Choejongmyeonjeop Turns a Job Interview Into a Thriller

In director Kim Jung-hoon’s mystery thriller Choejongmyeonjeop, six job applicants arrive at a final interview expecting a chance to succeed together. Instead, they must choose just one successful candidate themselves. 1 2

The applicants have spent a month preparing for a group discussion at a global IT company, hoping all six will pass. On interview day, they’re given two hours to reach their decision through discussion and voting. 2 It’s a sharp setup: the people being assessed must also become one another’s judges. 2

Then come the envelopes. Each bears an applicant’s name and contains another person’s past that they would rather keep hidden, according to Financial News. As the envelopes are opened, trust wavers and the applicants begin to see one another differently. 2

A young ensemble under pressure

Jo Yi-hyun plays Moon Hye-in, an observant applicant who assesses situations calmly. 3 Kim described Jo as bringing both brightness and vulnerability and a more cynical, resolute side to the central role. 1 That contrast makes Hye-in a compelling person to watch in a room where every revelation can change the discussion. 1 2 3

Jo is joined by Kim Jae-won, Shin Seung-ho, Kang You-seok, Kwak Dong-yeon and Bae Kang-hee. Kim said he had wanted to make a film led by young actors. 1

The director also said the six performers had comparable roles in the story, so they needed to coordinate their movements and emotional trajectories rather than work at entirely separate rhythms. Before filming, they discussed why characters moved as they did and held readings like a theater company. 1

Jo offered another glimpse of that preparation: after the interview-room set was built, the cast repeatedly rehearsed with the director using detailed storyboards. On days without filming, she said, they met in an office or rehearsal room to work through long stretches of dialogue and questions about the characters. 4

Making everyone look suspicious

Kim wanted each person to appear potentially guilty and hoped viewers’ sympathies would move from one character to another as the envelopes opened. 1 Jo said the team supported that goal with suggestive expressions and changes in camera angles, including in scenes where those choices hadn’t originally been intended. 4

The director singled out Kwak’s work in a scene where his character comes under suspicion. Kim said the moment could have felt predictable on the page, but that Kwak brought enough emotional energy to carry it. 1

The film adapts a Japanese best-selling novel, changing the original setting’s earthquake and hiring slump to the COVID-19 pandemic and a ban on gatherings of six or more people. 1 Financial News reported on November 2 that Choejongmyeonjeop was scheduled to open in theaters on November 4, 2026. 2