‘1947 Boston’ director “Im Si-wan and Seo Yun-bok have a high matching rate… “Small but long lower body + muscular type”

[Dong-A.com]

‘1947 Boston’ director “Im Si-wan and Seo Yun-bok have a high matching rate… “Small but long lower body + muscular type”

Director Kang Je-gyu revealed the reason why he cast Im Si-wan as the main character in the movie ‘1947 Boston.’

At the press conference for the movie ‘1947 Boston’ held at the Lotte Cinema Konkuk University entrance in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 11th, Director Kang said, “Regarding running, I fell in love with the charm of running and marathons after watching ‘Chariots of Fire’ in college. So I thought I should make a ‘running movie’ someday. Naturally, I became interested in teachers Ki-Jeong Son and Yun-Bok Seo and read related books. “After a long period of time, we arrived at ‘1947 Boston,’” he explained.

He said, “I think that the mind, movements, and feelings of a marathoner who runs barefoot through a long tunnel of 42.195km without anything are all the sports that best match the passion to challenge human limits. “I think that’s why I did ‘1947 Boston,’” he added.

Regarding the casting of Im Si-wan, Director Kang said, “I thought that in order for the audience to assimilate into the character, they would have to have a high level of similarity with the real person in order to be immersed in the movie, and they had to resemble him in many ways, even physically.” He continued, “Asian people tend to have long waists, but Seo Yun-bok has a very petite and small body, but his lower body is long, which makes him an advantageous physique for a marathon runner. His face and the feel of his muscles were (similar). “Seo Yun-bok was born with a muscular body like that of a horse, and the actor worked hard to create a body similar to that of a horse,” he added.

‘1947 Boston’ is a film that depicts the challenges and thrilling journey of marathon runners to participate in international competitions wearing the Taegeuk symbol for the first time after liberation in 1947. It is a movie adaptation of the stories of real people such as Son Ki-jeong and Seo Yun-bok, and will be released in theaters ahead of Chuseok on the 27th.

Donga.com Reporter Jeong Hee-yeon shine2562@donga.com