According to author Hye Seung Chung, the use of silence in 3-Iron evokes the writing of Hungarian film theorist Béla Balázs, who described silence as "one of the most dramatic effects of the sound film". The film's use of silence is partly derived by Kim's experiences in Paris, France, where he learned to understand other people by observing their expressions and behavior, despite him not being able to understand the French language. In a 2005 interview with Time Out, Kim stated: "I want the audience to watch the characters more closely by reducing the dialogue as much as possible. Most movies have too much dialogue; I don't think words make everything understandable".
