Kim Jee-woon

Kim Jee-woon
KimJiwoon08TIFF.jpg
Born (1964-07-06) July 6, 1964 (age 58)
Seoul, South Korea
Other namesKim Jee-woon
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
Years active1998–present
Relatives
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationGim Ji-un
McCune–ReischauerKim Chiun

Kim Jee-woon (Korean김지운; born July 6, 1964) is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, and producer. Kim was a theater actor and director before debuting with his self-written and directed film, The Quiet Family in 1998. Kim has worked with increasing levels of success in cinema, showing accomplished acting and a detailed stylization in his films. He is currently one of the most talented and recognized writers/directors in the Korean film industry.

Kim is growing substantially both as a director and a visual stylist as demonstrated by two of his films A Tale of Two Sisters and A Bittersweet Life both of which were received as critical and commercial successes. He is also known for his films The Foul King (2000), I Saw the Devil (2010), and The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008).

Early life

Kim Jee-woon was born on July 6, 1964 in Seoul, South Korea and is the youngest of six siblings. He grew up in Samgak-dong, a neighborhood between present day Jongno and Euljiro. His grandfather was a tailor. As a youth, Kim was frequently taken to the cinema by his father and exposed to many European classic movies which inspired his dream of film.

In 1983, Kim entered the Department of theater at Seoul Institute of the Arts. After dropping out of school, Kim stayed in Paris for three months in 1991 and watched about 100 films during Cahiers du Cinéma’s 40-year anniversary film festival. Kim built up his career in the field by writing and directing several plays including Hot Sea (1994) and Movie Movie (1995). He also acted onstage in the musical Guys and Dolls (1983) and the play The Seagull.

Career

Debut as screenwriter and director (1994-2002)

Kim begin his film career as assistant director for Lee Sung-soo's 1994 film The Young Lover. In 1996, Kim started his career as a screenwriter by chance, because he was in a car accident and had to pay for the repairs, which amounted to KRW 6 million ($5,300). Kim won a competition in the movie magazine Premiere with his script entitled "Wonderful Seasons."

In 1997, Kim went to a ramen shop, and the lady owner used Cine21 magazine instead of a tray. The magazine had an advertisement about the 1st Cine21 Screenplay Contest stating it was a week before the deadline. Kim wrote a film script entitled "The Quiet Family", and won first prize. The screenplay went into several film production companies, but couldn't find the right director. Eventually Kim got the opportunity to direct his first feature film, The Quiet Family (1998), a horror/drama/comedy about a family who owns a mountain inn whose guests continue to commit suicide. The film was his first collaboration with actors Choi Min-sik and Song Kang-ho. The film won Best Live Action film at the 1999 Fantasporto festival, and Best Director and Best Film at the Malaga International Week of Fantastic Cinema. It was also nominated for Best Film at the 1998 Sitges - Catalan International Film Festival.

In 2000, Kim directed and wrote his second feature film, The Foul King (2000), which reunited him with Song Kang-ho. The film follows an unproductive and incompetent bank clerk (played by Song Kang-ho) who escapes his demanding, alpha-male boss by entering the pro-wrestling ring and fighting under a pseudonym, "The Foul King." The two worlds eventually end up colliding. The film won Best Director at the 2001 Milan International Film Festival and an Audience Award at the Udine Far East Film Festival.

In 2001, Kim directed and wrote a short film entitled Coming Out (2001). The film is about vampires, among other things, and Kim wrote and directed Coming Out as part of a project to distribute three digital short films online. It was also commissioned by venture group Media 4M, and the project also included shorts by Jang Jin and Ryu Seung-wan. Coming Out was shot with a Canon XL-1 camcorder during a time when digital filmmaking in South Korea was still in its infancy, and it went on to inspire many other digital productions. It was shown at the Fantasia Festival and the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival in 2001, and the Thessaloniki International Film Festival in 2005. Coming Out was also included as a special feature on the UK DVD release of The Quiet Family, and a review at DVDActive praised it as "delicate, cerebral and contemporary cinema at its most profound."

Kim next wrote and directed the "Memories" segment in the omnibus film, Three (also known as Three Extremes II), also featuring segments directed by Peter Chan and Nonzee Nimibutr. The segment starred Kim Hye-soo.

Breakthrough (2003-2013)

In 2003, Kim wrote and Directed A Tale of Two Sisters (2003), which won a number of awards at a number of film festivals including the Fant-Asia Film Festival (most popular film), Best Actress (Im Soo-jung), Best Director and Best Film at the Fantasporto, Best Picture at Screamfest Horror Film Festival, Grand Prize and the Youth Jury Grand Prize at the Gerardmer Film Festival, and acting awards for Im Soo-jung and Yum Jung-ah at the Blue Dragon Film Awards and the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. The film was later remade into the 2009 U.S. film The Uninvited, starring Emily Browning, with Kim being credited with an original story/writer credit.

In 2005, Kim wrote and directed A Bittersweet Life (2005), his first collaboration with actor Lee Byung-hun (whom he would later work with in The Good, the Bad, the Weird and I Saw the Devil (2010). The film was an ultra-stylish and ultra-violent gangster and mobster picture that was both a critical and commercial success in South Korea. The film was released theatrically in South Korea on 1 April 2005. It opened on 265 screens throughout the country, and registered a total of 1,112,950 admissions by the end of its run. Lee Byung-hun won Best Actor at the Baeksang Arts Awards and Hwang Jung-min won a Best Supporting Actor award at Korea's Grand Bell Awards. Kim also won the "Action Asia Award" at the 2006 Deauville Asian Film Festival.

In 2008, Kim wrote and directed The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008), his tribute to Sergio Leone's western action film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). He would re-team again with Song Kang-ho (who played "The Weird") as well as Lee Byung-hun (who played "The Bad") in the film. The film takes place in 1930s Manchuria and chronicles the struggles of the three main characters in trying to find a piece of treasure. The film won an Achievement in Cinematography Award from the 2008 Asia Pacific Screen Awards, won Best Supporting Actor for Jung Woo-sung (the "Good") at the 2009 Asian Film Awards, and won Best Director and Best Special Effects at the 2008 Sitges - Catalan International Film Festival.

In 2010, Kim directed, based on a screenplay from Park Hoon-jung, the thriller I Saw the Devil, the first time Kim directing a film while adapting a script from someone else. Choi Min-sik who worked with him in A Bittersweet Life, played the serial killer, came to him with the script. Kim first impression of the script was it felt very new and powerful, with a brutal and tough side to it, which got him interested. Kim thought one of the most important things was to find the right antagonist for Choi's character. He met Lee Byung-hun whom he worked with previously on The Good, the Bad, the Weird in a festival and he agreed to headline the film. The film won a number of awards, including Best Director and Best Film at Fantasporto, Special Jury Prize, Audience Award, Critics Award at the Gerardmer Film Festival, Best Lighting at the Grand Bell Awards, Best Foreign Language film from the Austin Film Critics Association and Best Editing from the 2011 Asian Film Awards.

In 2012, Kim directed and wrote the segment known as "The Heavenly Creature" about a robot who achieves enlightenment in a Buddhist temple, in 2012 omnibus film Doomsday Book (Yim Pil-sung directed the other two segments). The film won Best International Film at the Fantasia Festival and a Special Award at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival.

US Debut and recent works (2013 to present)

In 2013, Kim made his U.S. feature directorial debut, featuring the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger to lead acting roles, The Last Stand, for Lionsgate Films. The film also starred Johnny Knoxville, Forest Whitaker, Peter Stormare, and Daniel Henney.

"[…] Kim Jee-woon is a person who creates very creative shots. He came up with a lot of ideas even though his on-site schedule was tight, and his instantaneous and intuitive judgments were excellent. In fact, at first, he was very worried about communication problems with him, but it didn't really matter once he started filming."

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cine21' interview

In October 2013, it was announced that Kim is set to direct the movie adaptation of Ed Brubaker's pulp crime comic Coward. However that wasn’t realized, so affter his US debut, Kim returned to Korea.

In 2013, Kim premiered his short, The X, in the Gala Presentation category at the Busan International Film Festival. Kim, filmed The X using his country’s new multi-projection technology, ScreenX. ScreenX technology expands the movie's display onto the sidewalls of the theater, allowing certain scenes to wrap around the audience by capturing them in 270 degrees. In addition to this visual technology, SoundX was also created to enhance the overall experience by conveying a more immersive sense of space and distance. These innovative creations enable viewers to be fully surrounded, and in addition, they offer exciting new narrative possibilities for filmmakers.

Kim Jee-woon was honored at the Gérardmer Film Festival in 2014, where his previous works had also been recognized. He had previously received the Grand Prize in 2004 for A Tale of Two Sisters (2003), as well as the Critics' Prize and Audience Prize in 2011 for I Saw the Devil (2010).

On August 3, 2015, it was announced that Warner Bros. would finance and distribute its first ever Korean-language 1930s set drama Secret Agent, and the $8.62 million budgeted film would also be produced by Grimm Pictures. The project and script was developed by Lee Jin-sook, which Kim Jee-woon would direct and the cast would be Song Kang-ho and Gong Yoo. A trailer was released on July 14, 2016, revealing the new title as The Age of Shadows. On August 30, 2016, The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) has announced today that The Age of Shadows has been selected as South Korea's official entry for the best foreign-language film category at the 89th Academy Awards.

From 2017 to 2018, Kim filmed the science fiction action film Illang: The Wolf Brigade, a remake of the 1999 anime film Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade It was released in the summer of 2018 and features a star-studded cast that includes Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung, Kim Mu-yeol, and Choi Min-ho.

From October 31 November 9, 2019, to Kim's The Foul King was selected as one of selection of 18 films in Celebration of 100 years of Korean cinema in 7th Korean Film Festival Brussels.

"There's a different kind of pressure when you're working on a TV series because films are mostly two hours long, whereas for TV series, this one was six hours long," says Kim. "I wanted to make sure that each episode told a complete story in itself, while hooking the audience to watch the following episode. I had to be extra careful and more creative with building the plot."

—Kim Jee-woon Forbes' interview

Before, in May 2019, YG Entertainment's drama production subsidiary YG STUDIOPLEX announced that Kim will direct the company's adaptation of the Daumwebtoon Dr. Brain, created by Mister Hong. In October 2020, several Korean news outlets reported that the adaptation was picked up by Apple TV+, becoming the latter's first Korean language original series. Titled Dr. Brain, it will have six episodes aimed for broadcast in 2021. Dr. Brain is a sci-fi thriller about a scientist who uses advanced technology to access the memories of his deceased wife.

Kim reteam for the fifth time with Song Kang-ho, for his film Cobweb. In addition to Song, the ensemble cast includes Im Soo-jung, Oh Jung-se, Jeon Yeo-been, and Krystal Jung. Written by Shin Yeon-shick, the film was the first project of Anthology Studios, a production house co-founded by Kim, Song and Jay Choi (previously local production head for Warner Bros Korea), which was acquired by JTBC Studios in early 2021. Cobweb has been invited to the out of competition section of the 76th Cannes International Film Festival which will be held in May 2023.

In May 2023, Kim signed with Creative Artists Agency.

Filmmaking

Style

Kim is known for pushing the boundaries of genre in his works. He has written and directed masterful works spanning a range of genres including horror, comedy, sci-fi, noir, western, and spy thriller. Rather than relying on a formulaic approach, Kim's filmmaking involves exploring a wide range of eras, styles, and genres with impressive skill. Kim's directing techniques are characterized by smooth camerawork and his use of classic colors, lighting effects, and rich architectural set design, which are prominent features of his visual storytelling.

Due to his background in directing plays before entering Chungmuro, Kim is often regarded as having a theatrical style. This seems reasonable given that he creates talkative comedies in which dialogue plays a large part. Kim's comedies feature a large proportion of visual gags that actively utilize the camera and editing.

Furthermore, Kim places great emphasis on the DVD releases of his films and goes to great lengths to package them with extensive documentary materials and revealing commentary tracks.

Influences

Kim mentioned more than once that he were inspired and influenced by the works of French auteur Jean-Pierre Melville, whose films he watched as a child. A Bittersweet Life was like a Koreanized Melville. In the final gunfight of the film, his main references were Quentin Tarantino's film Kill Bill and Brian De Palma's film Scarface.

Regarding the visual style of film I Saw the Devil, Kim drew inspiration from David Fincher's Zodiac, specifically the colors and contrast used in that film to capture the mood of the time period.

Collaborators

Kim thinks that the role of cinematographer and artistic director are immensely important in film production. Kim has formed several long-lasting partnerships and close collaborators. Kim collaborated extensively with cinematographer Lee Mo-gae particularly on A Tale of Two Sisters (2003), directed The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008), I Saw the Devil (2010), and Illang: The Wolf Brigade. Kim and cinematographer Kim Ji-yong worked together on three different projects, in A Bittersweet Life (2005), The Last Stand (2013), and The Age of Shadows (2016).

After collaborating on I Saw the Devil (2010), Kim and music director Mowg went on to work together on a number of other projects, including Doomsday Book (2012), The Last Stand (2013), One Perfect Day (short film 2013), The X (short film 2013), The Age of Shadows (2016), Illang: The Wolf Brigade (2018), Untact (short film 2020), and Dr. Brain (2021).

Kim has a talent for attracting top-tier acting talents, with some of Korea's most well-known stars, such as Choi Min-sik and Song Kang-ho, being integral parts of his casting selection. He is strongly associated with Song Kang-ho, who has appeared in five of Kim’s feature length films. Kim describes Song as a partner,

"When I first saw Song Kang-ho, I felt he was a bit nerdy. Regardless of whether he is good at acting or not, he has a very instinctive and animal feeling. He tends to take a lot of former actors. What I mean is, he's the sum of what comes out accidentally. I look for the kind of tension he gives, and the rupture that happens accidentally in it. At the same time, he wondered if he would be able to create a unique collaboration. In the case of the two directors, the continuity is so strong... (Laughter) There is a certainty about the character. If you continued to express it with sincerity, would you say I'm looking for a sense of excitement? It's not common, but I think it enriches the person's character when viewed as a whole. I tend to look for images that make me feel more alive and raw."

In addition to Song, other actors who have appeared in at least two of his films are Choi Min-sik, Lee Byung-hun, Jung Woo-sung, Kim Kap-soo and Im Soo-jung.

Philanthropy

Kim Jee-woon donated his entire modeling fee from Japanese Sony Bravia to VANK, a cyber diplomatic mission. According to Park Ki-tae, the general manager of VANK, on August 12, 2008, Kim made the donation as a way to show his appreciation for the support he received for The Good, the Bad, the Weird. The donation was used for the 'Dokdo Keeper' cause.

Filmography

Feature films

"I don't think it's possible to predict the future. But I just want to keep making movies as long as they exist."

—Kim Jee-woon

Kim Jee-won feature film credits
Year Title Credited as Notes
English Korean Director Writer Producer
1998 The Quiet Family 조용한 가족 Yes Yes No
2000 The Foul King 반칙왕 Yes Yes No
2003 A Tale of Two Sisters 장화, 홍련 Yes Yes No
2005 A Bittersweet Life 달콤한 인생 Yes Yes No
2008 The Good, the Bad, the Weird 좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈 Yes Yes Yes
2010 I Saw the Devil 악마를 보았다 Yes No No
2013 The Last Stand Yes No No
2016 The Age of Shadows 밀정 Yes No Yes
2018 Illang: The Wolf Brigade 인랑 Yes Yes No
TBA Cobweb 거미집 Yes No No

Short films

"It is certainly true that for most directors there are great difficulties in getting short films screened in Korea. However, as many of my shorts have been made as part of larger projects and most have come on the back of releases of my feature-length films, I have had no real difficulties by comparison. Perhaps my fame has played a part on its own too, but of course I won’t say it has (Kim Jee-woon laughs)."

—Kim Jee-woon in Interview with Hangul Celluloid

Kim Jee-won short film credits
Year Title Credited as Notes
English Original Director Writer
2000 Coming Out 커밍 아웃 Yes Yes
2002 Three - "Memories"
  • Korean: 쓰리
  • Thai: อารมณ์ อาถรรพณ์ อาฆาต
  • Chinese: 三更
Yes Yes
2011 60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero Yes Yes 2011 anthology film, a collection of one-minute short films created by 60 filmmakers from around the world on the theme of the death of cinema.
2012 Doomsday Book - "The Heavenly Creature" 인류멸망보고서 - "천상의 피조물" Yes Yes
2013 One Perfect Day 사랑의 가위바위보 Yes Yes
The X Yes Yes
2020 Live Your Strength Yes Yes
Untact 언택트 Yes Yes

Web series

Kim Jee-won web series credits
Year Title Credited as Note
English Korean Director Writer Producer
2021 Dr. Brain Dr. 브레인 Yes Yes Executive
2023 Netizen 망내인 Yes No No

Publications

Published books
Year Title Author Publisher Published Date ISBN Ref.
English Korean
2006 Shortcut by Kim Ji-woon 장진 희곡집 Kim Jee-woon Mindwalk 2006-11-30 978-8-9609-0000-4
2008 2008-01-15 978-8-9609-0042-4
2010 The Good, The Bad, The Weird; The Basic 좋은놈, 나쁜놈, 이상한놈_베이직 All That Story 2010-05-18
2011 Movie of My Life 내 인생의 영화 Cine21 Books 2011-07-12 978-8-9843-1484-9

Recurring Cast

Kim frequently re-casts actors whom he has worked with on previous films.

Recurring casts
Actor
Work
Go Ho-kyung [ko]
Song Young-chang [ko]
The Quiet Family checkY checkY checkY checkY checkY
The Foul King checkY checkY checkY checkY
A Tale of Two Sisters checkY checkY
A Bittersweet Life checkY checkY checkY
The Good, the Bad, the Weird checkY checkY checkY checkY checkY
I Saw the Devil checkY checkY checkY
Doomsday Book checkY checkY
The Age of Shadows checkY checkY
Illang: The Wolf Brigade checkY checkY
Cobweb checkY checkY checkY

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations of Kim Jee-woon
Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
1999 19th FantaSporto International Film Festival International Fantasy Film Award The Quiet Family Won
2000 Málaga International Week of Fantastic Cinema Best Film Won
Best Director Won
Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Film The Foul King Nominated
2001 2001 Milan International Film Festival Best Director Won
3rd Far East Film Festival Audience Award Won
2003 The 4th Busan Film Critics Awards Special Jury Award A Tale of Two Sisters Won
Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival Best Film Nominated
Screamfest Horror Film Festival Best Director Won
Crystal Skull Award Won
2004 23rd Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival Silver Crow Award Won
11th Gérardmer International Fantastic Film Festival the Grand Prize Won
the Youth Jury Grand Prize Won
Fantasia International Film Festival Most Popular Film Won
24th FantaSporto International Film Festival International Fantasy Film Award Won
Best Director Award Won
the Orient Express Section Special Jury Award Won
Faro Island Film Festival Golden Moon Award Nominated
2005 The 25th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards Top 10 Film Awards A Bittersweet Life Won
Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival Best Motion Pictures Nominated
2006 8th Deauville Asian Film Festival, France Action Asia Award Won
10th Fantasia Film Festival Silver Award Won
2008 29th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Director The Good, The Bad, The Weird Won
Most Popular Film Won
Best Film Nominated
Cine21 Film Award Best Director of The Year Won
41st Sitges Film Festival Best Director Won
Official Fantastic Best Special Effects Award Won
28th Hawaii International Film Festival Maverick Award Nominated
Asia Pacific Screen Awards Achievement in Directing Nominated
2008 Buil Film Awards Buil Readers' Jury Award Nominated
Korean Film Awards Best Director Nominated
11th Director's Cut Awards Best Director of the Year Won
2009 2009 Asian Film Awards Best Film Nominated
Best Director Nominated
2009 Baeksang Arts Awards Best Film Nominated
Best Director Nominated
CPH PIX Politiken's Audience Award Nominated
2012 16th Fantasia Festival Cheval Noir Award Doomsday Book Won
Strasbourg International Film Festival Best International Film Nominated
Toronto After Dark Film Festival Best Film Award Won
15th Vision Fest Next Generation Director Award Won
2013 1st Marie Claire Film & Music Festival Pioneer Award Kim Jee-woon Won
2011 2011 Austin Film Critics Association Best Foreign Language Film I Saw the Devil Won
Best Film Nominated
Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival Golden Raven Won
17th Bilbao Fantastic Film Festival Official Competition Grand Prize Won
Central Ohio Film Critics Association Best Foreign Language Film Nominated
Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Best Foreign Language Film Nominated
31st FantaSporto International Film Festival Orient Express Best Film Award Won
Best Director Won
Fright Meter Awards Best Horror Movie Nominated
Best Director Won
47th Grand Bell Awards Best Film Nominated
18th Gérardmer Film Festival Audience Award Won
Critics Award Kim Jee-woon Won
Special Jury Prize Won
Youth Jury Grand Prize I Saw the Devil Won
Houston Film Critics Society Awards Best Foreign Language Film Won
Scream Awards Best Horror Movie Nominated
St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards Best Foreign Language Film Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards Best Foreign Language Film Nominated
2016 36th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards Best Picture The Age of Shadows Won
Top 10 Film Awards Won
Austin Fantastic Fest Best Pictures Action Features Won
Philadelphia Film Festival Narrative Awars Nominated
37th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Film Nominated
Best Director Nominated
53rd Grand Bell Awards Best Director Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
2017 11th Asian Film Awards Best Film Nominated
53rd Baeksang Arts Awards Best Director (Film) Won
Best Film Nominated
17th Director's Cut Awards Special Mention of the Year Won
37th FantaSporto International Film Festival Director's Weekly Best Director Award Won
37th Golden Cinematography Award Grand Prize Won
Tromsø International Film Festival Aurora Award Nominated
2018 2018 Resistance Film Festival Best Director Award Kim Jee-woon Won
2018 San Sebastián International Film Festival Golden Seashell Illang: The Wolf Brigade Won

State honors

Name of country, award ceremony, year given, and name of honor
Country Award Ceremony Year Honor Ref.
France Busan International Film Festival - the French Night 2018 the Arts and Letters Officer’s decoration

This page was last updated at 2023-05-11 23:07 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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