“Oh great, I’m going to be deported”: Beef Director Lee Sung Jin’s Career Flashed Before His Eyes When BTS’ RM Got Injured on His Set
Lee Sung Jin, the mastermind behind the hit Netflix series Beef, has been around for a long time. Although he has worked as a writer on several different series and even on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, he was not recognized until last year when he created the award-winning series.
The series’ success has not only launched him into the spotlight but also helped him get the chance to work with some of the biggest artists. One such artist is the popular South Korean boyband BTS member Kim Nam-joon, professionally known as RM. While Jin was working with Nam-joon on a project, an accident made the former think he was in trouble.
Lee Sung Jin Was Scared Out of His Mind After an Accident on the Set of RM’s Music Video
Soon after Steven Yeun-starrer Beef became a hit on Netflix, Variety reported that Lee Sung Jin signed a multiyear deal to produce content for the streamer. He is also working as a screenwriter on the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Thunderbolts, the last film of Phase 5.
Read More: Steven Yeun Failed To Cry During a Pivotal Scene in Netflix’s ‘Beef’ as It Didn’t Feel Authentic
Further, he also got to direct a six-minute-long music video for BTS’s Nam-joon for the song Come Back to Me. The video has turned out to be a beautiful short film. The song is on the singer’s sophomore album Right Place, Wrong Person has an acoustic vibe and begins with whistle sounds and guitar riffs.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jin recounted how things went a little sideways on the first day of the video shoot.
“First take of the very first scene, he (Nam-joon) bent down and his head hit the camera and it was a giant gash on his eye and immediately I thought, ‘Oh great, I’m going to be deported immediately because I’ve just scratched this national treasure.'”
However, the Wild Flower singer was absolutely calm about it as he went to the hospital to get the injury treated, and began shooting again like it was no big deal. Jin also praised the singer for his versatility and openness to getting directed.
Lee Sung Jin Picked Out the Best Professionals for the Music Video
In the interview, Jin also gave an insight into the overall making of the video and how different the song is in terms of tone from what K-pop is usually known to be. He gave his best in the video as he even hand-picked every professional.
The art director and production designer is Ryu Seong-hie (Memories of Murder), and the cinematographer is Kim Woo-hyung (Assassination). The video also features a great cast including Beef‘s Joseph Lee, The Glory‘s Kang Gilwoo, and many others.
Jin said how thankful he was to everyone for collaborating with him.
“I am so thankful to them for taking the time. I know music videos are always a little bit tough and a little bit of a grind, and the fact that they showed up and gave such incredible performances, I’m really thankful.”
The director likened the team of the music video to a superhero team as he labeled them ‘Korean Avengers’. He also revealed that he had never been to Korea after moving to America with his parents as a child.
Come Back to Me music video is available for watching on YouTube.
