‘Island’ star Kim Nam-gil on why Korea excels in fantasy storytelling: It’s to do with our history

New Delhi, Dec 23 (PTI) South Korean actor Kim Nam-gil says the secret behind the Korean entertainment industry acing the genres of fantasy and horror lies in the richness of the country’s history.

Kim, known for movies such as “Memoir of a Murderer”, “The Pirates” and K-dramas “Queen Seondeok” and “The Fiery Priest”, will next be seen in fantasy exorcism drama “Island”.

“I think Korea does those particular genres like fantasy, horror and those that look into the past very well because of the innate history that we carry as a nation,” the 42-year-old star told PTI in a virtual roundtable from Seoul.

“To some extent, all different religions like Shamanism, they are all rooted in self or thinking about one’s self. Korea does a good job in storytelling and making these stories be told in a different way,” he added.

The actor said “Island” also falls in the same space but is a completely different offering to fans. Set in Jeju Island, the series follows three different beings who team up to become evil’s worst nightmare.

Kim said “Island” puts a different spin to the horror, fantasy and reincarnation genres.

“What we derived from those genres is a little bit different as it is based in Jeju folklore but (we show it) from a humanistic point of view”, he added.
The Seoul-born actor plays demon hunter Pan, whom he described as a half human-half demon.

“Pan is someone who has lived through an uncountable number of years, carrying with him the law of causality.”

Also starring popular K-drama stars Eun-woo, Lee Da-hee, and Sung Joon, “Island” is based on a Korean webtoon (digital cartoon) of the same name.

According to Kim, whenever he works on a project that is based on a ‘manhwa’ (comicbook) or webtoon, he tries to stay true to the source material and yet offer something new to the audience.

“When I am working on a drama series or film that is based on an original piece of work, there is definitely a sense of burden that comes with it. When the original piece has been so widely loved and popular, people are bound to compare.”
As an adaptation, a live-action series helps the original work reach out to more people, he said.

“When something is made into a live-action series and if it is 100 per cent similar to the original work, it’s not going to work… So, most of my focus was on striking that balance and staying (as true) as possible to the original but also bringing in the theatrical adjustments to it,” the actor said.

“Island” will start streaming in India on Prime Video from December 30.