16 Brilliant Korean directors
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Park Chan-wook was born on 23 August 1963 in Seoul, South Korea. He is a producer and writer, known for Oldboy (2003), The Handmaiden (2016) and Decision to Leave (2022). He is married to Eun-hee Kim. They have one child.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean filmmaker. The recipient of three Academy Awards, his filmography is characterized by emphasis on social themes, genre-mixing, black humor, and sudden tone shifts. He first became known to audiences and achieved a cult following with his directorial debut film, the black comedy Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000), before achieving both critical and commercial success with his subsequent films: the crime thriller Memories of Murder (2003), the monster film The Host (2006), the science fiction action film Snowpiercer (2013), and the black comedy thriller Parasite (2019), all of which are among the highest-grossing films in South Korea, with Parasite also being the highest-grossing South Korean film in history.
All of Bong's films have been South Korean productions, although both Snowpiercer and Okja (2017) are mostly in the English language. Two of his films have screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival-Okja in 2017 and Parasite in 2019; the latter earned the Palme d'Or, which was a first for a South Korean film. Parasite also became the first South Korean film to receive Academy Award nominations, with Bong winning Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, making Parasite the first film not in English to win Best Picture. In 2017, Bong was included on Metacritic's list of the 25 best film directors of the 21st century. In 2020, Bong was included in Time's annual list of 100 Most Influential People and Bloomberg 50.- Director
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- Producer
Kim Ji-woon was born in Seoul, South Korea. He began his career as an actor before becoming a stage director with productions such as "Hot Sea" in 1994 and "Movie, Movie" in 1995. He then began scripting for films, his first work, 97's "Wonderful Seasons" won Best Screenplay award at Korea's Premier Scenario contest, whilst his follow up The Quiet Family (1998) became not only his directorial debut, but also the source material for Takashi Miike's remake The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) in 2001.
With an official selection at the Berlin International Film Festival and Best Film award at the Fantasport Film Festival for "A Quiet Family", his next film, 2000's The Foul King (2000), was an instant domestic hit, maintaining the #1 spot for over 6 months, with over 2 million admissions, it was also a worldwide festival crowd-pleaser. The short Coming Out (2000) and his contribution to 3 Extremes II (2002) (alongside segments from Peter Ho-Sun Chan and Nonzee Nimibutr) followed and then he made the 2003 horror A Tale of Two Sisters (2003).
He is a fan of film-noir and claims that many of his films contain elements of noir, often mixed with black comedy. His movie A Bittersweet Life (2005) his full on film-noir gangster thriller masterwork.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Ryoo Seung-wan entered the global spotlight with his 2005 film CRYING FIST, starring Choi Min-sik (OLD BOY) and his younger brother Ryoo Seung-bum. The film displayed the director's capability to break traditional genre boundaries, and won him the FIPRESCI Prize at the 58th Cannes Film Festival and Best Director at the 2005 Busan Film Critics Association. Before and after CRYING FIST, his films DIE BAD and CITY OF VIOLENCE firmly established Ryoo as a master director of the action genre. THE UNJUST (2010), a tale of corruption among policemen and prosecutors, became a box office hit with more than 2.7M admissions, landing it on that year's top ten Korea box office list. In 2015, Ryoo wrote and directed an action-comedy film titled VETERAN. The film was a mega success both critically and commercially, earning $94M with a modest budget of $7.5M - the 5th all-time highest-grossing local film in Korean cinema history. Ryoo currently wrapped on his next film MOGADISHU, based on a true story set in the late 1980s as North and South Korea face an impasse over their campaigns to join the United Nations. The international blockbuster film is set to release in the summer of 2020. Ryoo is also a prolific and successful producer of many hit Korean films, through his production Filmmakers R&K.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Director Je-Kyu Kang was born in South Korea. Before directing his hit film Shiri (1999) pronounced "Shee Rhee", Kang nearly gave up the film business. After struggling for many years, he has finally become one of the premier directors in South Korea.- Director
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- Actor
Dong-hoon Choi was born in 1971 in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, South Korea. He is a director and writer, known for Assassination (2015), The Thieves (2012) and The Big Swindle (2004).- Writer
- Director
- Producer
He studied fine arts in Paris in 1990-1992. In 1993 he won the award for Best Screenplay from the Educational Institute of Screenwriting with "A Painter and A Criminal Condemned to Death". After two more screenplay awards, he made his directorial debut with Crocodile (1996) ("Crocodile"). Then he went on to direct Wild Animals (1997) ("Wild Animals"), Birdcage Inn (1998) ("Birdcage Inn"), The Isle (2000) ("The Isle") and the highly experimental Real Fiction (2000) ("Real Fiction"), shot in just 200 minutes. In 1999, Address Unknown (2001) ("Address Unknown") was selected by the Pusan Film Festival's Pusan Promotion Plan (PPP) for development.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Lee Chang-Dong was born in 1954 in Daegu, which some consider the most right-wing city in South Korea. Lee is a former high-school teacher and an acclaimed novelist. He turned to cinema when he was over 40 years old. His debut film "Green Fish" (1997) brought immediate success and critical acclaim. "Peppermint Candy" (2000), seemingly having the same 'lost innocence' theme as his former work, shoots fiery criticisms against the still-powerful remnants of the Korean military dictatorship regime. With "Oasis" (2002) Lee received countless awards, including the Special Director's Award at the Venice Film Festival. Since 2003, Lee worked as the Minister of Culture in the newly elected liberal national government.- Director
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- Producer
Hong Sang-soo was born on 25 October 1960 in Seoul, Korea. He is a director and writer, known for Right Now, Wrong Then (2015), Night and Day (2008) and The Woman Who Ran (2020).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Kim Sung-su was born on 15 November 1961 in Seoul, South Korea. Kim is a director and writer, known for Asura (2016), The Warrior (2001) and Please Teach Me English (2003).- Writer
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Na Hong-jin born in 1974 is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. His debut film The Chaser (2008) won Best Director at the 45th Grand Bell Awards in 2008. The film also won the award for Best Film. His follow up film, The Yellow Sea, was released in South Korea on December 15, 2010. It is scheduled to be screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Yong-hwa Kim is known for Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds (2017), Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days (2018) and Take Off (2009).- Director
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- Editor
Born in Changsong, Cheollanam-do, 2 May 1936. He grew up in the southern city Kwangju, where he completed senior high school. His family suffered considerable hardships and losses in the Korean War, so he had to move to Pusan in search of work: he was a labourer before trying to start a business recycling US Army boots into shoes. He moved to Seoul in 1956, where a film director Chung Chang-Hwa offered him work as a production assistant in exchange for room and board. Five years later Chung recommended him as a director, and he completed his first feature in 1962. He was a prolific director of films in various popular genres until the late 1970s but felt a deepening urge to make more serious films that first found in outlet in his 1978 film, Genealogy (1979) (Genealogy). Since 1981's Mandala (1981), he has been considered Korea's leading director. He and his films have won every possible prize in Korea's three annual film awards ceremonies, and a growing number of international festival prizes too. His film Sopyonje (1993) (is the most honoured Korean film ever made, with (to date) 27 domestic and three international prizes; it was also an enormous success in the Korean market.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Kang Woo-suk was born on 10 November 1960 in Gyeonggi-do, Gyeongsan, South Korea. Kang is a producer and director, known for Silmido (2003), Moss (2010) and Two Cops (1993).- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Lee Joon-ik was born on 21 September 1959 in Seoul, Korea. He is a director and producer, known for Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet (2016), The Throne (2015) and Anarchist from Colony (2017).