Director Na Hong-jin of 'Hope' responds cheerfully to SNS reviews by BTS Jungkook and Yoo Byung-jae

Director Na Hong-jin, who directed the film ’Hope,’ became a hot topic online by showing different reactions to the viewing reviews of Jungkook of BTS and broadcaster Yoo Byung-jae. Jungkook recently left a brief comment on his SNS story saying, ″’Hope’ is fun.″ Later, during a live broadcast, he shared detailed impressions, saying, ″I watched it in 4DX, and it was so intense that my hands were sweaty, and the sense of presence was amazing,″ adding, ″There are talks that opinions are divided, but personally, I was completely immersed and enjoyed it.″ Director Na Hong-jin immediately shared Jungkook’s SNS post on his own account, expressing his gratitude. On the same day, Yoo Byung-jae also posted on his SNS a parody of Jungkook’s post with the phrase ″’Hope’ is fun.″ Then, on his YouTube channel, he uploaded a video titled ’[Spoiler Alert] I also paid 15,000 won,’ in which he described ″’Hope’ as the chameleon of the film industry,″ stating, ″It is a work that divides opinions, but it has completeness as a piece. Above all, it generates numerous talking points and continuously inspires secondary and tertiary creations.″ Yoo Byung-jae revealed his fandom by watching the movie five times. However, while Director Na Hong-jin responded immediately to Jungkook’s post, he showed no particular reaction to Yoo Byung-jae’s post. In response, Yoo Byung-jae added a post saying, ″Are you sleeping...″ while waiting for the director’s reply. Later, Director Na Hong-jin left a humorous comment saying, ″I’m about to sleep, but people keep waking me up because of you, Byung-jae. What do you want?″ The film ’Hope’ depicts the story of Beom-seok (played by Hwang Jung-min), the head of the Hope Port office in the Demilitarized Zone, who encounters an unexpected reality after hearing news that a tiger has appeared in the village. Since its release, the work has received various evaluations regarding its direction and development, and it has ranked number one at the box office for two consecutive weeks, surpassing 3.5 million cumulative viewers.