Hwang Jung Min, Zo In Sung and Jung Ho Yeon are gracing the cover of ELLE Korea’s July issue.
The pictorial captures the powerful synergy between the three stars of director Na Hong Jin’s new film HOPE, which was invited to compete at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, and fashion house Louis Vuitton.
Set to hit theaters July 15th, HOPE begins when Bum Seok, the head of a branch office in Hopo Port near the DMZ, hears from young locals that a tiger has been spotted. As the entire village is thrown into chaos, an unbelievable reality begins to unfold.
Under the concept “THE STORYTELLERS,” the three actors move through a space reminiscent of an old hotel lobby, surrounded by vintage objects.
In the interview that followed the shoot, Hwang Jung Min described “HOPE” as “a very unique film unlike anything I’ve seen before.” He explained, “It felt incredibly fresh to see a familiar setting like a rural village coexisting with something as unfamiliar as an alien life-form. The way the film brings together a massive scale and characters who feel so grounded in real life is fascinating.”
He added, “‘HOPE’ is not simply a chase story. The way we look at the alien life-form is ultimately a story about how we look at unfamiliar beings in our own world today.”
Zo In Sung, who plays Hopo Port local Sung Ki, looked back on the filming process, saying, “The actors and staff all had the courage to create something we hadn’t seen before, and we tried everything without regrets. With Director Na Hong Jin as such a clear architect, all we had to do was keep moving forward.”
On the meaning of “hope” in the film, he said, “Hope doesn’t come to people who do nothing. It only comes to those who have done their best, endured desperately and kept trying until the end.”
Jung Ho Yeon, who plays Hopo Port police officer Sung Ae, also shared her deep affection for the project. “I’ll never forget the day I first received the scripts,” she recalled. “As soon as I got it, I wrote my name under the title. I truly wanted to be part of this film, and it was an honor to become Sung Ae.”
She added, “These two showed me firsthand how an actor should live and breathe on set. I was beyond happy to share the same space with them in a place I had dreamed of being.”
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