Production
Keigo Higashino's story Journey Under the Midnight Sun was first serialized in Shueisha magazine from 1997 to 1999, then compiled into a novel. It has been adapted several times, among them the Japanese drama Byakuyakō which aired on TBS in 2006, and the 2011 Japanese film Into the White Night.
Director Park Shin-woo was inspired to write the script after being impressed with the novel Journey Under the Midnight Sun. He sent the screenplay to author Keigo Higashino, who said it was "superb," and allowed it to be adapted into a film.
White Night is Park's feature directorial debut. He first drew attention after his short film About a Bad Boy won the jury award at the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival.
Actress Son Ye-jin was Park's first and only choice for the role of Yoo Mi-ho after having attended high school with her in Daegu. He said, "She was very quiet back then. I've seen her onscreen and thought she was very talented because she pulled off characters that were so different from how she was like in real life." Though Son was extremely flattered and called the project "her destiny," she didn't find the role easy because she was unaccustomed to playing a character so dark and sinister, and "wanted to make her look like someone deserving sympathy." For Son, the most difficult scene to film was the one in which her character appears nude and comforts her fiance's daughter after she is sexually assaulted by Yo-han. Son expressed her concern that the scene might be misinterpreted by audiences as vulgar or gratuitous, stressing that the scene is painful and a glimpse into Mi-ho's state of mind.
The director then cast Han Suk-kyu as Han Dong-soo. The actor, then-44 years old, had initially turned down the role because he felt he was too young to play the 50-year-old detective. Han said, "I wished I would have been 10 years older, so I refused the part. But the director wrote me a handwritten letter explaining why he had to use me for the part... When I met him I was convinced by his sincerity, and I thought perhaps I wasn't challenging myself enough as an actor."
This was actor Go Soo's first onscreen role after his two-year mandatory military service. Go said he decided to play Kim Yo-han because he was "completely absorbed by the intriguing storyline."
The film was produced by Kang Woo-suk, who has directed several Korean blockbusters, including the Public Enemy series (Public Enemy, Another Public Enemy, and Public Enemy Returns) and Silmido. Kang said, "Frankly I'm not a big fan of works based on Japanese comic books or novels. But I read this story and thought the cultural values and sentiments were very relatable." Kang, who rarely attends promotional press events for his films but attended the press conference for White Night, said he did it because he "really believed in the project and our young director who helmed it."
