If you have not heard, Disney+ has dropped another of its amazing Kseries on 9 August 2023!
For readers whom have yet to start on the series, here’s a little summary of the series to entice you to stream it!
MOVING is an action-packed series that features secret agents, assassins and superpowered humans hiding away from the world.
In the 1990s, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) established a black ops team of superpowered individuals. Tasked with carrying out classified missions, members of this elite unit used their powers to defend the country and achieve the impossible on a daily basis. Despite their successes, one day the team suddenly went dark and dispersed, never to be heard from again.
A few decades later, Bongseok (portrayed by Lee Jungha), a boy who could float before he could walk, and Huisoo (portrayed by Go Younjung), a girl who survived a horrific car crash unscathed, end up at the same school, quickly becoming close after confiding their secrets in each other. But while life seems relatively carefree for the teenagers, a mysterious delivery driver named Frank (portrayed by Ryu Seungbeom) begins murdering people with powers across Seoul.
This is a star-studded series with various well-known actors starring in it. To name a few, you have Ryu Seungryong (Life is Beautiful, Extreme Job, Kingdom Seasons 1 & 2), Han Hyojoo (20th Century Girl, The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure, Happiness) and Zo Insung (Escape from Mogadishu, The Great Battle, It’s Okay, That’s Love, That Winter, the Wind Blows).
Alright, enough of the summary. Let’s get on to the exclusive interview that we’ve received to learn more about how this series is being brought from a webtoon to an action-packed series that will keep viewers looking forward to each episode.
The director of this series is Park Inje, who also happens to be the director of Kingdom Season 2.
| Question: What made you decide to join the project? Or how did you feel when you were approached to direct the series? |
| Director Park: Initially, my plan was to write a screenplay and direct a film for my next project. But circumstances led to the CEO of Studio & New proposing the script for this series to me. At first, I wasn’t keen on taking on a series because I was set on doing a film. But when the proposal was made, I had recently become a father, and perhaps it was my newfound fatherhood that drew me to the story about the parent-child relationships in the way I had never experienced before. Unlike my previous projects, I felt interested in the stories about family. In addition, I tend to be driven by new challenges. I had not read the original webtoon, so the script was my first exposure to the story, but I saw many plot devices, narratives, and combinations of genres in the script that I had not yet tried in my other projects. I thought this would be a worthwhile challenge. These are the reasons why I decided to take on the project |
| Question: What kind of research did you do before production? |
| Director Park: Given that there are already plenty of Hollywood films and series about characters with supernatural powers, it is a challenge to find something new within this genre. But we still explored an extensive number of references to take our own spin on how conventional superhero films and series are made. In the process of creating the series, I came to understand why so many Marvel and similar films use certain techniques and devices when portraying action sequences like landing, throwing punches, or receiving blows. Our primary focus was to adopt a more analog approach to creating the scenes to reduce the look and feel of digital technology. |
| Question: Were there any directorial choices you made to effectively portray the superpowers on the screen? |
| Director Park: The expression of superpowers in this series is different between the parents and their children. The parents have mastered their abilities, whereas the children gradually learn to adapt to and gain greater control over their powers as they grow. They learn that their abilities can be a blessing. Bongseok, for instance, gradually upgrades his flying skills throughout the course of the series. My focus was to direct the actors who play the parents like Juwon and Doosik to be more comfortable with using their powers and proficient at it, while the younger actors would portray the process of having dormant powers, awakening them, and gradually learn how to use them as the story progressed. |
| Question: How do you think you will remember MOVING going forward? |
| Director Park: I can actually offer two responses: first, how I hope the viewers perceive this series, and second, what this series means to me. I think it has been close to three years now since I started working on MOVING. It’s the longest production I have ever been involved in, but I don’t feel weary. Instead, looking at the final outcome makes me feel comforted and healed, much like how I initially felt when I first read the script. The series gets me to think about my family again and evokes memories of my childhood and young adulthood, including the budding romance unique to that phase in life. It has allowed me to look back and relive those moments. I hope the series does the same for all the viewers of Disney+. Rather than seeing it as a complicated story, I hope you enjoy finding various moments of warmth, surprise, romance, action, a little bit of comedy, and even horror. You might be worried that it might turn out to be a hodgepodge of genres because it encompasses so many, but I can confidently tell you that it is not, and you will thoroughly enjoy this 20-episode series throughout this summer and autumn. |
Kangfull, who the original mastermind behind the MOVING webtoon, joins this Disney+ Original as the series’ writer, expanding on his celebrated webtoon and bringing his story to an even broader audience than ever before.
| Question: What message did you want to share through MOVING? |
| Kangfull: First and foremost, I wanted to tell a story about people and family. I believe that people are inherently good, and so, that’s something I wanted to reflect in the story. But no matter what my message, it doesn’t matter if people don’t actually read or watch what I write, so with that in mind, my top priority was to create something fun. If it was entertaining then people would gravitate towards the work and take on the message I was trying to share. |
| Question: You must have had conversations with the director when casting actors like Ryu Seungryong, Han Hyojoo, and Zo Insung. What were you looking for when casting their characters? |
| Kangfull: While all three actors are superstars, the main thing I focused on when casting was how they portrayed the characters. I wanted to know that the actors would be right for the role, and I am incredibly grateful to all three for their amazing portrayals. Seungryong went through a huge amount to prepare for the series. He put in so much work and pulled off every scene so seamlessly. I wanted his character to come across as a father who was desperately struggling to do the right thing. I knew from the moment I met him that he was the right actor for the job and I asked him then and there to take the job. Hyojoo had other concerns. She was worried that she might be too young to convincingly pass as the mother of a high school senior. She kept questioning whether she would be able to pull it off, but I knew she was perfect for the role. I told her I didn’t need her to look like a mom, I just needed her to look like the character from the webtoon, Mihyun. I was finally able to convince her and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. I actually spent the most time worried about Doosik, played by Insung. Doosik has the most unrealistic power out of all the characters. Everyone else has to fight on the ground, so being able to convincingly play a flying character was an incredibly challenging task. As soon as I saw Insung I knew he was the one for the job. He had the exact height and look that I first pictured for the character, and I was confident he would be able to convince the audience that he was actually capable of flying. I was over the moon when he accepted the job. |
| Question: MOVING is your first screenplay – what do you think the series will mean for you down the road? |
| Kangfull: I had a lot of fun writing the script. It was a new experience that pushed me creatively and helped me learn about the joy of working in a team. I recall a photo I took on set one day — every time I was on set, I was so moved to see so many people working together to create a scene based on a single piece of writing I had shared. It may not be something that other people can relate to, but it was a strangely moving experience for me. It also gave me a greater sense of responsibility and taught me the joy of creating something together with others. MOVING was my first attempt at a new field and one that I am very happy with. I can’t wait to share that with you |
