Issac Jung returns with blockbuster ‘Twisters’

Can Korean-American Director Isaac Jung Make Waves Again? Isaac Jung, the acclaimed Korean-American director, is back with his latest film, Twisters, set to be released in Korea on August 14. It's been three years since his breakout success with Minari (2021), which won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and earned Yoon Yuh-jung an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Now, Jung transitions from his earlier indie film Minari—which was made on a modest $2 million budget—to the blockbuster arena with Twisters, a $155 million cinematic spectacle. "I've dreamed of making a blockbuster film since I was a kid," Jung shared at a press conference in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on August 7. "I want people to experience the magical tornado up close."

Twisters centers on Kate, played by actress Daisy Edgar-Jones, a researcher at the New York Weather Service who chases tornadoes. While the plot may be straightforward, the film immerses audiences in a hyper-realistic tornado experience, especially when viewed in special formats like IMAX and 4DX. "The whole world is shrinking to the small screen of our smartphones, and we're losing the opportunity to look at something huge," said Jung. "In the safe space of the cinema, we will experience something much bigger than us."

Jung’s personal connection to tornadoes runs deep. Growing up in Arkansas, he vividly remembers the terror of fleeing from a tornado in a truck, a fear that found its way into Minari. In that film, the character Jacob, played by Steven Yeun, relocates his family to a rural farm in the southern United States to escape the threat of a tornado. "When I was shooting the barn burning scene in Minari, I knew I wanted to make a disaster film," Jung revealed to IndieWire on July 15.

The question is how Korean audiences will respond to Twisters, given their relative unfamiliarity with tornadoes. The 2014 film Into the Storm, which also featured a tornado, drew 2.07 million viewers in Korea. "There are times in life when we encounter unexpected things and lose control and feel helpless," Jung said. "I don't know if my next film will be closer to Minari or Twisters, but I want to take on another challenge, even if the audience has never experienced a tornado."


이호재 기자 hoho@donga.com