UPSIZE PH | 'Space Sweepers,' Korea's 1st space opera, npw on Netflix

“Space Sweepers,” a space sci-fi film, which stars Song Joong-ki, Kim tae-ri, Jin Seon-kyu and Yoo Hae-jin, is the first movie of its kind from South Korea's prolific and successful movie industry.

Directed by Jo Sung-hee of “A Werewolf Boy” and “Phantom Detective," "Space Sweepers was scheduled for release in theatres in the summer of 2020 but we all know what happened to the world last year.

Finally, “Space Sweepers” will be aired exclusively on Netflix today.

The story is set in 2092: Spaceship Victory is one of the many that live off salvaging space debris. The spaceship crew includes genius space pilot Tae-ho (Song Joong-ki), a mysterious ex-space pirate Captain Jang (Kim Tae-ri), a spaceship engineer Tiger Park (Jin Seon-kyu) and a reprogrammed military robot Bubs (Yoo Hae-jin), Spaceship After successfully snatching a crashed space shuttle in the latest debris chase, the crew finds a seven-year-old girl inside. They realize that she’s the human-like robot wanted by UTS Space Guards, and decide to demand ransom in exchange.

"This is truly the result of 10 years of planning,” said Jo Sung-hee in Korean during an online press conference organized by Netflix.

This is Song Joong-ki's return to the big screen after "Battleship Island in 2017. He had previously worked with Jo Sung-hee on "A Werewolf Boy."

"He proposed this role and when he said that, I immediately thought I would definitely do it. Back then, the storyline was a little bit different from what it came out to be. But when I first heard it from director Jo, I was really shocked because it's so new and fresh,” said Song Joong-ki.

“The script was amazing and I was really grateful to have been offered the role. And the first meeting he really told me about his vision and what he pictured the film would be," said Kim Tae-ri.

In "Space Sweepers," Yoo Hae-jin plays Bubs, a robot.

"At first, I thought ‘I’ll get to the set and I’ll be able to do what I always do,' but it was quite, quite challenging. I had all types of sensors on my body attached and I had to wear these tights and then we had to set the zero points for each scene. But all in all, it was a new experience and it was fun,” he said.

Jin Seon-kyu said acting in “Space Sweepers” was like being an athlete and playing with the flag of South Korea on his chest.

"I felt his (director's) passion for it and how well-prepared he was. On our first meeting, he already told me his vision for the film," said the actor.

"I’m also looking forward to the sci-fi films that will come out after ‘Space Sweepers.’ I’m proud and feel good that we were able to use ‘Space Sweepers’ as a starting point and combine our strength to film. As an audience member, I’m also really looking forward to it," said Kim Tae-ri.