn’t know what to do with myself,” and emphasized, “I learned a lot watching him see projects through without getting tired. He’s such a cool older brother, both as a brother and as an actor.”
Eum Moon-seok also expressed his affection for Jeong Ho-yeon, saying, “She ran around with me and brightened up the atmosphere on set. She’s a real mood-maker.”
Regarding rumors that *Hope* might become a trilogy, he said, “Only the director knows for sure, but since my character didn’t die until the very end, I’m holding onto hope,” and drew laughter by shouting, “Hope!”