Best South Korean Directors

Park Chan-wook was born on 23 August 1963 in Seoul, South Korea. He is a producer and writer, known for The Handmaiden (2016), Oldboy (2003) and Decision to Leave (2022). He is married to Eun-hee Kim. They have one child.

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.

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). Then he went on to direct Wild Animals (1997), Birdcage Inn (1998) ("Birdcage Inn"), The Isle (2000) and the highly experimental Real Fiction (2000), shot in just 200 minutes. In 1999, Address Unknown (2001) was selected by the Pusan Film Festival's Pusan Promotion Plan (PPP) for development.

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 Three (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.

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.

Jae-young Kwak was born on 22 May 1959 in South Korea. He is a writer and director, known for My Sassy Girl (2001), Cyborg She (2008) and The Classic (2003).

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.

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.

Shin alleged that he and his wife were kidnapped from their native South Korea in the late 1970s and held for several years in North Korea to make movies for Kim Jong Il, son of the N. Korean leader. Shin Sang-ok sought asylum in the United States in 1986 shortly before the film "Pulgasary" was finished. The couple were granted refuge in the United States.

Ha Yoo is known for A Dirty Carnival (2006), A Frozen Flower (2008) and Once Upon a Time in High School: The Spirit of Jeet Kune Do (2004).

Yu Hyun-mok was born on 2 July 1925 in Sariwon, Hwanghae Province, North Korea. Yu was a director and editor, known for Mom, the Star, and the Sea Anemone (1995), Salamui adeul (1980) and Ilheobeolin cheongchun (1957). Yu died on 28 June 2009 in Ilsan, South Korea.

Kim Ki-young was born on 10 October 1919 in Seoul, Korea. He was a director and writer, known for Goryeojang (1963), A Defiance of Teenager (1959) and The Asphalt Pavement (1964). He was married to Yu-bong Kim. He died on 5 February 1998 in Seoul, South Korea.

Lee Doo-yong was born on 24 December 1942 in Seoul, South Korea. He was a director and writer, known for The Way to Cheong Song (1990), Mulberry (1986) and Black Snow (1991). He died on 19 January 2024 in Seoul, South Korea.

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.

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), Our Sunhi (2013) and Night and Day (2008).

Hun Jang was born on 4 May 1975 in South Korea. He is a director and writer, known for A Taxi Driver (2017), Rough Cut (2008) and The Front Line (2011).

Hwang Dong-hyuk was born on 26 May 1971 in Ssangmun-dong, Seoul, South Korea. He is a writer and director, known for Squid Game (2021), Silenced (2011) and The Fortress (2017).

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 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.

Kim Han-min was born on 5 November 1969 in South Korea. He is a director and writer, known for Hansan: Rising Dragon (2022), The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014) and War of the Arrows (2011).

Park Hoon-jung, born in 1975, is a South Korean film director. Park first attracted notice within the Korean film industry for writing the screenplays for I Saw the Devil (2010). He made his debut as a director in 2011 with the period film The Showdown (2011). With his second film, gangster epic New World (2013), Park scored a critical and commercial success.

Lee Han was born in 1970 in South Korea. Lee is a director and writer, known for Punch (2011), A Melody to Remember (2016) and Innocent Witness (2019).

Born in 1963 in Jeonju, South Korea, Jin-ho Hur graduated from the Korean Academy of Film Arts. His first steps as a film director did not go unnoticed as his first short, 'For Kochal", was selected for The Vancouver International Film Festival. He later co-wrote the script of "A Single Spark" and "Kilimanjaro". All his feature films,"Christmas in August" (shown at the Crtics'Week in Cannes in 1998), "One Fine Spring Day (2001), "April Snow" (2005), "Once Again in Hengback" (2007) and Good Rain Knows" (2009) are variations on Jin-ho Hur's favorite theme: love.

John H. Lee's films are imbued with top-notch cosmopolitan sensibilities. He has become one of the most sought after directors in all of East Asia and is a member of the rising generation of international directors from the region, having both a distinct voice as an auteur and wide commercial appeal with diverse genres of films. Born in Seoul, Korea, Lee moved to the U.S. at the age of 12. Upon graduating from the film school at New York University, Lee made his feature debut with "The Cut Runs Deep," a poetic independent film about East Asian youth gangs in New York City. After running the festival circuit around the world, "The Cut Runs Deep" was released in Korea in 2000 and instantly became a cult classic.

Since his successful debut, Lee has directed numerous international music videos and T.V. commercials in East Asia and Europe, eventually opting to move his residence back to Seoul in search of his spiritual roots. In 2004, Lee directed his second feature film, a love story, entitled, "A Moment to Remember". It was Lee's first Korean-language film; a passionate, psychologically complex, and emotionally charged story about a man and a woman, two star-crossed lovers, separated by the slow loss of the woman's memory. "A Moment to Remember" instantly became the highest grossing domestic film in the romance genre in the history of Korean cinema. Subsequently released in Japan the following year, "A Moment to Remember" has become the most successful Korean film ever in Japan, a record that still stands. "A Moment to Remember" is considered by many to be a romance masterpiece, standing above all other romantic films in East Asia.

After a long search for projects to expand his horizons, John H. Lee next took on an experimental challenge, his third feature film, titled "Sayonara Itsuka," based on a Japanese novel of the same title. It was wildly innovative in that he made a flawless Japanese-language film with top Japanese actors, utilizing the best Korean film crew. Some thought it couldn't be done, or at least, couldn't be done well. Lee didn't speak Japanese, and the production proved to be very arduous and difficult in every aspect, but when the movie was finally released in Japan in 2010, it blew the audience away with a passionate telling of a lost love that spans 25 years. The Japanese audiences were shocked by the beauty and scale of the film, and it was yet another critical box office hit in Japan.

For his fourth opus, John H. Lee took another surprise turn. It was a historical Korean War epic, titled "71/ Into the Fire," based on a true story about a group of 71 student soldiers fighting to protect a school during the outset of the "forgotten" Korean War in 1950.

Lee took another step towards a new frontier when he accepted an invitation to helm a Chinese film, "The Third Way of Love", based on a best-selling novel in China, a love story between a wealthy corporate heir and a beautiful, but recently divorced lawyer.

Lee also recently saw box office success in Korea with "Operation Chromite", a true story about an intel-warfare between South and North Korea during Korean War. Aside from starring A-list Korean actors such as Lee Jung Jae and Lee Bum Soo, "Operation Chromite" also received lots of attention for being the first Korean film to cast an A-list Hollywood actor in a prominent role. Liam Neeson delivers powerfully as General Douglas MacArthur in this intense film about the military operation that was decisive in turning the tide of the Korean War.

John H. Lee is represented by C.A.A.

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).