Exploring the Chilling World of ‘살목지’: What Makes This Horror Film a Must-Watch in 2026?

Cast and crew at the ‘Salmokji’ press conference / Photo=TV Daily

[Sports Today reporter Jeong Ye-won] Director Lee Sang-min’s meticulous eye and the cast’s committed performances were the evening’s highlights. In a warm April that follows winter’s chill, Salmokji promises to cloak theaters in taut, slow-burning dread.

On the 24th, a press screening and conference for the film Salmokji (directed by Lee Sang-min; produced by The Lamp) were held at CGV Yongsan I’Park Mall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Lee Sang-min appeared alongside actors Kim Hye-yoon, Lee Jong-won, Kim Jun-han, Kim Young-sung, Oh Dong-min, Yoon Jae-chan and Jang Da-a.

Salmokji is a horror film in which an unknown form appears in a road-view image of Salmokji. A film crew that travels to a reservoir to reshoot soon confronts something occupying the dark, bottomless water. This marks Lee Sang-min’s first solo feature after a string of acclaimed shorts including Hamjinabi and Dollimgong.

‘Salmokji’ press conference — Director Lee Sang-min / Photo=TV Daily

Lee said he has long been a fan of horror and has been preparing to make one for some time. When he first encountered the Salmokji story, he felt the setting and the concept of a water ghost would allow him to create an original sensory experience rooted in space and atmosphere.

“I wanted to deliver an immersive, experience-driven horror about being possessed by a water ghost,” he said. “I staged scenes so the audience could focus on moments when characters fall under that spell as the plot unfolds. I worked to make reflections on the water’s surface feel uncanny. Seeing it in ScreenX — the three-panel format that expands across the side walls — made it much more vivid. I also loved the car sequence; that one really surprised me.”

Lee also talked about jump scares. “Personally, I enjoy well-timed jump scares. The tension you build just before the moment is part of what makes horror rewarding. I hoped the accumulated suspense would snap and let the audience release that stress. We used the space actively to shape the mood.”

The director acknowledged that the underwater sequences were a challenge for both him and the actors. “Safety was our top priority, and the cast put in tremendous effort. I’m fascinated by the crowd psychology of eerie imagery, and to deliver a visual shock we created corpse props and placed them in the set underwater.”

‘Salmokji’ press conference — Kim Hye-yoon, Lee Jong-won / Photo=TV Daily

Kim Hye-yoon plays Su-in, a producer at the road-view service OnRoad Media who heads to Salmokji for reshoots. “I’ve always loved horror, so I was excited throughout filming,” she said. “The script was strong, and this was a role I wanted to take on. I thought it would be an important credit.” Su-in is portrayed as the character who clings most tightly to reason, and Kim said she focused on conveying fear through subtle facial expressions and eye acting.

She recalled the nights at the reservoir: “The water looked completely black. From the boat, branches seemed to rise up — it felt eerie and bleak.”

Lee Jong-won plays Gi-tae, Su-in’s colleague and ex-boyfriend who arrives at Salmokji later. “Every moment was chilling,” he said, noting the care taken to render the details in scenes where the characters encounter something unidentified.

Lee, who reportedly screamed during the initial footage screening, smiled and added, “I didn’t jump today. I held it in.”

‘Salmokji’ press conference — Kim Jun-han, Kim Young-sung / Photo=TV Daily

Kim Jun-han plays Gyo-sik, a senior colleague whom Su-in trusts and who vanished after a trip to Salmokji. During the shoot, he recounted odd occurrences on set: staff reported seeing a passing child who might have been a ghost, and at the lodging a motion-sensor light kept turning off and on. “You encounter strange things when you work on genre films,” he said. “I told myself maybe it’s a good omen for the film.”

Given his character’s mystery, Kim said he and the director discussed carefully how much to reveal and how much to keep veiled.

Kim Young-sung plays Kyung-tae, head of the road-view filming team S&S Media. Although he doesn’t believe in ghosts, he said, “When we arrived at Salmokji my phone froze. Watching the film back, I think I was the most startled.”

He praised co-star Oh Dong-min, who plays his younger brother, for his professionalism. The two shared many scenes and often discussed the emotional beats together.

Oh Dong-min, cast as Kyung-jun, Kyung-tae’s younger brother and a member of the S&S Media crew, said the director checked fine details throughout. “I trusted him and followed his lead,” he said of Lee Sang-min’s direction.

He added that his off-screen rapport with Kim Young-sung helped shape their on-screen relationship. “He’s a genuinely great person. Some of my own instincts overlapped with the character — we had similar edges of irritation — and the director tended to side with Young-sung a bit (laughs). That balance created a good chemistry. It was freezing when we filmed the crying scene, but once the take started, he delivered.”

‘Salmokji’ press conference — the cast / Photo=TV Daily

Yoon Jae-chan plays Seong-bin, the youngest PD at OnRoad Media and half of a millennial/Gen Z couple. “Once we got to the location, our data and signal dropped partway through,” he said. “But whenever you moved closer to the water, the connection seemed to come back.”

Jang Da-a plays Se-jung, Seong-bin’s girlfriend and the other junior PD. “They offered me a role quite different from what I’ve done before, and I appreciated that,” she said. “The script was intriguing, so I accepted without hesitation. I was able to experience moments you don’t usually get to play, and I think this will nourish my future work.”

She added that one of her earliest dreams was to buy a ticket and see herself on the big screen, and she felt grateful to have worked with accomplished seniors sooner than expected.

“Because of the film’s nature, much of the shooting took place in confined spaces,” she said. “On screen, the spatial impact is strong. Strangely, the locations felt eerie even in daylight during filming.”

Se-jung’s descent into more harrowing territory developed beyond the early draft, she noted. “I wasn’t afraid. I communicated a lot with the director and was thankful to be able to create impactful scenes. I accepted the challenge willingly. The scenes were demanding, but we shot them hoping they would come out well.”

Meanwhile, Salmokji opens on April 8.

[Sports Today reporter Jeong Ye-won ent@stoo.com]
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