Abhiroop Das
Helmed by Lee Jung-hyo, Netflix’s ‘The Price of Confession,’ originally titled ‘Jabaegui Daega,’ is a Korean series that follows An Yun-su, a painting teacher whose life turns upside down when her husband, Lee Ki-dae, is murdered. Worse, all the evidence points to her being the perpetrator, and as the murder case turns into a national headline, people are quick to dismiss any and all claims of her innocence. All of a sudden, Yun-su finds herself in prison, where every corner appears to be more hostile than the last. However, a chance encounter with an inmate and murderer named Mo Eun opens up her path to escape, albeit in a roundabout fashion.
Mo Eun offers a very unique deal, promising to take the blame for Lee Ki-dae’s killing, in return for Yun-su taking a life herself. Thus begins her journey into a reality where her very sense of right and wrong is put into question. In doing so, this psychological mystery thriller series captures the nuances of life in prison and the entire spectrum of its psychological effects.
The Price of Confession is an Intersection of Two Fictional Murder Mysteries
‘The Price of Confession’ is a fictional story penned by writer Kwon Jong-kwan, which chronicles an unlikely partnership between two prison inmates, one innocent and the other guilty. As such, two murder cases serve as the driving engines of this narrative: that of an artist named Lee Ki-dae, and a dentist couple, who are killed in cold blood by their personal chef, Mo Eun. While both these cases are invented constructs, they introduce a sense of realism into the story, simultaneously opening the doors to a number of intense themes that come with a prison setting. The show also reflects some elements of a police procedural narrative, shining a light on the many moving parts that go into a criminal investigation.
While the show’s sensitive approach to the fictional murders and their investigation already grounds it in reality, the worldbuilding also plays a major role in the process. Notably, the crew invented a detention center exclusively for the story, alongside other crafted businesses and fixtures, all of which come to flesh out the narrative. To that end, much of the filming took place on-site, in and around Gyeonggi province, in South Korea, with an actual former detention center being transformed into Gyeonggi Bukbu Detention Center for the show. With real-life locations adding texture to the series’ visual storytelling, the actors and their performances seamlessly took the center stage.
The Price of Confession Was Molded by the Actors’ Interpretations of the Story
At a media conference in CGV Yongsan I’Park Mall in Seoul, South Korea’s capital city, lead actors Jeon Do-yeon and Kim Go-eun spoke about the creative processes that gave ‘The Price of Confession’ its shape as a story. Go-eun, who essays the role of Mo Eun, had reportedly come across the story during its early planning stages. Later, when she learnt of Do-yeon’s involvement in the series as the protagonist, An Yun-su, Go-eun returned to the script with a whole new perspective, and eventually joined the cast as the enigmatic killer.
Interestingly, Do-yeon’s introduction to the story was the exact opposite; she recalled that the director, Lee Jung-hyo, did not have a script when he first approached her, but instead had the idea of a thriller about two women in mind. This concept likely formed the foundation for the narrative, enabling the writing team to refine the story with fictional details. Actor Park Hae-soo, who steps into the role of Prosecutor Baek Dong-hun, initially had an altogether different perspective on the show, believing it to be a romance genre narrative. This ended up informing the ‘Squid Game’ star’s performance to a great extent, as he interpreted the “confession” in the title in a romantic context, further highlighting the story’s flexibility as a fictional construct.
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