Deception and suspense are no new feats for South Korean director Yoon Jong-bin. Known for works such as the enthralling espionage film The Spy Gone North as well as his debut feature film The Unforgiven which is a raw and rare picture of South Korea’s mandatory military service, Yoon has shown his hand in his next project: Disney+’s Nine Puzzles. The subject matter for this next playing field? An unsolved murder case, a criminal profiler whose past is inextricably linked to it, and the detective who has never stopped suspecting her.
Nine Puzzles stars Kim Da-mi as Yoon Ena, the plucky profiler who was the prime suspect of her uncle’s death a decade ago, and Son Sukku as the determined and sceptical detective Kim Hansaem. Fast forward to the events of today, Ena is once again caught in the middle of a series of murders, linked to an eerie puzzle piece that is left behind at the scene of each crime. Just like the one that was first left at the crime scene of her uncle’s murder. And so the mystery box opens.
A murder mystery it may be, but the 11-episode narrative written by Lee Eunmi (behind classic time-travelling serial killer drama Tunnel) also carries a zany, offbeat tone to it. In fact, it seems to wear it like a badge of honour all throughout the show. “I wanted to maintain the impression that I had when I first read the script—and relay that same excitement to the audience. The question that played in my head was: “Is this realistic? Could this happen in real life?” Truthfully, the events that take place in Nine Puzzles are actually a bit unrealistic, and I wanted that to come across,” muses director Yoon.
Here, Yoon is joined by lead actors Kim and Son, as they share more about the unpredictability of the show’s storyline, working together on set and how their outfits come into play.
Director Yoon, it’s not your first time working on a dark, suspenseful thriller. Any reason you were drawn to this particular script?
Yoon: This is a thriller series but it’s not exactly a dark thriller. It has a rather unique style to it and the reason why I picked up the project at first was because the script itself is very engaging, and the plot and storyline are totally unpredictable. This is an 11-episode series and throughout it all, you really cannot predict what is going to come. When I was reading the script, I thought this person would be the culprit but it turned out that someone else entirely was the culprit. It’s a very interesting reveal in the end.
This also isn’t exactly your typical investigator or profiler story that one might be used to watching before. There are a lot of attractive, unique characters. For example, Hansaem (Son’s character) is very unique himself, and Ena (Kim) is quirky yet incredibly smart. It builds a lot of interest around the characters of the show.
Dami, how did you prepare for the role of Yoon Ena?
Kim: These are stories that can happen in reality, but at the same time it’s not all that realistic. It’s a bit more surreal. So when I was acting it out, I am very committed to profiling the case, but whilst portraying the character, I maintained a personality that was more cartoonish to show a different, more versatile side of Ena when interacting with other characters. I discussed her character a lot with the director to demonstrate her as a unique criminal profiler—because she has her own way of doing things when it comes to approaching a case. There are also certain aspects of Ena’s character that is more complex, so I tried to portray that differently too.
There seems to be a complicated relationship between the two main characters. How did you both go about building your on-screen chemistry?
Kim: Well, the two characters seem to dislike each other at the start but at certain points they would be caring for each other. So that does create a special chemistry between the two characters. I did discuss it a lot with Sukku to build our chemistry episode by episode.
Son: For starters, their relationship is a bit different from usual ones—they’re not the usual type of partners you see that care for each other or have a particularly close relationship that share everything together.
In Korea, we refer to both Gen Z and millennials as the ‘MZ’ generation. Because of my age, I don’t exactly feel like I belong in the ‘MZ’ generation—and especially not Gen Z—but their tendency to be more private and individualistic is something I can relate to. It’s a trait that I see in myself because in situations where if I don’t have much interest in someone else, then I don’t usually care to ask them questions or probe. So that ‘MZ’ vibe of the character sort of matches my own personality a lot and it wasn’t particularly hard for me to act out that dynamic.
Director Yoon, what was a focal point for you when you were on set?
Yoon: I wanted to maintain the impression that I had when I first read the script—and relay that same excitement to the audience. The question that played in my head was: “Is this realistic? Could this happen in real life?” Truthfully, the events that take place in Nine Puzzles are actually a bit unrealistic, and I wanted that to come across. So I tried to strike a balance between the drama and reality. To do that, I paid a lot of attention to the aesthetic and art direction, like the outfits that Hansaem wears. I also wanted the audience to constantly question who the real murderer was. So it was important that each episode always left the audience with that question.
Since we’ve mentioned outfits, Sukku could you tell us more about your looks in the show?
Son: I didn’t know detectives wore so may hats or beanies! Detectives don’t really wear such outfits in real life. Still, I didn’t want the character to stand out too much, or else the other characters wouldn’t stand out. So I wanted him to relay some sort of realism of a detective’s life still, and mix the best of both worlds into my character in that way.
How about you Dami, did you have a part to play in building Ena’s wardrobe?
Dami: Well, I did want to develop Yena’s unique style quite a bit so I had a lot of discussions with the director. She wears the necktie very often—a very important part of her outfit—and wears a lot of colours too. I wanted to show that she’s like a private detective who’s on her own with her own sense of her style. It’s a little cartoonish and unique in that way.
Tell us about some of the most memorable days on set. What was it like working together?
Kim: He (Son) was very comfortable right from the start, and would come up to me to approach me for any questions without any hesitation. Our chemistry was great and our meals together were definitely memorable.
Son: I gain weight the moment I eat more, now that I’ve turned 40. I usually try to maintain weight during filming because I don’t want the character to feel inconsistent. But this time around, I actually gained weight during production because I was so comfortable on set (laughs).
Yoon: Yes, I had to tell the staff to control the catering because I saw them gaining weight…I got them to reduce sugary food on set. One day, they came in, and it was suddenly a table of healthy food instead! (laughs)
Watch Nine Puzzles on Disney+ now.
