Guitar Man Director Kim Saeron Commercial Use? Never No, will be released in May as before

By Soyoon, Ahn

May 21, 2025

Guitar Man Director Kim Saeron Commercial Use? Never No, will be released in May as before
Selected director (left), the late Kim Sae-ron. Sports Chosun DB



Director Lee Seon-jeong, who co-directed the movie Guitar Man, expressed her feelings ahead of the release of the film in the absence of the late actor Kim Sae-ron.

Director Lee met with Sports Chosun at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 21st and said, `We did not commercially use Kim Sae-ron to promote the movie"It was released in May as originally aimed.

「Guitar Man」, which will be released on the 30th, is a movie about the love, loss, and journey of a genius guitarist Ki-chul who tries to find hope through connection with music despite the harsh reality, and director Kim Jong-myeon and Lee Seon-jeong took the megaphone.




Director Lee said, `I'm nervous ahead of the movie's release. Even the big actors say that they are nervous when the movie is released. I've been in business for a long time, so I haven't felt nervous, but it was kind of like that because movies are not my field."

Kim Sae-ron finished filming 'Guitar Man' in November last year, but sadly passed away in February this year. Recalling the time when he first encountered the sad news of the deceased, director Lee asked "I was contacted by the PD at first, "What does this mean?" It was already reported as an article, and it didn't feel real. At the time, I was preparing to edit with the aim of releasing it at the end of May. I hoped that Kim Sae-ron would return quickly, and I thought it would be better to show sincerity and leap forward again through independent films rather than large commercial films. He gave me a lot of advice during the shooting period," he recalled.

Guitar Man Director Kim Saeron Commercial Use? Never No, will be released in May as before
Provided with pictures of the movie "Guitar Man"=CMNIX
He also said that there were concerns from people around him about the timing of the release. Director Lee was also worried about 'Isn't he trying to consume the deceased commercially?' and 'Why is it released at this time?' But I'm proud. Even before Kim Sae-ron's death, he had already prepared for the release in May and conducted media interviews. I go with my conviction. It is not the personality to look at opportunities or move around by looking at their faces, he stressed. "There is no commercial purpose, no other intention."




Recently, Kim Sae-ron's bereaved family has been engaged in a legal battle over whether to date actor Kim Soo-hyun when the deceased was a minor. Director Lee responded, "I was worried a lot ahead of the movie's release. But don't you see Kim Sae-ron's bright side in the movie. I hope the audience who watched the movie will remember Kim Sae-ron's smile and his last passion for acting. It hasn't been long since this movie was filmed. I cranked in last September, so I wanted to take a moment to forget through the movie. I also took care to make Kim Saeron's smile come out better while editing." Finally, when asked if he invited the bereaved family of the deceased to the meeting, director Lee conveyed his desire to invite "but it was unclear whether he would participate or not because his mother was in poor health."," he replied.



antahn22@sportschosun.com