Omniscient Reader is adapted from the famous webtoon of the same name, about Kim Dok Ja (Ahn Hyo Seop) - the only reader of the fantasy novel The third way to survive in a desolate world that has been published for many issues over 10 years.
The day the novel ends, the events in it begin to happen in real life and Kim Dok Ja is the only one who knows how this world will end. Along with the main character of the novel Yoo Joong Hyuk (Lee Min Ho), Kim Dok Ja and her accomplices begin a survival struggle, determined to save the world from the end of the world.
In addition to Ahn Hyo Seop and Lee Min Ho, the film is noticed for the presence of famous stars including Jisoo (Blackpink), Chae Soo Bin, Shin Seung Ho, and Nana. The film's director is Kim Byung Woo - who "responsible" famous works such as "90 Minute horror", "Underground Campaign"...
Notably, although the film has currently reached a pre-booking rate of 20.7% in Korea, however, due to the recent crisis of the country's film industry, many released works have not achieved the expected revenue or reached the break-even level, "All Readers" is no exception to the above concerns.
On the other hand, before All Readers, many other Korean science fiction films were not well received by the audience due to many loopholes in plot.
In fact, Lee Min Ho himself confessed that he felt very pressured with this project, because the film industry was facing difficulties. At first, the actor was a bit hesitant to accept the role because the original webtoon was too famous. However, after carefully studying the character Yoo Joong Hyuk that he played, he was attracted.
On set, he maintained the goal of maintaining the characters integrity and emotional flow, while starting with the question, If I were Yoo Joong Hyuk, what would happen?.
For Lee Min Ho, All Readers is a film somewhat similar to the world we live in - with a message of solidarity and how each person is healed and comforted by others. This is also the reason why the actor hopes that the work will bring the audience interesting moments and become a successful project.
Meanwhile, director Kim Byung Woo also believes that the unique combination of reality and imagination will help All Readers attract audiences to the theater.
I clearly feel the crisis of the Korean film industry. Through this film, I want to prove to the audience that there are still films worth watching.
During the implementation process, we have tried to eliminate familiar conventions as much as possible. We are working hard to create a new type of entertainment that the audience may not have expected and hope this will be fully conveyed on screen - the director said.
All Readers is currently only adapting the first part of the novel with an open ending and no confirmation of the sequel, however, director Kim revealed that the story can continue to be depending on the theater situation and the level of love the audience has for the film.
The film will be released in Korea on July 23 and on August 1 in Vietnam.
