A beaming Im Sang-soo answered journalists' questions at the Press Conference for Do-Nui Mat (The Taste of Money). He was accompanied by the four lead actors in this film: Baek Yoon-sik, Youn Yuh-jung, Kim Hyo-jin and Kim Kang-woo.
Im Sang-soo on the relation between The Taste of Money and The Housemaid
"Yes, I suppose there are a few nods to my previous film. But The Housemaid was a remake and I felt quite constrained when I was making it. The Taste of Money is more in line with my way of seeing things."
Im Sang-soo on the characters in his film
"I wanted them to likeable, despite everything. They are grotesque, but also quite eccentric."
On the importance of female
characters in Korean cinema
Youn Yuh-jung: "Im Sang-Soo and Lee Chang-dong don't approach female characters in the same way. Im Sang-Soo puts men and women on an equal footing. That's why he shows the relationship between an older woman and a young man. It's something that shocks South Koreans, but not when it's the other way round."
Im Sang-Soo: "For me, the main character is Joo Young-Jak, an ordinary man who upholds notions of fairness, but who cannot behave in the way he would like."
Im Sang-soo on the issue of Korean conglomerates and corruption
"I have a lot of respect for French society, but I read Le Président des riches (The President of the Rich) by a couple of French sociologists and, I thought to myself, so exactly the same happens in France too. Corruption is not just limited to South Korea. Although colonisation is over from a territorial point of view, it still exists from an economic point of view. For people to live well in Europe, immigrants have had to suffer. Today, I'm keen to point the finger not only at Korean society, but also at Europeans."
Comments recorded by B. de M.
