Seo Yea-ji Returns to Film in 'Geumwoldo' After 5 Years
Seo Yea-ji has been cast in "Geumwoldo," a mystery thriller built on a cannibalism case recorded in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, and it will be her first film in five years. Her agency, B.Wave Entertainment, confirmed the role on Nov. 4.
Seo plays Kim Ji-hoo, a woman who travels to the remote island of Geumwoldo after receiving a message from her mother. Once there, she starts investigating a series of mysterious incidents inside an insular community. Soompi reports that the role is expected to center on the psychological change of a character who tries to unravel the mystery while stuck in an unfamiliar place.
The film is also pitched as a Korean take on vampire mythology, which Soompi says is meant to set it apart from Western versions of the genre. Baek Dong-hoon, whose credits include "Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle," will direct. Filming is scheduled to begin in mid-November, with a theatrical release targeted for 2027. The reports reviewed name no co-stars and no distributor.
"Geumwoldo" will be Seo's first film since the 2021 thriller "Recalled." She returned to television in 2022 with tvN's "Eve," which Soompi links to on Viki. Her exclusive contract with her previous agency expired in 2023, after which she signed with a new management company. More recently she made her stage debut in the play "Death Song."
The Korea Times, citing its sister paper Hankook Ilbo, frames the casting as another step in a comeback that followed controversies in 2021. At the time she faced allegations involving controlling behavior toward her then-boyfriend, actor Kim Jung-hyun, as well as accusations about school bullying and her educational background. The paper reports that Seo and her then-agency addressed some of the allegations, after which she stepped away from public view.
For viewers outside Korea, Seo is best known for tvN's "It's Okay to Not Be Okay" in 2020, which streamed on Netflix. "Geumwoldo" is a different kind of project: a period-rooted horror mystery set on an island, led by a director who has so far worked in lighter material.
What is known so far is limited to the role, the director, the filming window and the 2027 target. The reports do not name co-stars, a distributor or shooting locations, and "Geumwoldo" is a romanized working title in both, so the film's official English title may differ when it is announced. Soompi's report cites Naver for the casting news.
Filming starts in mid-November. The agency has not announced a release month.
