[Dispatch=Reporter Chung Tae-yoon] Actress Lee Jung-eun has returned as a mother both familiar and strange in the film "Gyeongju Trip" (directed by Kim Mi-jo).

The sorrow of losing a child became maternal love, and maternal love eventually transformed into a thirst for revenge. The willingness to do anything for a beloved child gradually borders on madness.

Yet that face is not unfamiliar. The anger, collapse, and finally clenched teeth are painfully realistic even in the midst of extreme revenge.

Even audiences who have never lost a child come to understand that heart. Between maternal love and madness, it moves between a mother's heart that anyone can understand and the end of revenge that no one can easily reach.

The "Gyeongju Trip" team held a press preview on the 13th at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Director Kim Mi-jo, Lee Jung-eun, Gong Hyo-jin, Park So-dam, Lee Yeon, and Byun Yo-han were in attendance.

"Gyeongju Trip" depicts a family revenge story of four mother and daughters who embark on a killing trip after 8 years of waiting for their youngest daughter Gyeongju, who never returned from a school trip.

Lee Jung-eun plays the mother "Oksil." Oksil's life is completely upended after losing her youngest daughter Gyeongju. She holds the resolve to eliminate the culprit with her own hands to protect her family.

Lee Jung-eun explained, "I thought of her as someone whose time stopped from the moment her family collapsed. I'm not endorsing vigilante justice, but I wanted to follow the emotions the character carries to the end."

She embedded this obsession in appearance as well. Oksil wears almost the same outfit throughout the film. This was to show a person so absorbed in revenge that she has no room to care about anything else.

It has been long since she could care for her other daughters. Yet she did not completely erase her fear. She sought to capture both a strong mother and moments of fear.

Lee Jung-eun said, "I thought the prayer beads on Oksil's wrist represent her conviction. In the final confrontation scene with him, I completed it as action where she proceeds with revenge without realizing the beads have broken."

Director Kim Mi-jo said, "When I watched revenge stories, I was always curious whether the process of deciding on revenge could be that easy. I wanted to show how the four mother and daughters cope with and overcome their loss in different ways, rather than through efficient methods, as they embark on a revenge journey together."

So the family's journey to that destination was as important as the destination of revenge itself. All four daughters endure their loss in different ways.

Gong Hyo-jin played "Jangju." Jangju is the dependable eldest daughter who early on helped with Oksil's work and cared for her siblings. She is married and has a daughter, but readily participates in her mother's revenge.

Gong Hyo-jin said, "Jangju is a character who worries about her mother while trying to hold the family together. I deliberated between the desire to stop her mother's revenge and the hope that when that revenge ends, the family might find some resolution."

Park So-dam took on the role of the second daughter "Youngju." Youngju appears the strongest on the surface but is a tender person. An elite law school graduate, after colliding with reality and remaining unemployed, she meticulously plans to protect her family.

She said, "She is an emotional character who wants to be rational. Externally, I expressed her character by mixing comfortable pants with jackets and cutting her hair sharp to hide her tender heart."

Lee Yeon played the third daughter "Dongju." Dongju is an unusual third daughter who always brings trouble. She confronts with her whole body at every moment to reveal her existence and be loved. As a wrestling athlete, her name has become somewhat known.

Lee Yeon said, "I tried to act by maximizing the parts of me that are similar to Dongju. I attended action school diligently, and it was genuinely very painful, but I committed to it."

"Baek Sang-hyun," played by Byun Yo-han, is the man the four mother and daughters waited for over 8 years. Byun Yo-han powerfully completed the face of an extremely brutal murderer from the second half onward.

He explained, "I wanted to express him without any compassion. I approached him as a narcissistic character who only protects himself in his own world."

Director Kim Mi-jo deliberated over this role until the end. "He is wrapped in plastic until the midpoint, and from the second half must face off against the four mother and daughters. Energy and charisma strong enough to overwhelm them were needed."

She continued, "The production company representative mentioned actor Byun Yo-han, and it felt like a light turning on in darkness. However, since he is very handsome, I requested changes that could conceal his appearance."

The emotion the film conveys is not simple. It is uncomfortable yet cathartic, sad yet does not allow easy tears.

Lee Yeon said, "I think revenge is an act of piercing both the other person's heart and one's own heart simultaneously. I hope viewers will feel that the aftermath of revenge is neither purely good nor purely sad."

The film's revenge lingers longer on the family's emotions than on grand events. Car chasing and action appear, but what overwhelms them are ultimately the moments the four mother and daughters look at each other.

The reason a family trip becomes a journey of revenge while simultaneously becoming a process to move time that has stopped is this.

Finally, Director Kim Mi-jo expressed gratitude to the cast, saying, "I was so greedy that we did a lot of repetitive shooting, so everyone worked hard. During editing, I felt very reassured. I think I was lucky as a first-time director."

Gong Hyo-jin said, "I shot while imagining that everyone would feel the tremor and afterimage I felt from the script. A better film was made than the script. I urge you to definitely book tickets for our film."

Byun Yo-han added, "A trip is usually something people embark on to find good memories and fun for themselves, but with 'Gyeongju Trip,' please empathize and watch what kind of memory this journey of the four mother and daughters will become."

"Gyeongju Trip" opens in theaters on the 26th.

<Photos=Reporter Song Hyo-jin>