[Jeon Jeong-hwa’s handwriting] Why was ‘Alien + Human’ the first Korean film to give severance pay to its staff?

378 days. This is the total filming period for parts 1 and 2 of director Choi Dong-hoon’s ‘Alien + Humans’. This number does not simply mean that the photos were taken over a long period of time. Especially for workers. This is because the filming period lasted over a year.

It is not well known, but ‘Alien + Human’ is the first film in Korean film history to give severance pay to its staff. It cost over 300 million won more. To achieve this, the producer’s stake was reduced. This is unprecedented.

If you have worked at the same job for one year, approximately 30 days of wages must be paid as severance pay. This may be natural in any other workplace, but it is unthinkable for movie and drama staff. Fortunately, film staff are not freelancers but workers and sign a standard contract, so they can receive severance pay. The film industry union is also affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. Broadcast staff have a freelance contract, so severance pay is unknown.

It is said that film staff members are legally entitled to severance pay, but there has never been a case where it was actually given. Not only is there no work that has been filmed for over a year, but considering the contract period, it is necessary to replace the main staff with new staff.

Caper Film, the production company of ‘Alien + Humans’, was worried when the filming period took longer than planned and seemed like it would take more than a year. Filming for ‘Alien + Humans’ took place from March 2020 to April 2021. It was the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and the most stringent quarantine guidelines.

Because of this, filming stopped frequently. Because a lot of wire was used and a lot of filming took place on the set, we only had to film two more cuts, but filming was postponed for about two weeks considering the condition of the staff and actors. As that day happened to be Friday, filming was to be stopped for the weekend and resumed filming on Monday, but one of the actors went to his mother-in-law’s birthday and coincided with a confirmed case. Of course, taking a break from filming does not mean that staff wages will not be paid, filming equipment rental fees will not be paid during that period, and set rent will not be reduced.

It rained a lot in the summer of 2020, so the set was submerged in water. Filming was halted at times to pump out water and reorganize the set. As the filming period continued to lengthen, the production cost had no choice but to skyrocket.

As a producer, in such a situation, I was faced with a situation where I had to pay hundreds of millions more in severance pay, so I couldn’t help but worry a lot. There were various circumstances, so he could have given himself an excuse saying he couldn’t do it.

If you decide not to pay severance pay, there is no way. Like a drama filming set, the team was divided into Team A and Team B, and then the staff who had been working for nearly a year could be re-run with staff who had been working for less than a year without signing any more contracts. Only the main staff could extend their contracts and the other staff could be filled with new staff. Like cases where contract workers are only made to work for 364 days and then fired. It’s a trick, but it’s not illegal.

But Caper Film CEO Ahn Soo-hyun and director Choi Dong-hoon decided not to do that. They decided to reduce their share and provide fair compensation for their labor to the staff who had been through hardships for a year. Thanks to that decision, the staff of ‘Alien + Humans’ received severance pay for the first time in Korean film history.

The production company of ‘Alien + Humans’ also considered post-production companies. Typically, a technical preview is held for the staff just before the movie is released for the first time at a press screening. Main staff members, key actor management company officials, and investment/distribution company officials participate. Ahead of the press preview for the first part in 2022, the ‘Alien + Human’ side invited a large number of CG company officials to a technology preview in the second half of the film and showed it first. It meant being the first to show your hard work to the post-production staff, who would only be able to see the entire work after the movie was released.

Part 1 of ‘Alien + Humans’ received strict evaluation from the audience, although there were many reasons. Even though the director and actors wanted to do their best to greet the stage, they were unable to do so as they were confirmed to have COVID-19 in the first week of release. As the actors and directors were unable to take part in the promotion, the ‘Alien + Human’ staff at the time voluntarily began promoting the film through social media. I don’t think there’s any need to explain further why the ‘alien + human’ staff had no choice but to be more close-knit.

Director Choi Dong-hoon, who was in self-quarantine in his room due to COVID-19, and CEO Ahn Soo-hyun, who had to take care of the director in the same house as a married couple, were given unexpected comfort by watching the movie ‘Hunt’, which was a competing film at the time. They were directors Lee Jung-jae and Jung Woo-sung.

Jung Woo-sung, who had a close relationship with Lee Jung-jae, who worked on ‘The Thieves’ and ‘Assassination’ together, called director Choi Dong-hoon on speaker phone and comforted and chatted with him for about 30 minutes. Originally, ‘Alien + Human’ and ‘Hunt’ planned to support each other by going to each other’s VIP screening, but this was canceled when the ‘Alien + Human’ actor and director were confirmed with COVID-19.

Director Choi Dong-hoon and CEO Ahn Soo-hyun supported and encouraged them during the most difficult times because of the relationships they had built up through the choices they made throughout their lives.

When the sun sets, even the shadows abandon themselves. When things are going well, there are a lot of people around you, but when times are tough, even the people you trusted to be by your side the most tend to leave. The reason there are so many people around during those times is because they lived well.

Part 2 of ‘Aliens + Humans’ exceeded 1 million cumulative viewers on the 21st. Although they have a long way to go, there are still many people around them who support them. This is also the reason why I hope more audiences will see Part 2 of ‘Aliens + Humans’.

Reporter Jeon Hyeong-hwa brofire@edaily.co.kr