'Black Knight' showrunner explains show's meaning, creative process

Dreaming of a utopia while surviving a dystopia is the central theme of the new Netflix series "Black Knight," set in a world where ordinary people have to rely on a supply of fresh air from delivery drivers to survive. Based on the popular...

Kim Woo-bin plays 5-8, a deliveryman who supplies ordinary people with oxygen and necessities for survival, in an apocalyptic dystopia in Netflix series ″Black Knight″ [NETFLIX]

Dreaming of a utopia while surviving a dystopia is the central theme of the new Netflix series "Black Knight," set in a world where ordinary people have to rely on a supply of fresh air from delivery drivers to survive.

Based on the popular webtoon of the same name, "Black Knight" (2016-2019) received attention even before pre-production for its whopping budget of 25 billion won ($18.6 million). The series also caught the eyes of the audience for being actor Kim Woo-bin's first major role after recovering from cancer.

"We wanted to show people dreaming of a better place to live – a utopia – while living in a world where everything seems bleak," the series’ showrunner Cho Ui-seok, who also served as director and producer, told reporters Monday. "The delivery drivers who supply people with oxygen, who in the universe of the series are mostly underdogs from refugee backgrounds, try to change that bleak world."

Director Cho Ui-seok, who produced and directed the Netflix series ″Black Knight″ [NETFLIX]

Cho developed the universe of "Black Knight" based largely on the original webtoon but also added twists to highlight the class division among people who live as refugees and those who live in a clean underground facility.

"The refugees in the apocalyptic dystopia in 'Black Knight' live above ground in the smog and unlivable conditions near Gangnam, which is in real life seen as the most expensive and well-developed neighborhood in Seoul, while the upper-class lives underground," Cho said. "We wanted to emphasize the division through this irony."

Cho added he wanted to question the injustice of a certain well-off group of people living comfortably while the masses suffer, saying he wanted to depict "the dichotomy of a world being a utopia for some and a dystopia for others."

Main poster for ″Black Knight″ [NETFLIX]

"There is a scene which encapsulates this thematic point when Kim's character 5-8 says to the main antagonist, 'It is not your decision to say there is no world where everyone can be satisfied.'"

In drawing a world where the survival of the fittest and sci-fi elements abound, Cho made references to Hollywood films such as "Mad Max: Fury Road" (2015) and the "Hunger Games" series (2012-2015).

"Sci-fi is a very specific genre," the showrunner said. "Contrasts between the main characters and antagonists are very clear, and the background setting has to be also very detailed. I took references from these films to get a better idea for 'Black Knight.'"

Kim Woo-bin plays 5-8, a deliveryman who supplies ordinary people with oxygen and necessities for survival, in an apocalyptic dystopia in Netflix series ″Black Knight″ [NETFLIX]

A particularly attention-grabbing portion of "Black Knight" that drew commentary from viewers upon release on May 12 was scenes where Kim's character 5-8 smokes cigarettes, which was frequent and emphasized. Given Kim's recent diagnosis and recovery from cancer, viewers expressed worry.

"All the scenes where 5-8 is smoking were done with special effects," Cho explained. "In the original webtoon, 5-8's characterization is not finished without him smoking. So we wanted to include that in our series too, but I was careful with asking Kim to film that. Of course, we were going to use special effects, but to ask itself seemed a sensitive issue."

A scene from the Netflix series ″Black Knight″ [NETFLIX]

"However, Kim was enthusiastic and agreed with me that the smoking characterization had to be there."

Kim's 5-8 is a delivery driver who takes part in an organization called Black Knight, a group of couriers who help refugees of the smog-filled apocalyptic world survive. 5-8 is a steadfastly righteous character who believes a better world could be made out of the dystopia in which everyone lives.

"Black Knight" climbed to the top of the non-English television series rankings on Netflix just three days after its release, according to Netflix. Whether the series, with the theme of finding a utopia within a dystopia, can maintain this strong start is pending.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]