The upcoming Korean zombie series “Newtopia” is offering a new perspective about the genre.
“Newtopia” is an action, romance and comedy series starring Korean actor Park Jeong-min (“Reply 1988,” “Entourage,” “Harbin”) and K-pop star Jisoo (“Snowdrop”) of BLACKPINK.
In the series, Lee Jae-yoon (Park Jeong-min), who is serving his military service, and his girlfriend Kang Young-joo (Jisoo) race to be reunited in zombie-infested Seoul.
“Newtopia” will be available on Prime Video in the Philippines and more than 240 countries and territories worldwide on Feb. 7.
Park Jeong-min and Jisoo in Prime Video's "Newtopia" (Prime Video)
During a press conference for “Newtopia” in Seoul, director Yoon Sung-hyun, Park Jeong-min, and Jisoo discussed the series.
Notable Korean zombie series include “Train to Busan,” “Kingdom” and “All of Us Are Dead” and “Newtopia” aims to offer viewers something new.
“When I first read the script, the most important thing was that something sets it apart from other zombie works because there have been so many of them. This is what I focused on the most. The characters were also very unique. Their distinct characteristics were great,” said director Yoon Sung-hyun.
He said “Newtopia” will be “a bit more similar to the traditional zombie works of the 70s and 80s” which were more humorous compared to the zombie titles seen after the 2000s.
In addition, he said they used animation music for the series.
“At first I thought of using electronic music for the main score but after filming and during the editing process, I thought that animation music would be more suitable. I worked with the music director and we were able to select music that is cute and cartoon-like,” he said.
According to Jisoo, “I’ve watched a lot of zombie works, but there were a lot of colorful elements in ‘Newtopia’ so I thought it would be a unique zombie project.”
Park Jeong-min and Jisoo at the press conference for "Newtopia" (Prime Video)
Jisoo at the press conference for "Newtopia" (Prime Video)
Park Jeong-min at the press conference for "Newtopia" (Prime Video)
(From left) Director Yoon Sung-hyun, Jisoo, Park Jeong-min at the press conference for "Newtopia" (Prime Video)
Working together
Park Jeong-min and Jisoo are reunited in “Newtopia’ after appearing in the film “Dr. Cheon and the Lost Talisman.” He is also reunited with director Yoon Sang-hyun.
“I debuted through Director Yoon Sang-hyun’s film ‘Bleak Night’ and he’s one of the people I'm most thankful to, so there’s no reason to decline if he offers me a role. I have appeared in all of his works but I was never the main character before, but this time I am so I was very thankful,” said Park Jeong-min.
He added that he is a fan of BLACKPINK and is excited to work with Jisoo again.
For Jisoo, she said, “When I heard about Park Jeong-min being cast for ‘Newtopia’ as well, I said it would be such an honor to work with him as well as Director Yoon Sung-hyun.”
About “Newtopia,” director Yoon Sung-hyun said, “I have always liked zombie films and series. I have wanted to do a zombie project for a very long time. When I read the script, it was so fun and I was immediately hooked.”
“Newtopia” will feature zombie comedy and it will showcase unique items being used as weapons for fighting against zombies,
“Since I like zombie works so much, I had thought of various props that could be used to help prevent getting bitten like an umbrella and American football uniforms,” he said.
Preparation
“Newtopia” will feature many action scenes and Jisoo enrolled in a stunt academy to prepare for her role.
“Before I went to a stunt academy, I wasn’t able to even tumble forward. After training there, I can tumble forward five times in a row. It became so fun that I looked forward to doing it every time I went to the stunt academy. The training helped me film safely and well,” she said.
Park Jeong-min revealed that due to having to continuously run with the military boots during filming, he developed plantar fasciitis but he is okay now.
Plantar fasciitis is “an inflammation of the tissue in the foot used for walking,” according to the Johns Hopkins Medicine website.
He commended Jisoo for being able to finish filming despite the challenges.
“I respected Jisoo because she was smiling even though the zombie filming was very difficult and it was such a hot summer,” he said to which Jisoo replied, “Filming wasn’t extremely difficult for me. The one thing that was difficult was that the season changed but our clothes didn’t. While it became hot, we had to keep wearing our warmer clothing.”
Director Yoon Sung-Hyun also praised Jisoo’s stamina saying she has the best stamina thus far among the people he’s worked with.
Love Story
“Newtopia” features romance between a conscripted soldier and his girlfriend.
Park Jeong-min said, “Young-joo gets a job before him, and Jae-yoon feels like he should let Young-joo go for her sake.”
The director explained, “Jae-yoon has a lot of worries about work, dating, marriage, etc. With the zombie outbreak, these concerns become meaningless. With the new world, there’s a bit of irony as it’s a new world full of zombies, but there’s also a new hope within it.”
Jisoo’s character Young-joo is nicknamed the goddess of the engineering department during her college days.
However, after getting a job she finds it more and more difficult to wait for her boyfriend who is fulfilling his military service. She suggests that they take a break, but comes to regret this after the zombie outbreak takes place.
“Through this disaster, Young-joo realizes her deep love for her boyfriend Jae-yoon,” she said.
“Newtopia” will premiere on Prime Video on Feb. 7 with weekly episodes until March 21.
Park Jeong-min and Jisoo in Prime Video's "Newtopia" (Prime Video)