'Concrete Utopia' puts a twist on typical Korean films

Class warfare and social commentary are signature traits of Korean cinema, as famously seen in the 2019 hit film “Parasite,” but new disaster drama film “Concrete Utopia” puts a twist on these elements. Set in a version of Seoul where almost all...

Yeong-tak, played by actor Lee Byung-hun, leads the residents of Imperial Palace Apartment against "outsiders" in "Concrete Utopia" [LOTTE ENTERTAINMENT]

Class warfare and social commentary are signature traits of Korean cinema, as famously seen in the 2019 hit film “Parasite,” but new disaster drama film “Concrete Utopia” puts a twist on these elements.

Set in a version of Seoul where almost all parts of the city have been devastated by a gargantuan earthquake, “Concrete Utopia” tells the story of the residents of Imperial Palace Apartments, an apartment complex that miraculously survived the natural disaster. Veteran actor Lee Byung-hun plays Yeong-tak, the residents’ elected representative and leader set out to “protect” the residents from outsiders who flock to their home in search of survival.

Main poster for ″Concrete Utopia″ [LOTTE ENTERTAINMENT]

“I think this problem of whether to accept the outsiders or to solely pursue the residents’ interest is a very difficult problem,” Lee said during a press conference for “Concrete Utopia” held at the Lotte Cinema World Tower branch in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Monday. “That is why, in the film, the characters do not express their thoughts directly but choose to vote on issues.”

Lee said that he took on the role of Yeong-tak — who harbors a secret that is revealed through a shocking surprise in the second act of the film — because of the duality of the character.

“In ‘Concrete Utopia,’ the characters are not at the extreme ends of the spectrum of good and evil,” Lee said. “Good and evil reside simultaneously inside the characters, and I thought that that was realistic. I wondered what would happen in this story when such characters are gathered together in an extreme situation.”

From left, actors Kim Do-yoon, Park Ji-hoo, Kim Sun-young, Park Seo-jun, Park Bo-young, Lee Byung-hun and director Um Tae-hwa pose for a photo during a screening and press conference for "Concrete Utopia" at Lotte Cinema World Tower branch in Songpa Distirct, southern Seoul, on Monday. [LOTTE ENTERTAINMENT]

Director Um Tae-hwa, who took on the reins for “Concrete Utopia,” said that while he did not intend for the film to pose questions about ongoing social issues such as the housing divide and the sub-par construction of apartments in Korea, the context of the film was provided by reflecting the history of apartments and of Seoul itself. Um also directed the 2017 film “Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned.”

Lee Byung-hun plays Yeong-tak, the leader of the residents of Imperial Palace Apartments, in "Concrete Utopia" [LOTTE ENTERTAINMENT]

“I think the term and concept of apartments has a lot of different contexts within Korea,” Um said during the press conference. “They expanded rapidly in the 1970s to '80s and reflect things like class, status, development and much more. The setting of ‘Concrete Utopia’ may be a bit unfamiliar to foreign viewers, but anyone can enjoy the story by following the characterization of the main cast.”

Filming for “Concrete Utopia” within a limited budget required a lot of thought on part of the director, especially since the film required a lot of special effects largely due to the opening when the earthquake is depicted and it shows the aftermath.

Park Seo-jun plays Min-seong in "Concrete Utopia" [LOTTE ENTERTAINMENT]

“Making the overall scale of the film big enough within the limited budget was also hard,” Um said. “So within the limited space of the setting of Imperial Palace Apartments, the story sometimes comes off as a play, almost, and I tried to direct with those aspects in mind.”

Park Seo-jun and Park Bo-young play a young married couple, Min-seong and Myeong-hwa, whose roles are equally as important as Lee’s.

“I could immerse myself in the role of Min-seong because the staff of the film very realistically built up the set of Imperial Palace Apartments,” Park Seo-jun said during the press conference. “I think there could be a lot of other disaster films that seem perhaps similar to ‘Concrete Utopia,’ but the difference would be in how each film unravels its story. I am curious also about how the audience is going to interpret our film.”

Park Bo-young plays Myeong-hwa in "Concrete Utopia" [LOTTE ENTERTAINMENT]

“I kept seeing my own self coming out when I was acting Myeong-hwa because I was so invested in the role,” Park Bo-young said. “With director Um’s help, I could suppress that. With Park Seo-jun, I know fans were looking forward to us playing a couple, but there are not many scenes where we are shown being sweet with each other. Perhaps in the next opportunity we have we can show such scenes.”

A scene from "Concrete Utopia" [LOTTE ENTERTAINMENT]

“Concrete Utopia” has so far been invited to the Òrbita competition section at the Sitges International Film Festival in October this year, and is set for screening at the Toronto International Film Festival's Gala section in September. The film has been pre-sold to 152 countries around the world.

“Concrete Utopia” opens in theaters on Aug. 9.

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