During a press interview on December 2 in Jongno, Seoul, Ha Jung Woo talked about The People Upstairs’ upcoming release and reflected on some behind-the-scenes stories. The movie, set to premiere on December 3, is a 19+ rated comedy that explores an unpredictable evening shared between two couples the noisy upstairs neighbors (played by Ha Jung Woo and Lee Ha Nee) and the downstairs pair (Gong Hyo Jin and Kim Dong Wook) who are forced into a dinner together due to ongoing noise disputes.
Ha openly discussed a past incident where he jokingly referred to a fan as “aphrodisiac” in a social media comment, which quickly spiraled into controversy. “I left a careless comment on Instagram and got cursed out for days,” he recalled. As a result, he decided to revise a line in the film, realizing, “Some words just shouldn’t be used.”
In the movie, Ha plays a quirky Chinese character teacher named Mr. Kim, who whimsically refers to himself as “Pikachu.” He admitted that this idea didn’t initially land well on set. “People thought it wasn’t funny and were unsure if we could even use ‘Pikachu’ due to copyright issues,” he said. Still, he trusted his instinct. “The end credits even list me as ‘Director Pikachu.’ We screened it at the Busan International Film Festival, and the audience laughed it worked. I knew it would be funny.” Regarding the copyright concerns, he confirmed, “It’s all cleared. We checked everything before using it.”
Though rated 19+, The People Upstairs features no nudity. Ha explained, “It simply wasn’t necessary.” He joked, “There was a scene with Gong Hyo Jin in sunlight where I did wonder, ‘What if she were nude?’ But I knew I wouldn’t be able to persuade her and even without nudity, we still got a 19+ rating.”
When asked if he feels pressure about the film’s success, Ha answered philosophically: “That’s up to the heavens. No matter how many stage greetings or interviews I do, I can’t force people to like it. I just give my best in making and promoting the film. The rest is out of my hands.”
The People Upstairs premieres December 3 in theaters across Korea.
Sources: nate
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