Let’s Descend the Mountain, Dharma

Dae-bong (大峰• Lee Mun-sik) is sporting a pink shirt and a white hat. Hyeon-gak (玄覺•Lee Won-jong) appears disconcerted by the loud outfit.

“Dae-bong, I can live with the pink shirt, but couldn’t you at least wear a different-colored hat?” (Hyeon-gak)

“I wear whatever my stylist puts on me. I live in a state of ‘no brain’: I have no brain, so my mind is snow-white.” (Dae-bong)

“Please, that’s quite enough, my fellow monks.” (Cheong-myeong•淸明•Jeong Jin-young)

It’s been a month since shooting wrapped for “Let’s Go to Seoul, Dharma” (opening July 9), but these actors are still in character as the Buddhist monks from a secluded temple in the mountains, bickering with one another. We met with the three of them—reunited after the 2001 film, “Let’s Play, Dharma” (a.k.a. “Hi, Dharma”), which eventually drew a whopping 3.9 million people into theater seats domestically—on June 21 to talk about movies and life.

Relationality—

Jeong Jin-young: In January, we had our ordination and “yeon-bi (燃臂)” (the ritual burning of the arm with incense, as a pledge to withhold the Buddhist precepts) ceremonies done at a temple in Seoul. It was informal, but we had our heads shaved and even received proper Buddhist names.

Lee Won-jong: The marks are still there, although they’re pretty faint by now.

Lee Mun-sik: If it left distinct marks, it would be tattooing. But the bigger marks are in our hearts, even though we can’t show them to you. (He laughs.)

Whereas the first film recounted the standoff between gangsters and monks at a temple deep in the mountains, the sequel follows three of the monks on their journey to Seoul. Cheong-myeong and his fellow monks visit Musim Temple in Seoul to deliver the remains of their late head monk. There, they encounter Beom-sik (Shin Hyun-jun), who plans to build a new high-rise on the temple site. The company of monks stands against Beom-sik, on a mission to defend the temple.

Lee W.: I met Dae-bong on the stage circuit, but how did you two meet?

Jeong: We first met on the set of “Green Fish” (1997).

Lee W.: (Turning to Daebong) You really did “Green Fish”? What did you do?

Lee M.: Spoken like a layperson! What, you think I directed it? I acted in it, of course. I was a fish, you know, a fish.

Jeong: I wasn’t an actor then. I was the “baby” of the production team.

Lee M.: I’m not sure if I can even say that I “did” that movie… It was my first, and I played one of the three street scum that try to provoke the character played by Shim Hye-jin.

Critical Phrase (Hwadu•話頭)—

Jeong: If the first movie was about the heart, this one is about money. The critical phrase for “Let’s Play, Dharma” was “pour water into a cracked bucket”; this time around, it’s “put scattered prayer beads in your pocket without using your hands.” Want to know what that means? The answer’s in the film. (Laughs.)

Lee M.: In the movie, Daebong has taken a vow of silence. It was really depressing for someone as talkative as I am to remain speechless. I began to think about the meaning of life. The critical phrase of my life is “love.” Love gives me the strength to endure the world’s hardships, and putting love into practice seems to enrich my life.

Jeong: In Buddhist terms, I strive to “cleanse my karma.” If possible, I try to avoid accumulating bad karma and to resolve any negative karma that might have accrued. The show I’m currently hosting—“I Want to Know”—is a TV program that accumulates karma too, if you think about it. (Laughs.)

Lee W.: Cheong-myeong always gets a bad rap for talking like this. The character is really annoying to be around.

Lee M.: Reach enlightenment, Cheong-myeong.

Jeong: Like you said, reach enlightenment, Dae-bong.

Lee W.: Frankly speaking, I don’t get along very well with these two. The three of us are all miles apart in terms of personality. But acting isn’t done alone. A good movie comes out of lowering yourself and considering others. In my next life, I want to be a solo artist who works alone.

A Contest of Internal Strength—

In the film, the three monks face off with Beom-sik and his posse in an extraordinary contest of singing, drinking, and fist-fighting.

Jeong: How much can I drink? By the way, is it okay to publish this sort of stuff?

Lee W.: Cheong-myeong? He has longevity. If the “feeling” is right, he’ll be drinking till the crack of dawn. Dae-bong has a smaller “drinking capacity,” as it were, but he can toss down quite a few. I just “enjoy” drinking.

Lee M..: Cheong-myeong likes to talk when he gets a little grain wine in him.

Jeong: I have work during the day, so let’s get together again in the evening.

After seven hours, the party has reconvened, except for Dae-bong: he’s deep undercover in an undisclosed location, playing a detective for his next movie.

Gab-Sik Kim dunanworld@donga.com