Jung Ho-yeon Gains 4 kg of Muscle and Takes on Gunfight Action for Na Hong-jin's Hope

Jung Ho-yeon is stepping into a full-scale screen debut with Hope, the new film from director Na Hong-jin. In the film, which opens on July 15, she plays Seong-ae, a police officer at Hopo Port, transforming into an action-driven character who personally takes on gunfights and car-chase scenes.

To capture the intensity of the role, Jung began preparing before filming by learning how to handle firearms and how to take proper shooting stances. She also newly obtained a Class 1 driver's license so she could perform the car-chase sequences herself, and she devoted about five to six months to weight training, increasing her muscle mass alone by 4 kg.

After building global recognition through the Netflix series Squid Game, Jung shows a different side of herself in this film. Looking back on the shoot, she said it was extremely enjoyable because she felt she was reaching points where she was pushing beyond her limits.

In released stills, Jung appears with a face covered in wounds and unsettled eyes, conveying Seong-ae's emotions as the character is driven into an extreme crisis. The international trailer also highlights her as an action character who moves without hesitation through gunfights and car chases.

Na Hong-jin, who directed The Chaser, The Yellow Sea and The Wailing, is returning with a new film after 10 years. Hope is a sci-fi blockbuster about Beom-seok, played by Hwang Jung-min, the chief of a Demilitarized Zone Hopo Port branch office, who hears news of a tiger appearing in the village and is forced to confront an unbelievable reality.

Hope was invited to the competition section of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, where it received a seven-minute standing ovation immediately after its world premiere screening. After the Cannes screening, the U.S. outlet The Wrap assessed that Jung dominated the screen with restrained charisma and bright energy, signaling the arrival of a new movie star. The Hollywood Reporter also focused on Jung's presence, noting how skillfully she handled everything from action to comic timing despite this being her first feature film.

For this project, Na Hong-jin reunited with Hwang Jung-min. Na explained the casting process by saying that after The Wailing ended, senior actor Hwang did not ask when Na's next film would come out, but instead waited to the point of asking whether it would be all right for him to work on other projects. Na said he was able to bring Hwang on board five to six years after the screenplay emerged. He also said Jo In-sung was cast after he took note of the presence Jo had shown in films by Ryoo Seung-wan.

Na sought to deliver the film's message through action rather than conversation or clear verbal explanation. He focused on embodying Jo In-sung's survival instinct and the shifting emotional line in which the positions of hunter and prey are reversed between Hwang Jung-min and Jung Ho-yeon. To make that action work in practical terms, the team created continuity plans and storyboards starting one year before filming and discussed how the action would actually be realized. Na said he felt as though he had seen the film thousands of times and only hoped for the day when he would finally be able not to watch it again.

Jung recalled her on-set chemistry with Hwang Jung-min and Jo In-sung by saying there were many exchanges carried through eye contact rather than spoken dialogue. She said that was personally difficult, but the coordination became so strong that she later felt as though she had become part of one body with them during filming. Discussing the police officer character's profanity, she said she referred to Hwang Jung-min's previous works because she thought the officer would have some similarities to the station chief character.

At a press screening held on July 6 at Megabox COEX in Gangnam District, Seoul, Jung said she hoped the film would remain in audiences' hearts and time as something that truly gave them enjoyment. Jo In-sung said he did not appear in the film with any grand cause in mind, and that the meaning of the film would be for audiences to decide. Hwang Jung-min said the film opens on July 15 and will also open in North America in September, adding that just as Hollywood films from the United States target the entire world, he hopes Korean films can also succeed globally so that the day comes when everyone can smile happily.