It's completely different from Hitman..Why is it "Heart Man"? [★FULL Interview]

*This content was translated by AI.

• Interview with director Choi Won-seop of "Heartman"

The movie "Heartman" entered the theater in 2026 as the first commercial movie of the new year. If there is an audience who tilts their heads saying, "Heartman, not 'Hitman', it is the new movie of the 'Hitman' director. It is also true that Kwon Sang-woo is the main character. But the movie is a completely different movie.

The movie "Heartman" was released on the 14th. "Heartman" is a comedy that takes place when a returning man, Seung-min (Kwon Sang-woo), struggles not to miss his first love he met again, but creates a secret that he can never tell her.

Coach Choi Won-seop was the third person to join Kwon Sang-woo after "Hitman" and "Hitman 2." It can be said to be Kwon Sang-woo's partner.

"Heartman" is a completely different movie, although many people think of it in connection with "Hitman." If "Hitman" did a more cartoonishly exaggerated comedy against the backdrop of a webtoon, "Heartman" is a romantic comedy that makes an Argentine movie with the original in the Korean style. It's a comedy, but there's also a melodrama.

Kwon Sang-woo, a master of life acting, and Moon Chae-won, who took pictures of Leeds beauty, worked together. It's a movie that you can watch comfortably while smiling.

Director Choi Won-seop said, "In the original work, the story of a father and a daughter is the main story, but I also have a daughter, so the work touched my heart and felt more attractive. I thought that the chemistry between Kwon Sang-woo and the child actor determined the success or failure of the movie, so I suggested it to Kwon Sang-woo first, and the child actor also discovered a new actor. I think I met almost all child actors of that age at that time," he said.

Director Choi said, "When I suggested Kwon Sang-woo's work, he said he would do it right away. I had confidence in Kwon Sang-woo. Kwon Sang-woo is much better at acting than the public thinks. In this work, she acted in tune with the child. He was a friend who didn't act much at the time, but he treated me like a father and did it for me," he said. He said, "Actor Moon Chae-won also had a good image of being an icon of first love. "I'm a fan of actor Moon Chae-won, and I cast him as a character that fits well, and I had a lot of fun filming it," he added.

Director Choi said, "When I first filmed the movie called Heartman, I took it as a title. The title was "We Grow," and we talked about "Heartman." "It's 'Heartman' meaning 'the story of people with hot hearts'," he said. "Since actor Kwon Sang-woo and I also did 'Hitman', we named it very intuitively." "We do 'Heartman' after 'Hitman', and we think 'Heartman' will be better." I hope it goes well and helps the Korean movie industry. Kwon Sang-woo and I always have confidence in movies. I hope this movie will go viral as a family movie."

Director Choi Won-seop, who later became a film director while studying other things, had extraordinary pride and affection for the comedy genre.

Choi said, "I believe in the power of comedy movies. I started the movie at a late age despite my father's opposition. From the beginning, I thought I wanted to make a comedy movie. I like to touch people's feelings. Of course, I think there is something I can do for my age. My main roots are comedy, although my interests can change. I hope the comedy movie I made will make the audience feel a little happy," he said.

Director Choi said, "We are preparing another movie right now. The movie I'm preparing this time is not with Kwon Sang-woo, but it's a different movie. Of course, I want to keep doing it with Kwon Sang-woo, and I also talked about doing it together in the future. "As a comedy film director, I want to make a movie by upgrading it little by little to the present progressive form." It is my dream to make a better movie than now so that many audiences can laugh in a good mood," he added.

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*This content was translated by AI.