Director Hong, actress Kim Min-hee to address affair
SEOUL: Film director Hong Sang-soo and Kim Min-hee, best actress at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival, will next week make their first public appearance together in Korea since their extramarital scandal broke last June.
According to their publicists, Hong and Kim will attend the South Korean press screening of On the Beach at Night Alone next Monday at the Lotte Cinema in Seoul’s northeastern district of Gwangjin. After the screening, they shall hold a Q&A session with reporters.
The South Korean auteur and the actress both attended the Berlin Film Festival last month. For her performance in Hong’s latest work, Kim took home the Silver Bear for Best Actress.
Hong, 57, and Kim, 34, have allegedly been in an extramarital relationship since last June. Neither of them has officially confirmed the reports but have been publicly spotted displaying mutual affection. Hong filed for a divorce from his wife in November.
On the Beach at Night Alone has drawn much media attention for its story possibly being based on the director’s intimate relationship with Kim in real life as the main characters’ conversations strongly advocate for an extramarital relationship.
On working with Hong in the movie, Kim had been quoted as saying: “Working with director Hong is always a different and new experience. Throughout each day’s shooting I was curious to see what new stories would emerge in the end. I remained focused and committed to try to give my best as I tried to express what the director wanted to say.”
As for the scene of two women kissing, Hong explained: “It was an element that came about naturally. It is an expression of the main character’s anger towards men in Korean society.”
Working with director Hong is always a different and new experience. Throughout each day’s shooting I was curious to see what new stories would emerge in the end. Kim Min-hee, Best Actress at Berlinale