Jun Ji-hyun (45) looked exceptionally bright while introducing her return to the big screen after 11 years with ‘Swarm’. She seemed thrilled by the nervousness and excitement of returning to cinema after such a long time. With the audience’s positive response, it couldn’t be better. Released on the 21st, ‘Swarm’ surpassed 2 million viewers in just 5 days, setting the fastest box office record for a film released this year. “Since the start is so good, I’m even more excited. Haha.”
Meeting at a cafe in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 26th, Jun Ji-hyun shared, “After the COVID-19 pandemic, the film industry changed and the number of productions decreased, which naturally led to a long hiatus.” She added, “Having filmed a movie again after a long time, I feel like I want to do them more often. I even feel like the time that passed was a waste.” Her last film appearance was the 10-million-viewer hit ‘Assassination’ (2015).
‘Swarm’ was invited to the Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere. This was a special experience even for Jun Ji-hyun, who has 28 years of acting experience. While she had visited Cannes before for brand or project promotions, this was her first time attending as the lead of a screened film. Jun Ji-hyun smiled, saying, “Isn’t Cannes the dream of every filmmaker? I’m so grateful to Director Yeon Sang-ho for making that dream come true. From now on, I’ll say yes to any of his projects.”
Director Yeon’s new work, ‘Swarm’, tells the story of zombies that evolve by sharing a collective consciousness and take over a large shopping mall in downtown Seoul, and the people trapped inside who struggle to survive. Jun Ji-hyun plays the role of Kwon Se-jung, a biotechnologist leading a group of survivors. She is a leader-like figure who reads the evolution patterns of the infected based on her biological knowledge and suggests ways to escape.
She decided to appear as soon as she received the offer. Having a lot of interest in Director Yeon’s works where female characters stand out, Jun Ji-hyun said, “Personally, I was curious about Yeon Sang-ho as a person and wanted to challenge myself in his work as an actress.” After reading the script, she was convinced. “As soon as I finished reading it, I admired it, thinking, ‘Ah, this is how a movie script should be.’ I liked that it was concise and contained only the story it wanted to tell. Above all, it was a movie ‘I wanted to see,'” she said.
She showcased everything from deep emotional acting to action scenes where she didn’t hold back. In particular, she personally handled the car chasing scene in the climax of the latter half, racing through a crowd of zombies. While she tried to restrain herself, believing that “it wouldn’t make sense for a professor to be too good at action,” her action skills, well-known from ‘The Thieves’ (2012), ‘Berlin’ (2013), and ‘Assassination’, could hardly be hidden.
In response to Director Yeon’s comment that he “wants to film an action movie starring Jun Ji-hyun next time,” Jun Ji-hyun agreed, saying, “While I played a central role in driving the story in ‘Swarm’, in the next project, I want to take on a role where I can stand out entirely as a character.” Regarding the comparison to “Korea’s Charlize Theron,” she welcomed it, saying, “In the past, the wall of Hollywood felt impossibly high, but now K-content has a global status. I’m still working hard on my fitness and managing my body. I’m fully confident.”
Having lived as a top star since her debut, she mentioned “consistency” as the secret to her unchanging popularity. “I believe that there is no progress unless you do anything consistently. Of course, it’s difficult, but I think that’s how I achieved results as actress Jun Ji-hyun. I just live hard every single day. I believe that living a good daily life as a person named Jun Ji-hyun influences my acting activities.”
