South Korean director Han Jun-hee, with a career spanning over 20 years, gave a masterclass organized by Netflix and the Busan International Film Festival as part of the Creative Asia program, a day of panels dedicated to professionals and stories from the Asian audiovisual industry. The session, titled Making Unexpected Stories Resonate, was moderated by Kim Kijae, head of content for Netflix in Korea and a frequent collaborator of Han on several of his projects.
During the meeting, the filmmaker reviewed his work on various series produced for the platform, from D.P. to his most recent project, The Blue Road, which premieres on November 20 and was already partially screened in the festival's On Screen section.
From D.P. to Weak Hero: Han Jun-hee’s beginnings at Netflix
Han Jun-hee began his journey at Netflix with D.P. (Deserter Pursuit), an adaptation of the webtoon by Kim Bo-tong based on the author's own experience during mandatory military service in South Korea. The series follows the Korean military police in their pursuit of army deserters and was recognized for addressing themes such as bullying, toxic masculinity, and various forms of discrimination within the armed forces.
Speaking about the origin of the project, the director explained: I wanted to work on a story that no one had told before, but I also wanted people to watch it, which is a bit funny. Han described the plot as gloomy, as it focuses on military service and how those who go through it experience it.
Regarding the creative risk involved in addressing a topic rarely seen in Korean fiction, the filmmaker added: I thought that, since no one else had dealt with it before, I had to take the risk. If you always try to play it safe, that in itself is a risk.
The theme of bullying reappeared in Weak Hero, another of the projects mentioned in the talk. Kim Kijae recalled the initial doubts the proposal generated within Netflix, even wondering if it would be too niche and if it would only interest a male audience. Han replied jokingly that at least one of the protagonists would end up being someone's crush.
On this occasion, Han Jun-hee took a step back as director and assumed the role of creative director, while Yoo Soo-min and Park Dan-hee took charge of directing (Yoo also participated in the writing). I thought that, regarding the essence of Weak Hero, an emerging director would do a better job, he explained.
Other projects: Pilot and Dead-End Job
The conversation also reviewed other projects in which Han Jun-hee had a more secondary role. This is the case with Pilot, a film directed by Kim Han-gyul, in which Han collaborated during the script adaptation phase.
Dead-End Job was also mentioned, another series present in this edition of the Busan International Film Festival. Han Jun-hee is the creator of this hybrid-genre project, while the direction was handled by Kim Da-min.
The Blue Road: Han Jun-hee’s new series for Netflix
Han Jun-hee's most recent project as a director is The Blue Road, which will arrive on Netflix on November 20 and of which three of its eight episodes were screened during the festival, within the On Screen section.
This is a work I have been imagining for a long time, explained Han. We don't have many episodes or many characters, so I thought of a series where we could focus on the performances of the two lead actors.
The series centers on the chemistry between actors Nagayama Eita and Son Sukku, playing an mismatched pair. The plot takes place in 2002, a year that coincides with the FIFA World Cup co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. Han recalled that he himself was about to graduate from high school in 2002 and noted that he found it interesting to set the mystery plot against the backdrop of a tournament that drew so much media attention in both countries.
Although The Blue Road is an adaptation of a comic, Han explained that the team adopted a flexible approach during the development of the story. It's like a living creature; that's how we treat this work, he commented, noting that the end of the series changed several times as they tried to let the narrative evolve organically.
Differences between filming in South Korea and Japan
During the Q&A session, a journalist from Deadline asked Han Jun-hee about the production differences between South Korea and Japan, considering that The Blue Road involves teams from both countries.
When you shoot, there are many cultural differences; wherever you go, the teams are different, the director replied. When working with Japanese teams… we Koreans work fast; the Japanese are very meticulous, he added.
Han explained that in Japan, achieving the perfect result is fundamental, while in Korea everything is done so quickly that certain compromises must be made. Despite these differences, the director assured that both teams learned a lot from each other during filming.
We do our best to prepare everything in advance, but once on set, things can change, he concluded regarding the unpredictable nature of joint productions.
The beginnings of Han Jun-hee’s collaboration with Netflix
Asked by the audience about how his professional relationship with Netflix began, Han Jun-hee joked that the current scale of the platform has nothing to do with what existed when he started collaborating with it. It wasn't a matter of luck at that time; Netflix wasn't that popular yet, he commented with a laugh, recalling the contrast with the global dimension the streaming service has today.
Frequently asked questions about Han Jun-hee and The Blue Road
When does The Blue Road premiere on Netflix?
The Blue Road, the new series directed by Han Jun-hee, premieres on Netflix on November 20 and will consist of eight episodes in total.
Who are the stars of The Blue Road?
Actors Nagayama Eita and Son Sukku star in The Blue Road, playing a pair of characters with a markedly mismatched dynamic.
What other series has Han Jun-hee directed for Netflix?
Before The Blue Road, Han Jun-hee directed D.P. (Deserter Pursuit) and served as creative director on Weak Hero, in addition to participating as a screenwriter on the film Pilot and as creator of the series Dead-End Job.
What is D.P. about?
D.P. is a series based on the webtoon by Kim Bo-tong that follows the Korean military police in the search for army deserters, addressing issues such as bullying and toxic masculinity within mandatory military service in South Korea.
What year is The Blue Road set in?
The plot of The Blue Road is set in 2002, the year the FIFA World Cup was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, a context that Han Jun-hee himself considered relevant to the story.
