Why Na Hong-jin calls Zo In-sung 'senior'

Zo In-sung explained why director Na Hong-jin has been addressing him as 'senior' while promoting the film 'Hope.' In an interview in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 9th, Zo said some people had wondered whether he was older than Na, then pointed out that he was born in 1981.

Na repeatedly called Zo 'senior' at the press screening and press conference held on the 6th. Na was born in 1974 and Zo was born in 1981, and their work on the film placed them in director and actor roles rather than peer roles.

Zo said he was initially 'a little flustered' by the title, but added that Na kept using it. He said that when a situation on set was very urgent, Na would sometimes call out to him as an older colleague, but Na never spoke to him informally. Zo said he thought Na used 'senior' because Zo debuted earlier, and that he felt respected throughout the shoot.

Zo described Na as a 'strict perfectionist.' He said, 'That is why a film like this comes out. Na Hong-jin's perfectionism and meticulousness cannot be summed up with a single episode. The whole film happened and was completed within that impression. That is his strength.'

For the film, Zo performed action scenes himself, including riding a fast-moving horse through a forest and along a road. He also portrayed fear, pain and anger through facial expressions in the role.

Asked whether he would accept another project offer from Na, Zo smiled and said, 'There is no reason not to. But I do not know whether he would ask me again.'

The film 'Hope' follows an outpost chief in the Demilitarized Zone after neighborhood young men tell him that a tiger has appeared, putting the village on emergency alert before he faces a reality that is hard to believe. Zo plays a hunter in the film, which opens on the 15th.

That appears to be director Na Hong-jin's way of showing respect for actors.