#TigerCG #Park Jihoon syndrome #Plagiarism controversy revealed by the producer of 'The Prince' [★FULL Interview]

*This content was translated by AI.

• "The Man Who Lives With the King" Becomes 10 Million Movie in 2 YearsInterview with CEO of Onda Works Lim Eun-jung

While the movie "The Man Who Lives with the King" continues to hit 12 million viewers, Lim Eun-jung, CEO of Onda Works, a production company, told various stories related to the work.

"The Man Who Lives with the King" (director Jang Hang-jun) is set in Cheongryeongpo in 1457, and tells the story of a village leader who claimed to be exiled for the revival of the village and a young predecessor who was expelled from the throne and exiled, and the cumulative audience exceeded 10 million on the 6th, 31 days after its release through word of mouth.

It is the first 10 million movie in 2026 and the first 10 million movie in about two years since "The Outlaws 4" (2024). It is the 34th record in history, the 25th record for a Korean film, and the fourth 10 million mark for a historical drama film after "The Man of the King" (2005), "The Gwanghae, The Man Who Became the King" (2012), and "Roaring Currents (2014). The box office run of "The Man Who Lives with the King," which surpassed 12 million viewers, is still continuing.

In particular, CEO Lim Eun-jung founded Onda Works, a production company, in 2023 after working as a producer for CJ ENM's film division's investment team and planning and production team for 12 years. CEO Lim Eun-jung, who surpassed 10 million viewers with her debut work, said, "I am only grateful to the audience. I thought of each and every one of them who watched the movie together," he said.

He said, "I worked in a good atmosphere at the scene, and it was a good movie, so I felt that I wanted it to go well. After the release, I was busy with marketing, but after hitting 10 million, the promised schedule ended. I've only watched the score rise, but now it's time to see the faces of the grateful people one by one, he said. "I'm grateful to the staff who worked hard."

CEO Lim Eun-jung, who was surprised and thrilled by the various reactions to the movie, said, "I have no choice but to read comments often, and it was amazing that they recognized the details. After seeing it, I felt that people loved this movie more than I thought, and it was a series of surprises to pay attention to the behind-the-scenes," he said. "In the scene where Lee Hong-wi (Park Ji-hoon) fell into the water on a raft, Taesan (Kim Min) ran toward his father Eom Heung-do (Yoo Hae-jin). I was surprised to see him find even that," he said.

The "Man Who Lives With the King" sparked interest in Danjong and caused the so-called "Danjong Syndrome." CEO Lim said, "Scenario is important, but the combination of casting is also important," adding, "I didn't expect this syndrome, but everyone in the production team thought that Park Ji-hoon's discontinuation would have an impact."

"That's why the coach ran with confidence as soon as he saw Park Ji-hoon," he said. "No one doubted that."

"In fact, until the casting began, there was not a direction to discover new masks," he said. "When (Yoo) Hae-jin joined, the decision was made to go in that direction." "If you are asked if you predicted a sudden syndrome, you say you did now," he said, adding, "Isn't the movie a result anyway?"

CEO Lim reportedly recommended Park Ji-hoon to director Jang Hang-joon after watching the drama "Weak Hero" series. He said, "At the time of the first meeting, actor Park Ji-hoon was tanned because he had been enjoying his vacation. Visually, there were question marks, but I felt the attitude, affection, and passion for acting," he recalled.

"I thought that if I could diet as much as that passion, I would have a good chance," he said. "There are some things that the director fell in love with after seeing the 'weak hero' but I think I fell in love with him after meeting him in person."

Although he is such a much-loved "man living with the king", the tiger CG (computer graphic) in the work was pointed out as a "jade tee" and became a hot topic. In response, CEO Lim said, "The most representative body aches are also tigers. "I think it's right to say that my face turned red after seeing the article," he said with a smile and confessed honestly, "There is a part where I feel embarrassed as a producer to talk like a joke."

He continued, "I thought about what areas to focus on and complete within the set period. I couldn't do everything perfectly. "With the movie being released two weeks before the Lunar New Year holiday, we decided that the movie needed a large-scale premiere," he said. "We couldn't give up that strategy. I feel sorry for the CG team," he said.

"The reason I can talk about supplementation like a recent article is because the movie went well," he said. "On the contrary, thanks to the controversy, I was able to relieve my anger." CEO Lim said, "Director Jang Hang-joon also started with courage in a time of devastation," adding, "Rather than the production team giving up on completeness, we had a sense of responsibility that the movie should be done well."

He said, "Of course, there are regrets about the completeness, but it was important to take the opportunity given in the market and not go against the release strategy. If I have a chance, I want to reinforce it, he said. "It will be difficult to see the upgraded tiger in the theater again. We will have a meeting soon, and I think we can set the exact target point then," he added.

Also, "The Man Who Lives with the King" was embroiled in an untimely plagiarism dispute. The bereaved family of the theater actor A, who died in 2019, raised suspicions of plagiarism, saying that the draft scenario written by A for the production of the drama "Eomheungdo" in the 2000s and the movie "The Man Who Lives with the King" are largely similar. In response, CEO Lim vehemently denied and explained, "I didn't bring any scenario, but it was a work that started from the original stage," adding, "There is also a writer Hwang Sung-gu who worked on the treatment, and the contract process and minutes are all left."

"Even after director Jang Hang-joon joined, we stayed in the camp and worked on the adaptation," he said. "We have not received any proof of content regarding the plagiarism controversy."

Although his first production became a 10 million movie, CEO Lim Eun-jung was looking further away. He said, "I'm going to refer to 'anti-missive thinking'. The recovery of daily life is also important. The 10 million mark of "The Man Who Lives with the King" is all right. It's not because I'm good at it. I think it's a little too early to think about the burden or responsibility because I've received a lot of help and the timing is there. I want to focus on preparing the movie well and putting it on the screen as I've done so far," he said.

Finally, Lim also said he intends to share profits with the people who shared the movie. "When 'The Man Who Lives with the King' was a bit successful, I thought I could do the work I was preparing stably in the future," he said with a smile.

"We are also considering incentives for those who participated with CEO Jang Won-seok of BA Entertainment as a result of a much larger-than-expected performance," he said. "We have no specific plans yet, but we are considering a direction that will help Korean movies," he said. "We are discussing compensation in other ways because there is an equity issue to go on a reward vacation like a drama."

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*This content was translated by AI.