Netflix’s The Scandal director Jung Ji Woo has addressed rumors of tension between him and Ji Chang Wook, who plays Jo Won in the series.
“There were no issues between us at all,” Jung said. “I genuinely love the actors I work with. We have a deep affection for each other.”
Jung also explained why he asked Ji Chang Wook not to rewatch his own scenes while filming. “When Ji Chang Wook saw his filmed scenes, he became too conscious of everything happening on set. I noticed that early in filming,” Jung said. “His acting became noticeably cleaner and more polished, but I felt like we were losing something in the process.”
“I told him, ‘We’ll take care of everything else, so just act the way you want to,’” he continued. “I also explained why I thought that approach would be better for him.”
Jung said the decision ultimately worked well. “Everything came together really well after that,” he said. “Ji Chang Wook is almost like a director himself. He tends to worry about things that he doesn’t necessarily need to worry about, so I encouraged him to let those things go.”
The director also addressed the criticism surrounding Nana’s lips.
Some viewers who watched the series said Nana’s full lips were distracting and made it harder for them to focus on the story. During the interview, Jung Ji Woo took responsibility, saying, “It’s all my fault.”
Reflecting on how he monitored the footage at the time, he said, “I have to say that when I was monitoring the footage, I was looking at things that I considered more important than that. On set, Nana and I had countless conversations and spent a great deal of time together discussing her emotions and the scenes.” He added, “I think it’s fair to say that any visual result that ends up within the frame is the director’s responsibility.”
Speaking about Nana, Jung said, “I wondered if there was any other actor who would push her body this far to bring out raw emotions as they are. From the very first take, I consistently tried to film with two or three cameras pointed at Nana’s face at the same time. I felt that if the real emotion passed, we might miss it.”
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On September 22nd, Ji Chang Wook opened up about working with Jung for the first time in an interview with Sports Kyunghyang.
“We talked a lot about the script during pre-production. We had so many conversations, but honestly, almost none of them made it into the actual work,” Ji said with a laugh.
He explained that Jung often gave deliberately vague directions on set. “It was frustrating because Director Jung would say ‘Good’ after almost every take, so I didn’t always know what he wanted,” Ji said. “But eventually, we found our own way. We agreed not to watch our takes, and we stuck to that.”
Ji compared the experience to “walking a tightrope blindfolded,” saying he had to trust Jung completely and follow his direction without knowing exactly where it would lead. “Of course, the director was guiding me toward a safe path, but it was still scary to have to trust him completely,” he said.
When asked whether he ever had conflicts with Jung, Ji firmly denied it. “No, that’s not the case,” he said. “If anything, I came to respect Director Jung Ji Woo even more. It was a valuable experience as an actor to see him maintain his unique approach to directing.”
Directed by Jung Ji Woo, The Scandal premiered on Netflix on September 18th.
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