A new face just stole the spotlight in the film 'The World of Love'―meet breakout newcomer Seo Soo-bin.
At a press screening on Oct. 15 at CGV Yongsan in Seoul, the buzzed-about title―spotlighted as the only Korean film in competition at the Toronto International Film Festival―unspooled for domestic media for the first time.
Beyond the film’s sharp thematic punch and polished craft, it’s Seo who brings director Yoon Ga-eun’s world vividly to life. A complete unknown with zero prior acting credits, Seo was handpicked by Yoon’s discerning eye.
Asked about how she landed the part, Seo said she joined the project after three meetings and an acting workshop. “Even before any casting talk, I was just excited as a fan that Director Yoon had a new film coming,” she shared.
“Our first meeting felt like a blind date,” she laughed. “We chatted about everyday things for about 20 minutes, and the director said, ‘I’ll call you again.’ I wasn’t sure what to make of it―but she reached out that same day. The next day was a group audition with improv, more like a workshop. I was trying hard to impress, and she told me, ‘I’m not here to watch what you’re trying to show me.’ That’s when I relaxed. For the third meeting, we talked for two hours over Indian curry in Seoul’s Hyehwa neighborhood, then another two hours at a cafe about my life. At the next meet-up, she handed me the script.”
Director Yoon recalled her first impression: “When I first saw Seo’s profile, it wasn’t especially striking. There was no reel, no past work to review. I thought she had an ordinary face without defining features―but her eyes stayed with me.”
“Meeting in person, her honesty struck me,” Yoon continued. “During the improv workshop―there were actors with far more experience―she immediately found a rhythm with her scene partners, reading and riding the flow. On top of that, she’d practiced taekwondo for years. My script already had a taekwondo element, so it felt a bit like fate.”
'The World of Love' follows Joo-in, an enigmatic 18-year-old high schooler who sits somewhere between class darling and attention seeker. After she becomes the lone student to refuse a schoolwide petition, mysterious notes begin to appear―setting off a chain of events. The film marks Yoon Ga-eun’s first feature in six years and has been drawing raves on the fall festival circuit, from its official TIFF bow to invitations from the Warsaw Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival.
The film opens Oct. 22 in Korea.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)