Yeo Jin-goo plays a troubled young man who hijacks a plane to get to his destination. Photos: Handout
The last time actors Ha Jung-woo and Yeo Jin-goo participated in a project together was for the 2023 Korean travel variety show Bros On Foot.
While completing various missions in the series – which features four top Korean stars travelling around parts of New Zealand on foot – the two actors naturally became buddies.
(Besides Ha and Yeo, the series also features actor Joo Ji-hoon and singer Choi Min-ho of Shinee.)
Presently, the 46-year-old Ha and the 26-year-old Yeo are paired once again for the new film Hijack 1971. But this time, they play characters in conflict with each other.
During a Zoom interview with StarLifestyle, the two Korean stars admitted that their friendship definitely came into play on the set of Hijack 1971.
“I think the friendship certainly influenced our chemistry,” Ha said.
“Doing the travelling show, I got to know Yeo Jin-goo quite well. So when we started on Hijack 1971, we could skip the part of getting to know our co-stars better and just jump into discussing the project itself.
“It certainly gave us an advantage ... which was then really helpful in establishing a great chemistry.”
Ha Jung-woo (left) and Yeo Jin-goo in an episode of 'Bros On Foot'.
Based on a real in-flight emergency in South Korea that happened in 1971, the film takes place mostly on a plane that’s flying from Sokcho in Gangwon Province to Seoul’s Gimpo International Airport.
En route from east to west, a passenger named Yong-dae (Yeo) hijacks the plane and forces the pilots (Ha and Sung Dong-il) to change course and head to North Korea instead.
It is up to Ha’s character, pilot Tae-in, to ensure the safety of everyone on the plane while making sure that the troubled Yong-dae doesn’t lose his cool and blow up the plane with a homemade bomb.
Yeo, who started his acting career at the age of eight, credited his friendship with Ha and Sung in giving him an edge in playing his character more effectively opposite his older co-stars.
Besides appearing on Bros On Foot with Ha, Yeo has participated on another travel variety show in 2020 titled House On Wheels that featured Sung.
“I have many scenes where I have to be quite rough towards both Jung-woo hyung and Dong-il hyung. (‘Hyung’ is an honorific term used by a male when referring to an older man.)
“And thanks to our friendship, it made it easier and more comfortable for me to rely on them,” Yeo explained to StarLifestyle.
Yeo Jin-goo has been on reality shows with both Ha Jung-woo and Sung Dong-il. Photo: Sony Pictures Korea/Instagram
Yeo is no stranger to tackling challenging roles – he’s played dual roles in The Crowned Clown, a hardworking detective obsessed with finding the truth in Beyond Evil and many likeable romantic leads (Hotel Del Luna, Link: Eat, Love, Kill).
However, Hijack 1971 marks the first time he is playing a bad guy.
In order to give a more layered performance of a man who is so desperate to escape his current situation that he doesn’t care what happens to him or others, Yeo worked closely with director Kim Sung-Han to come up with additional backstory for Yong-dae.
In the production notes, Yong-dae is described as someone who has faced discrimination and prejudice all his life due to his family’s poverty.
To make matters worse, his older brother supposedly served in the North Korean army during the Korean war.
Luck runs out completely when Yong-dae is wrongfully convicted and sent to prison.
It is after serving his prison sentence that Yong-dae comes up with a plan to board a plane and head to the North, so he can be reunited with his brother.
The hijacker (Yeo Jin-goo) commands the pilot (Ha Jung-woo) to head north.
In an interview with Korean media, Yeo mentioned he found it challenging to walk the thin line between playing a person seen as the bad guy and yet making him someone who’s relatable.
Yeo said: “It was difficult for me to control my feelings while acting (for this project) because I had to threaten others by using weapons. At the same time, I tried my best not to glamorise this villain-like character, but express him the best way I can.”
His effort definitely impressed Ha, who has played his fair share of interesting film roles in his long career that started in 2005.
Among them are that of a serial killer (The Chaser), a top prime-time news anchor who’s rigged with a bomb (The Terror Live) and a taxi driver struggling to make ends meet (Ransomed).
Ha Jung-woo is known for many hit projects such as Along With The Gods, The Chaser and Ransomed. Photo: Asia News NetworkThe three-time Best Actor winner at BaekSang Arts Awards said to StarLifestyle: “Yeo Jin-goo’s energy far exceeded my expectations.
“Having started as a child actor, he has been consistently active and has built a strong image over the years.
“However, with this project, he truly breaks away from that established image.
“He delivers an incredibly energetic and intense performance, vastly different from his earlier roles. He showcases a remarkable transformation.”
Hijack 1971 presented a number of complications for the actors as director Kim aimed to make a film where “audiences feel like they are inside the airplane” and the events are unfolding in real-time.
In order to truly capture the dangerous situation high up in the air, Kim and his arts team created a life-sized aircraft and mounted it on a gimbal.
And it is in this cramped set resembling a plane, packed with people – there were over 50 extras playing passengers – that much of the filming took place for Hijack 1971.
To recreate the 1970s F-27 passenger aircraft, the production team undertook thorough research.
Hence, every detail on the set – from the flooring to the ceiling materials – was custom-made.
It’s reported that some of the components used for the plane set were actual items from 1970s airplanes, such as the instrument panel in the cockpit.
Yeo mentioned to StarLifestyle that filming a fight sequence in a confined space had its share of problems, but it provided him with an advantage too.
“Due to the restricted space, the risk of injury was higher,” explained Yeo.
“There’s an ‘Immelmann turn’ – a 360° aerial manoeuvre – in the film, and we actually performed a 360° turn on set with everyone in it.
“While we were filming this scene, unexpected injuries were a major concern. So, safety was always our top priority.
“Emotion-wise, because it is such an intense situation, I paid more attention to immersing myself into the situation and, in this instance, the tight space really helped me to get into my character’s mindset.”
Similarly, for Ha, making Hijack 1971 was both physically and emotionally demanding.
For the role, he had to master “flying” the plane – which he did under the advice of a real pilot who was present on set.
He also had to maintain intense emotions required for the high-stake moments in the film throughout the three-month shoot.
“As the story develops and reaches its peak, it was challenging to consistently connect those intense emotions,” Ha told StarLifestyle.
“Maintaining that intensity was difficult due to natural fluctuations in emotions and energy. To address this, we had numerous rehearsals to align our energy and sequences.
“Every day, we rehearsed our scenes before shooting to ensure our emotions and tone remained consistent.”
Despite the challenges, Ha felt he had a strong sense of duty and responsibility in how he portrayed the dedicated pilot who priorities the safety of passengers in this life-or-death situation.
Perhaps the actor came to this conclusion after doing thorough research on the hijacking of Korean Air flight F-27 that carried 55 passengers and five flight attendants on Jan 23, 1971.
It’s said 11 of them are still missing and are believed to be stuck in North Korea.
When StarLifestyle asked if he’s become wary about taking planes after participating in this project, Ha answered: “This incident happened 50 years ago, when aviation security was lax, but it is very different today.”
Hijack 1971 is showing at cinemas in Malaysia since Aug 1.
