“We came to Earth with one goal in mind: to take over human brains and eat humans. We were born with that simple command and instinct,” says the pastor in the series ‘Parasyte: The Grey.’
Premiering on Apr. 5, the Netflix series ‘Parasyte: The Grey’ has topped both the English and non-English TV lists on Netflix globally for two consecutive weeks. The series’ name, similar to that of the film ‘Parasite,’ which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and was recognized as the best film of 2019, has piqued global curiosity since the trailer was released.
The terrifying idea of a parasite permeating a human brain and controlling its body comes from the Japanese manga ‘Parasyte.’ Director and screenwriter Yeon Sang-ho has created a local yet universal storyline and new characters set in Korea, featuring captivating action and visuals.
One of the tools Yeon chose to differentiate the film from the original is the relationship between humans and organizations. In the film, a parasitic biological organization seeks to dominate humans, and a human organization, The Grey, is formed to stop it.
The pastor, the mastermind of the parasitic organization, describes the relationship between “humans” and “organizations” in the film as follows: “Humans parasitize an immense entity called an ‘organization.’ They parasitize the intangible entity, an organization, and make sacrifices for it. They do things we do not comprehend that have nothing to do with their survival out of loyalty to that organization.”
“I wanted to show the relationship between humans and the organization they live in by showing how the organization treats individuals,” Yeon said. “In Parasyte: The Grey and my previous Netflix series ‘Hellbound,’ the church is presented as a negative organization, which I used to best show a spiritually bound organization.”
One of Yeon’s closest supporters in this creative endeavor is the director of Parasyte: The Grey, Yang Yoo-min, CEO of Wow Point, the production company behind the series.
Born in 1987, Yang began her career in the Global Business/BA team at the local broadcaster MBC group’s subsidiary iMBC, leading global business development of TV series mainly with the United States, Southeast Asia, and Japan.
Four years later, Yang was General Manager at the Motion Picture Association (MPA) Korea, overseeing content production. She then worked at BH Entertainment, a leading Korean actor agency, planning and producing overseas content for actors such as Lee Byung-hun, Park Hae-soo of ‘Squid Game,’ and Park Ji-hoo of ‘All of Us Are Dead.’
Yang built up her ability to produce Korean content overseas for over a decade. In 2021, she founded Wow Point, a global production company. Wow Point is a partner of director Yeon, who has also been pursuing content globalization.
The two formed the partnership because they share a vision that the globalization of Korean content is inevitable. Yeon said, “Globalization is urgent. The Korean market is not enough, and I think more people will be able to relate to my work if it goes global.”
Meeting at the Wow Point office in Sindang-dong, Seoul, on May 13, Yang expressed a similar vision: “As the Korean content industry develops rapidly, overseas business is inevitable. We need to create a natural collaboration system with professionals worldwide, including directors, writers, actors, and production companies, rather than just exporting Korean works overseas. Wow Point is where producers who share my goals have gathered.”
Wow Point’s first production was Yeon’s crime/mystery/thriller Netflix series, The Bequeathed, which was released this January. Wow Point helped bring Yeon’s long-cherished work to the world through the Netflix platform.
In addition to The Bequeathed and Parasyte: The Grey, Wow Point is currently working on Season 2 of Hellbound with Yeon, which will be released later this year.
Why do you think ‘Parasyte: The Grey’ topped the global Netflix charts?
“Honestly, we had a bit of expectation. As we kept working on it, we had to watch it dozens of times before the final release, and it never got old. The original work, the screenplay by Director Yeon, the CGI were all excellent and the only concern, overall dark tone of Director Yeon which often raises concerns about commercial appeal, was in the right balance this time. Being a Netflix series, we also pushed for higher quality in CGI and visual aspects.”
The original Japanese manga ‘Parasyte’ was first loved as an animation and a film in Japan, reaching second in popularity. Why do you think that is?
“The main focus was on respect and understanding of the original work. When we discussed acquiring the IP with the original author, we put a lot of thought into how to approach it. Besides the original author, ‘Parasyte’ is a national treasure in Japan with a strong fan base, so we also needed to appeal to them. The story begins with larvae, worm-like aliens, taking over the brains of human hosts, falling from the sky, which is a scenario that could happen anywhere, including Korea, which helped us gain sympathy. We concentrated on unifying the worldview. The appearance of the original protagonist, Shinichi Izumi, in the final episode was a key point that resonated with Japanese fans.”
What differentiates the series from the original?
“The original message is about how humans and society treat each other. Director Yeon used the element of ‘organization’ to portray this. He showed the intertwined relationships of churches, police forces, and local political organizations in Korea. It was well adapted to fit the Korean context. Although based on the original, we worked hard during the marketing process to ensure it wasn’t perceived as a mere remake. We had many discussions with Netflix about this.”
There are huge expectations for Season 2. Has the release date been set?
“It’s been just a month since Season 1 was released. The script still needs to be prepared. Since Season 2 will also be with Netflix, we need to discuss it with them first. As for casting, I want to work with the actors from Season 1 again. Of course, the dead ones won’t be able to return.”
You are also producing ‘Hellbound Season 2.’ What stage is it currently at?
“We’ve finished filming and are now in the editing stage. We expect it to be released within this year, probably towards the end of the year. Netflix should finalize it soon.”
What other projects are you working on?
“We are preparing a thriller drama ‘Project Y’ with actors Han So-hee and Jeon Jong-seo. It’s a story about two women in their 20s who accidentally find gold in Seoul’s Gangnam and steal it to turn their lives around. The script is ready, and we aim to start filming this year. We plan to discuss the release platform with OTT services.”
Are there any overseas projects?
“We are discussing co-productions in the US and Japan. While I can’t reveal specifics yet, we aim to collaborate on various projects internationally. Korea has many great creators, and I aim to connect them with overseas opportunities.”
What kind of content does Wow Point aim to produce?
“We want to tell a wide range of stories across different formats, including films, dramas, novels, webtoons, and graphic novels. To do this, we need investment, but the Korean market is too small for the content we want to create. We aim to expand the market scope to bring great content to the world and grow as a production company that can achieve this.”
