By Xu Aiying
Video = BY4M Studio's official YouTube channel

"The Match" brings to the silver screen the famous baduk (go) match between master player Cho Hun-hyun (played by actor Lee Byung-hun) and his protege Lee Chang-ho (Yoo Ah-in), showing how Cho tries to regain his top ranking after losing to his student.

Director Kim Hyung-joo and cast members Lee Byung-hun, Moon Jeong-hee, Jo Woo-jin, Ko Chang-seok and Hyun Bong-sik on March 19 shared stories about the film at its media screening and news conference at the multiplex CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Seoul's Yongsan-gu District.

Set in the 1990s, when baduk was considered the ultimate brain game, the movie is based on the true story of the two players, who earned global fame like today's sports superstars.

"The Match" marks Lee Byung-hun's first film role in two years since he starred in the smash Netflix series "Squid Game."

Cho requested that the actor accurately hold game pieces in the film, so Lee Byung-hun received individual lessons from a professional baduk player to accurately capture the minute movements from his fingertips. The actor's meticulous attention to detail from the sensations coming from his fingertips and the slightest movements in his finger joints further aided the movie in captivating the audience. 

Lee Byung-hun said, "I had to spend time in front of a baduk board with nearly no change in emotion, and I put so much effort into appearing expressionless amid silence but while experiencing extreme emotions such as explosive feelings and despair."

Director Kim, who also wrote the screenplay, not only interviewed Cho and Lee Chang-ho, but also perused articles and videos of them from the 1990s to truly capture their rivalry in the film. Kim said he focused on directing scenes of the match in a tense but lighthearted manner to have audiences unfamiliar with the game show interest in their competition.

"Like esports nowadays, baduk was all the rage at the time," the director said. "Cho Hun-hyun and Lee Chang-ho's rivalry had no guns or knives but was very intense and fierce."

While writing the first page of the script, Kim said he considered Lee Byung-hun "perfect" for the role, adding that he could not think of no one else who could delicately depict things like the appearance of a baduk player and the extreme emotions of confidence and despair when facing defeat.

"When I saw him on set facing the baduk board showing even the smallest shivers in his eyes, I again realized that this character was Lee Byung-hun's to play," the director added.

"The Match" is slated for release on March 26.

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