The Face Genius Actor

Episode 131

The story of “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” began in a fictional Joseon setting.

After the Japanese invasions, the bodies of those who died unjustly couldn’t be properly buried.

As a result, their resentment gathered and evil spirits began to run rampant.

Even the weakened nation found it difficult to resolve this issue.

Then, a person using the name ‘Yeon’ comes forward, calling himself an exorcist, claiming he can drive out the evil spirits. This was the plot of “Toema Hwan Ya Dam”.

The first part of “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” that I wrote over several days was about Yeon discovering clues about a ‘window ghost’ in a mountain village and beginning to exorcise evil spirits.

‘I barely finished it… I’m not sure if it’s good enough as it is…’

Although I hadn’t had the opportunity before, I originally liked history and was interested in appearing in historical dramas.

Even before my regression, it was my hobby to watch history lectures on YouTube when I had time.

Although it wasn’t a historical drama, this was also one of the several reasons why I became interested in the work “Escape” for the first time.

Modern and contemporary history was also part of history, after all.

Then, when I felt limited after seeing Ji Jung-hyun’s acting,

I decided to study the lives of Yun Bong-gil and Kim Sang-ok to improve my acting skills.

In the process, I was able to interact with a professor from the Department of History at Korea University, and naturally, my interest in history deepened.

For this reason, even when I first decided to write a screenplay, what I wanted to write most was a historical drama.

However, it was impossible to write a work related to history just by interacting with a Korea University professor and listening to history lectures on YouTube.

So “I Am Not a Villain” was chosen as the next best option.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that my affection for “I Am Not a Villain” was less compared to historical dramas.

By now, “I Am Not a Villain” was truly an important work in my life.

Not only did I make a successful debut as a screenwriter through “I Am Not a Villain”, but I also received the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival.

But I still had the desire to write a historical drama.

So whenever I had time, I continued to study, receiving recommendations for various history-related books from the history professor, among other things.

Although there were times when filming schedules didn’t allow time, I tried to study consistently.

Perhaps because I had built up basic knowledge of Joseon history while studying the lives of Yun Bong-gil and Kim Sang-ok, I was able to learn and absorb a lot in a short time.

And when I was deeply worried about the problem of my next work,

I received a call from the history professor who had been of great help in my history studies.

-Actor, I enjoyed watching “I Am Not a Villain”. As expected, a work that won two awards at the Cannes Film Festival is different.

“Ah. Thank you, Professor. I was actually planning to contact you.”

-I should be the one to contact you first, given how busy you are bringing glory to our country. By the way, are you still studying history diligently these days?

“I finished reading ‘Korean Ghost Folklore Theory’ recently. What book would you recommend I read next?”

-You’ve already finished that thick book. There’s so much historical material that I could recommend more, but…

“Ah. Are you perhaps very busy with lectures these days? Then I’ll contact you later.”

-No, it’s not that. I’m just worried that you might be studying too much. You said you’re studying history to write a work, right?

“That’s right. It’s my dream to write a historical drama someday.”

-If that’s the case, why don’t you try challenging yourself now?

The history professor then went on to say that at my current level, there would be no problem writing a historical drama.

I said I still lacked confidence, but the history professor’s thoughts were firm.

Thanks to the history professor, I gained courage and began writing “Toema Hwan Ya Dam”, which I had been conceptualizing for a long time.

As mentioned earlier, “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” was a fantasy historical drama set in a fictional Joseon.

I had considered setting the work in the actual Joseon rather than a fictional one, but I changed my mind.

If I dealt with the subject of exorcism in the setting of the actual Joseon, it would inevitably lead to issues of historical distortion.

Of course, this didn’t mean I was going to be careless with historical accuracy.

I had a desire to fully deal with Joseon history in this work.

In particular, I wanted to portray Joseon’s geography, architecture, clothing, food, rituals, events, and customs as realistically as possible.

This was also why I had been consistently studying history until now.

So I started printing the script for Part 1 of “Toema Hwan Ya Dam”.

The printer noisily spat out papers for a while.

Originally, a drama script was about 40 pages long on A4 paper.

But “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” was much longer than that.

This was because the script had lots of photo references attached to each scene.

Naturally, the photos contained historical reference materials that needed attention for each scene.

A moment later,

The printing was all done, and the total length was 103 pages.

I personally bound the script and put it in an envelope, and asked Yeo Kyung-chan to mail it.

I thought historical accuracy was more important than the entertainment value of the work.

And a few days later,

I received a long email from the history professor.

[Hello, Actor.

I received the script well.

The story of “Toema Hwan Ya Dam”, centered around the main character ‘Yeon’, was very interesting.

But what was most impressive were the photos attached to the script.

Looking at the photos, I could see how intensely you, Actor Lee Si-joon, have been studying Joseon history until now.

As someone who has received several requests for historical verification for dramas and movies, this is the first time I’ve seen a script like “Toema Hwan Ya Dam”.

The level of historical accuracy in “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” was astounding.

With a work like this, even though it’s a drama with fantasy elements, it could become a great piece that can introduce Joseon history.

I’m willing to review the script anytime, so please feel free to contact me again.

I wish you the best in writing “Toema Hwan Ya Dam”.

Thank you.]

I felt relieved and proud after receiving the email from the history professor.

I didn’t expect “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” to receive such recognition in terms of historical accuracy.

‘It’s done.’

So I sent a thank-you message to the history professor and transferred the agreed-upon fee.

Then I started writing another email.

Now that I had resolved the historical accuracy issue for the first part of the script, it was time to enhance the entertainment value of the work.

And to do that, I needed someone to read “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” as a drama.

Fortunately, there were many people around me who could read the work.

* * *

For several weeks, I showed the script to others and tried to improve its quality.

In the process, I had to revise several unexpected scenes, so I had to ask the history professor for another historical verification.

As a result, Part 1 of “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” received feedback from actors such as Seo Myung-hee, Ji Jung-hyun, Cindy, and Yang I-deum.

During this process, I also asked Director Kang Han-sung and Writer Jung Su-jin for additional feedback.

If I wanted, I could have requested feedback from other people I had connections with, but I didn’t.

It could have been burdensome for them if I did so too much.

“Is it okay for me to give feedback on the work of someone who’s been to the Cannes Film Festival?”

In fact, everyone I met said something like this.

Certainly, “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” was not a debut work as a writer, unlike “I Am Not a Villain”.

For this reason, I couldn’t ask everyone around me to look at the work with the mindset of an aspiring writer like when I wrote “I Am Not a Villain”.

Taking responsibility for the success of the work was also one of the important virtues as a writer.

In fact, even now, it couldn’t be said that few people had seen the work.

Rather, I had received perhaps a bit too much feedback.

Usually, when writing a work, it was shown to only one or two people.

So, I went through sufficient revisions for Part 1 of “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” and thought it was time.

It was time to settle things with Festa Entertainment.

‘I wonder how CEO Jung Yoon-seok will react…’

Honestly, I didn’t think he would react positively.

Before allowing the production of “I Am Not a Villain”,

CEO Jung Yoon-seok had hinted that accepting such a request would be a one-time thing.

Certainly, from CEO Jung Yoon-seok’s perspective, he couldn’t be pleased with me acting this way.

It was better for the company’s profits to appear in works by directors and writers with somewhat guaranteed success.

Moreover, if it was a movie, it might have been different.

As it was my first attempt at a drama, there was a high possibility that CEO Jung Yoon-seok would express reluctance.

‘Even I would find it difficult to accept my own opinion.’

But without persuading CEO Jung Yoon-seok, the immediate production of “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” was impossible.

As my exclusive contract with Festa Entertainment would expire in a year, finding a new company to produce “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” after that was also an option.

However, I wanted to produce “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” with Festa Entertainment if possible.

Not only did I highly value Festa Entertainment’s capabilities, but it was also true that I had developed affection for the company.

Above all, I didn’t want to waste a year.

So I requested a meeting with CEO Jung Yoon-seok, and soon after, I was able to set up an appointment.

Like last time, I met with CEO Jung Yoon-seok at a restaurant called LAP GUSTUS.

LAP GUSTUS was a restaurant in Hannam-dong run by CEO Jung Yoon-seok’s father.

It was also the place where I had my first meeting with CEO Jung Yoon-seok in the past.

CEO Jung Yoon-seok, who was already at the meeting place, greeted me with a wave.

“Actor! Over here!”

I walked towards where CEO Jung Yoon-seok was waving.

“We’re at this table again today.”

“The lighting is best at this table. You haven’t had dinner, right? Please sit down. The food will be out soon.”

As CEO Jung Yoon-seok said, as soon as a bottle of red wine was opened, the hors d’oeuvres came out.

The hors d’oeuvres consisted of a soft potato polenta cake on top of avocado, with chives and cherry tomatoes balancing the overall flavor.

As I put the hors d’oeuvres in my mouth, CEO Jung Yoon-seok opened his mouth.

“Is today’s talk about your next work, by any chance?”

I thought that CEO Jung Yoon-seok’s perceptiveness was indeed extraordinary.

I nodded and answered.

“Yes, that’s right. I’ve written a drama this time…”

“Go ahead.”

“Pardon?”

“I don’t know what kind of work it is, but do as you wish. The company will fully support you. By the way, isn’t the taste of today’s hors d’oeuvres good?”

I was momentarily taken aback by CEO Jung Yoon-seok’s response.

I didn’t expect CEO Jung Yoon-seok to readily allow the drama production in this way.