Son Suk-ku, Choi Woo-shik explore ethics of eye for an eye in ‘A Killer Paradox'

A scene from "A Killer Paradox" starring Choi Woo-shik (left) and Son Suk-ku. (Netflix)

South Korean actors Son Suk-ku and Choi Woo-shik will raise a philosophical question -- whether it is just to condemn evil through murder -- in "A Killer Paradox," a new Netflix original drama series.

The eight-part drama series revolves around Yi Tang, (played by Choi Woo-shik) a college student who, under extreme stress, murders those who antagonize him.

After discovering that all his victims were serious evildoers "worth killing," Yi comes to believe that he has a supernatural ability to identify evildoers. Detective Jang Nan-gam (played by Son Suk-ku), suspecting Yi to be behind the murders, pursues Yi.

Lee Chang-hee, who has directed a slew of hit Korean thrillers, such as OCN's 10-part series "Hell Is Other People" and film "The Vanished," said "A Killer Paradox" deviates from conventional shows centered around characters who operate outside the boundaries of the law to eliminate evil.

According to director Lee, the main protagonist is constantly asking himself whether he actually possesses the supernatural ability to identify evildoers, or whether he happens to be killing people that turn out to be evildoers.

"Yi Tang is a highly passive character. The situations he finds himself in just happened to him, and such factors make it difficult for the audience to predict or imagine what choices Yi will make in the future. Consequently, (...) such characterization (of Yi) offers a unique twist," said Lee, during a press conference held in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Thursday.

In order to play the complex character of Yi Tang, actor Choi said he focused on portraying the storm of emotions that Yi experiences as the story progresses.

"There are moments when Yi grapples with guilt, being haunted by illusions or becoming ensnared in fantasies," said Choi.

"Yi goes through a slew of emotional and psychological changes. I focused on portraying those aspects, and I hope the viewers can capture those nuances," he said.

Son, who plays a detective in pursuit of Yi, said he also focused on portraying the psychological dilemmas Jang grapples with throughout the drama series.

“Jang Nan-gam is a detective who mainly conducts investigations with intuition. Consequently, he experiences significant conflicts between his sense of professional responsibility, occupational ethics and personal emotions," said Son.

“While portraying the character, I paid careful attention to Jang Nan-gam’s transformation, and tried to convey that Jang could become someone who could harbor even more dangerous thoughts than the criminals he pursues,” said Son.

"A Killer Paradox" will stream on Netflix starting Feb. 9.

From left: Lee Hee-joon, Choi Woo-shik and Son Suk-ku pose for a photo during a press conference held in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Thursday. (Netflix)

By Lee Yoon-seo(yoonseo.3348@heraldcorp.com)