
It's surprising. The fact that the next work of the director of <Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time> (2012), <Kundo: Age of the Rampant> (2014), and <Narco-Saints> (2022) is such a stylish mystery series. The Disney+ series <Nine Puzzle> is like 'curry that tastes like black bean sauce' as described in the drama. If a familiar mystery is 'curry', Director Yoon Jong-bin added a 'black bean sauce taste' to create a unique mystery series. The 'black bean sauce taste' added by Director Yoon Jong-bin is the individuality, including the relationship between Ina (Kim Da-mi) and Han Saem (Son Seok-gu).
The individuality that might not seem to fit a mystery surprisingly does not feel out of place and acts as a 'kick'. Director Yoon Jong-bin built a comic-like worldview completely different from his previous works, achieving a delicate balance between reality and fantasy. It's like a 'balance of imbalance'. Like 'curry that tastes like black bean sauce', the unpredictable fun of the mystery and the quirky and lively characters are the two pillars that lead to the peculiar taste of <Nine Puzzle>. After the final episode was released and the culprit was finally revealed, I met Director Yoon Jong-bin in a certain place in Jongno-gu to hear about the behind-the-scenes of <Nine Puzzle>.


Previously, Director Yoon Jong-bin revealed a desire for new work. Do you feel that <Nine Puzzle> has fully satisfied that desire?
I have done a lot of works based on realism, based on reality. There are a lot of men in them. But when I first received the proposal for this work, the script was somewhat distant from the work I had done. It was a female-centered narrative, with a female main character. Also, the script itself was, of course, compelling, and I thought it had the power to keep you reading until the end. But after deciding to direct it, I wondered if this was possible in reality, whether Han Saem (Son Seok-gu) and Ina (Kim Da-mi) were characters that could really exist. So the answer I came to was that I needed to create a new worldview, a comic-like world rather than reality. I thought it would be a new work that I hadn't done before, and it was actually fun. I tried to express the character's personality, costumes, and acting in a comic-like way, and I deliberately set things like police cars, uniforms, and spaces differently from the reality of our country. So it was necessary to make the audience aware that 'we are in such a fictional world'.
The fact that the police in <Nine Puzzle> use MacBooks was intentional, right? (Laughs)
If you look at it overall, from hairstyles to costumes, I think I deliberately worked to keep it distant from reality.

<Nine Puzzle> is distinctly different in color from the works Director Yoon Jong-bin has directed so far. It might be considered an unexpected choice, but how did you come to direct <Nine Puzzle>?
After <Narco-Saints> ended, I was preparing a movie, and it wasn't a situation where I could realistically direct a series. But then Kakao Entertainment, the parent company of the film company Moonlight, asked if I could take a look at the script for <Nine Puzzle>, so I first saw it. At that time, it wasn't Disney+ but another global OTT we were talking to, but since I couldn't realistically direct the whole thing, I asked if I could just do the first three episodes of <Nine Puzzle>, and they said that was fine, so I started. But then the platform was decided to be Disney+, and Disney wanted me to direct the whole thing, so I did.
<Nine Puzzle> is the first work where Director Yoon Jong-bin directed without writing the script himself. How did you collaborate with the writer of <Nine Puzzle>?
I think I watched this script from the audience's perspective when I first saw it. Since it wasn't a script I wrote, if there are masters and novices in mystery, I think I'm at the novice level. So when I watched it, I was well caught by the writer's design. 'This person seems like the culprit, look here.' (I was) very faithfully caught and followed along. So I think I used the big framework of the whole story as the writer had laid it out, and what I modified were the details of the characters. Especially the details of Ina and Han Saem's characters were modified a lot while talking with the actors. Since it was my first time doing such work, fortunately, the writer said I could freely change it, so I think I modified it freely.
Then how were the characters of Ina and Han Saem originally described in the script, and what settings did you add?
How I interpreted the script's Ina was, in today's terms, 'girl crush'. She was bold, straightforward, and professional. She was closer to that kind of character. But the character of Ina that I and actress Kim Da-mi captured was changed to a character with a childlike feeling and pain, regressed due to the trauma of witnessing her uncle's murder when she was in high school. If you watch episode 1, there's a scene where Ina faces a murder case in high school, and as time passes, she bungee jumps in the present. And she goes to counseling at a psychiatrist. And I thought it was necessary to change the characters to be more comic-like, so I raised Ina's tone. Also, I thought it was necessary to raise Han Saem's tone, so he comes out wearing a beanie every day, and tattoos were added, which weren't originally in the setting.

Ina is a character that deviates from the typical profiler. Unlike a typical detective or profiler character, why did you depict Ina as a pure child?
It was a matter of choice. Of course, if I had drawn her as a typical profiler, it might have been easier to accept. When you think of a profiler, there are certain character traits people expect. Intellectual, cold, professional. But the reason I thought I should approach it differently is that I felt <Nine Puzzle> was closer to a detective story than a police story. I thought Ina's way of reasoning, her profiling method, was closer to a detective story that relies on genius intuition rather than evidence, so I tried to make Ina look like a detective. Always wearing a tie, coming out with glasses.
Ina often uses red props. Because of this, many people tried to deduce things based on color.
Since the subject of the work is serial murder, the main color had to be red. So consistently, Ina's car, suitcase, and phone were all matched in red, and conversely, Han Saem used a lot of green or dull colors. Han Saem's house has a lot of green. And the tone in between was Han River Police Station, which was like yellow.

Regarding Ina's character, viewers have said she seems 'mischievous'. What do you think about this evaluation?
We also actually said a lot that Ina is like 'Detective Conan' and 'Boss Baby'. She is clearly a comic-like character.
Ina's reasoning method is unique. Especially the scene where Ina profiles by embodying the culprit was interesting. Why did you use this expression method?
I talked a lot with actress Kim Da-mi about how to convey Ina's character to the viewers. You may have noticed, but the way Ina speaks and her tone change slightly as the episodes progress. If episode 1 was the most childlike, the tone gradually changes to give the feeling that Ina is growing, becoming an adult. So when profiling, embodying the culprit, it was a bit creepy yet lively, and I enjoyed watching it on set.
If there is a scene that symbolizes <Nine Puzzle>, it might be the scenes where Ina simulates the crime scene from the black box. I heard there was a lot of thought put into directing these scenes.
I had fundamental concerns. When you think about what kind of person Ina is, she is someone who only sees what she focuses on. So she speaks directly and can't talk in a roundabout way. Since she is a child who gets caught up in one thought, I thought of processing everything else in black except for what Ina is focusing on.
Listening to what you said, it seems like a lot of the actors' ideas were reflected in the work. How was the collaboration with actors Kim Da-mi and Son Seok-gu?
They were all gentle and diligent. Actor Son Seok-gu approached me first, so we worked comfortably, and with actress Kim Da-mi, we started speaking informally after all the filming was over. (Laughs) Actress Da-mi is also an extreme introvert, and so am I.
<Nine Puzzle> is an 11-episode series, which is uncommon. Was it originally planned to be 11 episodes?
It was originally 12 episodes, but I suggested removing one. We took out an entire episode. But it wasn't related to the main incident.
※The following contains spoilers, including the culprit of <Nine Puzzle>.

<Nine Puzzle> was released over three weeks. Every time an episode was released, viewers engaged in heated discussions. What did you think while watching the viewers' reasoning?
There were many cases where things that weren't clues were taken as clues. I think the viewers were very active in their reasoning. The curry story of Han Saem and the story of Han Saem's deceased father were like that. We didn't intend to deceive, but they were very creative in their reasoning.
Many people thought Han Saem was the culprit.
I was also very surprised. I also went into <Nine Puzzle> Naver Talk, and more than half thought Han Saem was the culprit. I thought no one would think Han Saem was the culprit. Within our production team, there were talks about Yang Jeong-ho (Kim Sung-kyun), Hwang In-chan (No Jae-won), and eventually Ina, but when I saw the reasons viewers deduced Han Saem, it was quite plausible.
There was also a reaction suspecting the youngest detective Choi San, played by actor Hyun Bong-sik, as the culprit.
The original setting was really 'the youngest MZ detective'. So while casting for the role of Choi San, I didn't have the actor I wanted. So I was thinking, and actually, actor Hyun Bong-sik is younger than actor Son Seok-gu, so I thought that would make sense. But since Bong-sik has such an old-looking face, I thought it wouldn't make sense to just say he's an old-looking detective, so I set it as someone who joined a bit late, but I did think the audience would suspect because of that.

<Nine Puzzle> features glamorous cameos. Why did you cast such prominent actors like Ji Jin-hee, Lee Sung-min, and Hwang Jung-min?
I didn't start thinking I had to cast such actors from the beginning. Characters like Lee Mi-young (Ye-won) and Kang Chi-mok (Lee Hee-jun) initially had no lines and appeared as corpses, but they appear again in the latter part. So they had to be well-matched, but from the viewer's perspective, (if the actor's face isn't well-known) it might not be well-imprinted. Also, if the audience doesn't know who Ina's uncle (Ji Jin-hee) is, it would be hard for them to follow. So actor Ji Jin-hee was cast because actor Son Seok-gu asked him, and Ye-won, who I worked with during <Narco-Saints>, is a well-known face to the public, and her role as a whiskey bar owner matched her image well, so she was cast. For the role of Do Yoon-soo, I was looking for someone with presence and good acting, and I ended up asking actor Lee Sung-min. As for actor Hwang Jung-min, while having a meal with me, he asked if there was anything he could help with, so I ended up asking him. One by one, it came to this point. I didn't have many other options. It had to be imprinted in the viewers' minds. People say I'm showing off my connections, but actually, asking for favors is harder. It's something I have to repay someday.
In the latter part of <Nine Puzzle>, the culprit is revealed, and the reason for the serial murders is explained. However, some viewers feel it's a shame that the method of the culprit's murders isn't detailed.
I thought the storytelling of the script itself was designed to focus on 'why' rather than 'how'. Why did this happen, why did the character Lee Seung-joo (Park Gyu-young) plot this, and I felt it was storytelling that explained the justification. The biggest problem with most mystery thriller genres is that the obsession with twists often undermines the justification and persuasiveness of the conclusion. I was convinced by the story related to 'The One City' and redevelopment that the writer had laid out. Personally, the setting I added was, after watching it all, I was curious about 'then how did Han Saem's mother end up living in The One City?' So I added the setting that she got the apartment through a subscription at the end.
As you mentioned earlier, it's a work based on a somewhat comic-like worldview, but the latter part is somewhat realistic. Was the incident in the latter part inspired by the Yongsan tragedy?
I also asked the writer, and they said it wasn't, and it's a bit different from the Yongsan case. The incident in <Nine Puzzle> is about a demolition service company, and there is actually a notorious service company in our country. There are papers documenting cases of people who suffered because of that company. So while preparing, I looked at many such cases, and the act of setting fire to drive people out is called 'rabbit hole hunting'. So I wrote it inspired by such real cases.

<Nine Puzzle> features both spaces that seem unreal and spaces that could exist in reality. What was the focus of the production design?
If you watch <Nine Puzzle> until the end, the main theme of this work is ultimately the redevelopment issue. So I tried to show the contrast between the old and the new spatially. So if you look, the police headquarters has a new building feel, and the Han River Police Station has an old exterior with a modern interior. Also, Han Saem's house is a very old apartment that seems like it will soon be redeveloped.
Actress Park Gyu-young is listed as a special appearance in <Nine Puzzle>. She has a lot of screen time, but was she a special appearance?
If we listed actress Park Gyu-young as the main cast, viewers would 100% think she's the culprit, so it was an unavoidable method. In the credits of episode 11, she is listed as the main cast.
The line Seung-joo says at Dreamland in the final episode was impressive. "Why kill people to make a place for people to live?" This line seemed to encapsulate the message of the work. It seems like you put a lot of effort into directing this scene.
I thought it was the line that best explained this work. It was originally another character's line, but I changed it to Seung-joo's line. In a country like Korea, where everything is concentrated in Seoul, urban redevelopment is inevitable, but there have been many tragedies and pains because of it.
Seung-joo meets her end at Dreamland. But the method of suicide she chose, burning, is the most painful way to die. Why did you depict this ending?
In the script, it was originally about taking drugs to commit suicide. But I thought that was a bit weak, so I thought about how this person should die. In the end, I thought the only way she could ask for forgiveness from her mother, whom she hated in the past, was to die in the same way her mother did, by burning. I think the last and greatest punishment she could give herself was burning.
In the final episode, Ina and Han Saem receive a new puzzle, and the work ends. Did you plan the worldview with season 2 in mind?
As a director, I thought I shouldn't close the possibility of season 2. Because whether I do it or not, it's a work that has the potential to go as a series. I think the will of Disney+, Kakao Entertainment, and the writer is the most important for season 2, don't you think? I don't think I can write the script.

Do you have any intention of doing another mystery work?
I don't think the genre is very important. I think what's important is whether the story is attractive and engaging, and if there's an opportunity, I can try other genres. But actually, as long as it's not a romantic comedy, I think I can do anything. I don't have the DNA for rom-coms.
Is your next work a movie?
I've been thinking about making a script I wrote around 2015 into a movie, and now it's becoming concrete, so I think I'll start filming around next spring. It's a movie with only men, as I've been doing. (Laughs) It's the second work with soldiers as the main characters since my debut work <The Unforgiven>.