Golden Child’s Jaehyun, Lovelyz’s Jisoo, WJSN’s Exy And SeolA, Oh My Girl’s Arin, And More Introduce Their Roles In Horror Film “Urban Myths”
Apr 18, 2022
by S. Cho
On April 18, the cast and crew of “Urban Myths” held a screening and press conference to talk about the new horror film!
“Urban Myths” (also known as “Seoul Ghost Story”) is an omnibus-style horror movie that will feature modern-day reinterpretations of various ghost stories and urban legends. Set in Seoul, the film will be split up into 10 episodes that deal with different horrors found in familiar places in everyday life.
The film stars various idols like MONSTA X’s Shownu, Oh My Girl’s Arin, BTOB‘s Minhyuk, THE BOYZ’s Ju Haknyeon, Golden Child’s Jaehyun, Lovelyz’s Jisoo, WJSN’s SeolA and Exy, former INFINITE member Hoya (Lee Ho Won), and AleXa.
The cast also includes Kim Do Yoon from “Peninsula” and “Hellbound,” Lee Young Jin from “Memento Mori,” Oh Ryoong from “Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food,” Lee Soo Min from “The Dude in Me,” Lee Yul Eum from “Nevertheless,” and Jung Won Chang from “The Uncanny Counter.”
Director Hong Won Ki commented, “I’ve been directing music videos for 20 years and while doing so, I’ve been paying attention. I prioritized the casting of singers that I’ve wanted to see try out acting.” He continued, “Because they had acting potential, I wanted to try working with them. Since our film is of an omnibus-style, I wanted to show [viewers] new faces that they haven’t seen yet, [so I cast idols].”
Aside from Minhyuk and Hoya, “Urban Myths” will mark the silver screen debut for all the idols in the cast. WJSN’s SeolA plays Ji Hye in the “The Closet” episode about used furniture, while Exy works alongside Jung Won Chang in the episode titled “The Wall.”
SeolA commented, “It was so fun to see my face on screen. Through acting, I think I was able to try things I haven’t been able to try, so it was really fun.” Exy added, “I’m someone who enjoys watching horror films so it felt new to be able to appear in a horror film myself.” She also thanked her co-star Jung Won Chang, saying, “At first, I had a mission of appearing mysterious and acting that out was hard, but because [Jung Won Chang] helped me, I was able to comfortably complete filming.”
MONSTA X’s Shownu stars as part-timer Jong Chan in the episode titled “A Mannequin,” but was absent from the press conference as he’s currently serving in the military. The director shared, “As Shownu appears a bit like a sculpture, I casted him because he felt similar to a mannequin.”
In the episode “Necromancy,” Oh My Girl’s Arin plays Ji Hyun, who gets bullied at school after her classmate Hye Yeon (Lee Soo Min) commits suicide and rumors start spreading that they were a couple. The star commented, “It was fascinating to see my face on the screen. I hope many viewers watch me kindly. I filmed while discussing lots with Soo Min. I tried to work diligently. I originally really like the horror genre.” Laughing, she added, “My Oh My Girl members told me, ‘Don’t just scream a lot.”
Arin’s co-star Lee Soo Min shared, “To my knowledge, this is Arin’s first time acting [in a movie], but she was so good. We filmed really sweetly.”
THE BOYZ’s Ju Haknyeon, Golden Child’s Jaehyun, and AleXa star as famous influencers Nu Ri, Young Min, and Se Ri in the “Escape Games” episode. Jaehyun commented, “I can’t believe that I was casted and that I filmed a movie. When I first heard the news [of my casting] from my managers, I couldn’t believe it, so after watching the movie today, my emotions feel special.”
In “The Girl in the Mirror,” Lovelyz Jisoo plays cosmetic store employee Hyun Joo. She commented, “I worked really hard. I’m also really thankful to the director.” Jisoo added, “It was a hard character. Since I had to act as someone with a severe inferiority complex, I tried my best to bring out that emotion and I lost a lot of energy while filming. I remember eating a lot [to recharge].” She then shared, “While filming, I received a lot of support from my Lovelyz members.”
Former INFINITE member Hoya (Lee Ho Won) portrays the role of dentist Choong Jae in the “Tooth Worms” episode. Last year, “Tooth Worms” was the first of the series to greet viewers after being invited to the 25th Fantasia Film Festival and the 13th Celluloid Screams: Sheffield Horror Film Festival. The director explained, “I’m originally afraid of the sounds you can hear at the dentist so I reflected those to create this episode.”
Hoya shared, “I’m typically afraid of horror movies and can’t watch them but when I received this script, I thought it would be so fun so I decided to do it. [In the initial script,] the story wasn’t detailed, but I figured that we’d have fun as we created it. More than anything, I’ve filmed a lot of music videos with director Hong Won Ki so I figured I’d be able to have fun while working on a film together too, so I decided on my appearance.”
“Urban Myths” hits theaters on April 27.
