{"id":83236,"date":"2026-09-08T16:25:03","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T08:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=83236"},"modified":"2026-09-08T16:25:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T08:25:03","slug":"the-making-of-hope-na-hong-jins-sci-fi-spectacular-and-most-expensive-korean-film-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=83236","title":{"rendered":"The making of Hope, Na Hong-jin\u2019s sci-fi spectacular and most expensive Korean film ever"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.i-scmp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/1280x720\/public\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/09\/08\/1f0143ae-aeb2-4318-ab04-f382f9784477_ba4d3ef6.jpg?itok=ozugFvpd&amp;v=1788840074\" \/><\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" id=\"\">\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">With a budget reported to be closing in on 100 billion won (US$74.3 million), <em data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa15\">Hope<\/em>, a white-knuckle action spectacular from South Korean genre specialist Na Hong-jin, is the most expensive Korean feature ever produced.<\/p>\n<div datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1xdhyk6 ec74h0k0\">The filmmaker first came to prominence with 2008\u2019s serial killer thriller <em data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa15\">The Chaser<\/em> and later cemented his reputation as one of his homeland\u2019s most significant auteurs with crime drama <em data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa15\">The Yellow Sea<\/em> (2010) and horror sensation <span data-qa=\"Component-Text\" class=\"css-0 ef9u0v00\"><em data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa15\">The Wailing<\/em><\/span> (2016), which, like <em data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa15\">Hope<\/em>, also premiered at the Cannes Film Festival \u2013 one of the most prestigious events on the cinematic calendar.<\/div>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">\u201c<em data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa15\">Hope<\/em> is completely different from my previous works,\u201d the director tells the South China Morning Post at the recent Summer International Film Festival in Hong Kong. \u201cWhile my past films focused on building up narrative, this time I wanted to make a film that maximises the visuals and audio.\u201d<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">If that was indeed his primary goal, <em data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa15\">Hope<\/em> \u2013 Na\u2019s first full-length film in a decade \u2013 easily eclipses its predecessors. It delivers a breathless two-and-a-half-hour roller coaster of relentless thrills and jaw-dropping surprises, as the residents of a small, isolated community scramble to survive when a pack of giant otherworldly entities attacks their sleepy enclave.<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"methode-html-wrapper oembed-wrapper e1a5rv550 css-1llrc1m e1yqhwb40\" data-qa=\"Component-renderMap-StyledDiv\">\n<div class=\"e2gky7d0 e1drg7e30 e1ciypty0 ehdmpxk0 css-1avyp1d e1hpd36k0\" data-qa=\"Component-Container\">\n<div class=\"e1hpd36k3 css-79hwxn e1x11wau0\" data-qa=\"SCMPYouTubeVideoFooter-VideoTitleContainer\"><default:svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"25\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 25\" fill=\"none\" data-qa=\"SCMPYouTubeVideoFooter-StyledVideoRecorder\" class=\"css-1nnwg93 e1x11wau1\"><default:path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M22 6.22926V18.4315L17.5463 13.9868V17.8655C17.5463 18.1618 17.4383 18.4248 17.2228 18.6531C17.0067 18.8829 16.7498 18.9967 16.4537 18.9967H3.13414C2.80989 18.9967 2.53968 18.8829 2.32425 18.6531C2.10808 18.4248 2 18.1618 2 17.8655V6.79519C2 6.49893 2.10808 6.23665 2.32425 6.00688C2.53968 5.77858 2.80989 5.66333 3.13414 5.66333H16.4537C16.7498 5.66333 17.0067 5.77858 17.2228 6.00688C17.4383 6.23665 17.5463 6.49893 17.5463 6.79519V10.674L22 6.22926Z\" fill=\"#001246\"\/><\/default:svg><\/p>\n<p>HOPE &#8211; Official Trailer &#8211; In Theaters September 9<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 type=\"h3\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"eh0yk8h0 css-17x7qa9 e1pqa4re1\">A town under siege<\/h3>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Hwang Jung-min, Korean cinema\u2019s favourite exasperated everyman, plays Bum-seok, the ill-prepared police chief of Hope Harbour, a tiny coastal community close to the country\u2019s hotly disputed demilitarised zone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/lifestyle\/k-drama\/k-movies\/article\/3366596\/making-hope-na-hong-jins-sci-fi-spectacular-and-most-expensive-korean-film-ever?utm_source=rss_feed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With a budget reported to be closing in on 100 billion won (US$74.3 million), Hope, a white-knuckle action spectacular from South Korean genre specialist Na&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":83237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[76,1900,29674,169,498,2245,5469,5089],"class_list":["post-83236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bored-interesting","tag-expensive","tag-film","tag-hongjins","tag-hope","tag-korean","tag-making","tag-scifi","tag-spectacular","wpcat-33-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=83236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/83237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=83236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=83236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=83236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}