Kim Yong-hwa

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In this Korean name, the family name is Kim.
Kim Yong-hwan
Kim in 2017
Born (1971-09-25) September 25, 1971 (age 52)
Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, South Korea
Alma materChung Ang University
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter
Years active2003-present
Korean name
Hangul
김영화
Revised RomanizationGim Yong-hwa
McCune–ReischauerKim Yong-hwa

Kim Yong-hwa (Korean: 김영화; born September 25, 1971) is a South Korean filmmaker. His works included Oh! Brothers (2003), 200 Pounds Beauty (2006), Take Off (2009) and Mr. Go (2013).

Career[edit]

Kim Yong-hwa majored in Film Studies at Chung-Ang University, but because of financial difficulties, it took him a decade to graduate.[1] His graduation project in 1999 was the short film In the Jungle (titled "Salted Mackerel" in Korean), about two brothers (one of whom is a deaf-mute) taking care of a terminally ill mother, who are ordered to leave the hospital after they are late in paying the bills.[2] In the Jungle won prizes at the 42nd Rochester International Film Festival and the 33rd Houston International Film Festival in 2000.[3]

For his feature directorial debut, Kim wrote and directed Oh! Brothers, a comedy about an amoral, debt-ridden private detective who upon his father's death learns he has a younger half-brother with progeria, played by Lee Jung-jae and Lee Beom-soo. Oh! Brothers was the sixth best-selling Korean film of 2003, with 3.2 million tickets sold.[4]

In 2006, Kim cast Kim Ah-joong in a star-making role as the protagonist of 200 Pounds Beauty (titled "It's Hard to Be a Beauty" in Korean), based on the Japanese manga Kanna's Big Success! by Yumiko Suzuki about an overweight ghost singer/phone sex operator who transforms her life after intensive plastic surgery and becomes a pop star. A romantic comedy as well as a satirical indictment of a hypocritical society that places too much value on appearance, the film's themes on beauty and self-esteem resonated with female Korean audiences, and 200 Pounds Beauty became a sleeper hit with 6.6 million admissions, making it the year's third best-selling domestic film.[5] Kim won Best New Director at the 30th Golden Cinematography Awards in 2007, and received several nominations for directing and screenwriting.[6]

Critics praised Kim for his smart, well-made commercial films, as well as for challenging the bias against physical disability and obesity in Korean society. Kim said, "Comedy starts off with pain. But is it really best to portray that pain in a painful way? If one has really experienced pain, and really gone to the depth of it, I doubt one will really put a raw edge on it. I am drawn to a movie that contains both joy and sadness, and at the same time remains simple and light. My answer to comedy is to include both 'a teardrop and a smile.'"[1]

2009 sports film Take Off (titled "National Athlete" or "National Team" in Korean) became Kim's third consecutive box office hit.[7] Starring Ha Jung-woo, Kim Dong-wook, Kim Ji-seok, Choi Jae-hwan, Lee Jae-eung and Sung Dong-il as a rag-tag group of athletes formed to support Muju City's 1996 Olympics bid but whose passion and competitive spirit won them a berth at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, it was based on the true story of the oft-overlooked Korean national ski jumping team, which faced poor domestic support and unfavorable conditions but went on to win successive medals in the Winter Universiade.[8] According to Kim, the protagonist played by Ha Jung-woo, an ex-U.S. junior alpine skier and adoptee who returns to Korea in search of his birth mother, was inspired by real-life athlete Toby Dawson.[9] Take Off became the second highest-grossing Korean film of the year, with 8.8 million tickets sold. Kim won Best Director at the 29th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards, the 46th Grand Bell Awards, and the 30th Blue Dragon Film Awards, while Take Off won Best Film at the 17th Chunsa Film Art Awards and the 46th Baeksang Arts Awards.[10][11]

Kim next took on his most ambitious project to date with Mr. Go, which had a ₩25 billion (US$22.5 million) budget (one of the largest budgets in Korean cinema history), with US$5 million funded by China-based Huayi Brothers.[12] Based on Huh Young-man's 1984 manhwa The 7th Team, the film centers on a 15-year-old girl (played by Xu Jiao) who tries to save her grandfather's circus after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake by becoming the sports agent of a baseball-playing gorilla named Ling Ling (inspired by Christian the lion).[13] Mr. Go was filmed in stereoscopic 3D, and Kim founded a new visual effects company Dexter Studios to develop and innovate motion capture and facial motion capture techniques, and a digital fur production program to make the gorilla as realistic as possible; a team of more than 500 animators and CG professionals spent four years on the production and over a year editing.[14] Mr. Go was released in South Korea and China simultaneously in 2013; it was not a commercial success in South Korea, ending Kim's winning streak at the domestic box office. However, it fared better in Mainland China where it was marketed as a children's film and shown exclusively in 3D theaters (with premium ticket prices), making more than double the South Korean gross.[15][16] Mr. Go also made a name for Dexter Studios, now recognized as a VFX pioneer in Korea.[3]

In April 2022, Kim signed a contract with United Talent Agency[17]

His next film, a sci-fi survival drama titled The Moon, was pre-sold in 155 countries even before the release, scheduled for August 2, 2023.[18]

Filmography[edit]

Feature films credits
Year Title Credited as Ref.
English Korean Director Screenplay Producer
1999 In the Jungle 자반고등어 Yes Yes No short film
2003 Oh! Brothers 오! 브라더스 Yes Yes No
2006 200 Pounds Beauty 미녀는 괴로워 Yes Yes No
2009 Take Off 국가대표 Yes Yes Yes
2011 My Way 마이 웨이 No No executive producer
2013 Mr. Go 미스터 고 Yes Yes executive producer script editor, editor,
2017 Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds 신과함께: 죄와 벌 Yes Yes No
2018 Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days 신과함께: 인과 연 Yes Yes No [19]
2023 The Moon 더 문 Yes Yes Yes

Accolades[edit]

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Award Category Recipients Result Ref.
2000 the 42nd Rochester International Film Festival Best short film In the Jungle Won [3]
the 33rd Houston International Film Festival Best short film Won
2007 30th Golden Cinematography Awards Best New Director 200 Pounds Beauty Won
2007 44th Grand Bell Awards Best Film Nominated
Best Director Nominated
2007 28th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Film Nominated
Best Director Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
2009 17th Chunsa Film Art Awards Best Film Take Off Won
2009 29th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards Best Director Won
2009 46th Grand Bell Awards Best Film Nominated [20]
Best Director Won
Best Planning Nominated
2009 30th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Film Nominated [21]
Best Director Won
Best Screenplay Nominated
2009 Young Artist of Today Film category Won
2010 46th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Film Won [22]
Best Director – Film Nominated
2017 12th Asian Film Awards Best Action Film Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds Nominated [23]
Best Production Design Nominated
2018 54th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Film Nominated [24][25]
Best Director – Film Won
2018 39th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Film Nominated [26]
Audience Choice Won
Best Director Nominated
Audience Choice Award for Most Popular Film Won
2018 23rd Chunsa Film Art Awards Special Audience Award for Best Film Won [27][28]
2018 9th KOFRA Film Awards Film Person of the Year Won [29]
2018 2nd The Seoul Awards Best Film Nominated [30]
2018 27th Buil Film Awards Best Director Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days Nominated [31]
Best Art Direction Nominated
2018 55th Grand Bell Awards Best Film Nominated [32][33]
Best Director Nominated
Best Planning Nominated

State honors[edit]

Name of country, year given, and name of honor
Country Award Ceremony Year Honor Ref.
South Korea Korean Content Awards[note 1] 2015 Presidential Commendation
Contribution to Overseas Expansion Category
for Dexter Studio's works 		[34]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Honors are given at the Korean Content Awards (대한민국 콘텐츠 대상) arranged by the Korea Creative Content Agency and hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The 2022 Korea Content Awards Ceremony , which started in 2009 and celebrated its 14th this year, aims to inspire pride in the content industry and develop the Korean cultural content industry by discovering and awarding contributors and excellent content that have contributed to the development of the content industry in 2022. It is a place to promote. The winners (works) of honor, which are recommended through the website of the Korea Creative Content Agency (www.kocca.kr) and announced through careful examination by experts and three-step verification, play a leading role in shining the Korean content industry in the world.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Yang, Seong-hee (25 January 2007). "On the big screen, being thin still rules". Korea Joongang Daily. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  2. ^ "In the Jungle". Brooklyn Film Festival. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
  3. ^ a b c "KIM Yong-hwa". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  4. ^ Elley, Derek (24 November 2003). "Review: Oh! Brothers". Variety. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
  5. ^ D'Sa, Nigel (6 February 2007). "200 Pounds Beauty Weighs in at the Box Office". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  6. ^ "KIM Yong-Hwa - Awards". Cinemasie. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
  7. ^ Shin, Hae-in (23 July 2009). "(Movie Review) Take Off brings out the human drama of sport". Yonhap. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
  8. ^ Park, Sun-young (3 July 2009). "Tale of Korea's ski jumpers flies onto the big screen". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
  9. ^ Lee, Hoo-nam (1 September 2009). "National ski team schusses to glory, box office gold". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  10. ^ "Mother Sweeps Blue Dragon Film Awards". The Chosun Ilbo. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
  11. ^ "Ko Hyun-jung, Haeundae win grand prize at PaekSang Arts Awards". 10Asia. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
  12. ^ Jang, Sung-ran (31 May 2013). "Press Showcase for MR. GO Takes Places". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  13. ^ Sunwoo, Carla (14 June 2013). "Mr. Go director stakes fame on virtual star". Korea Joongang Daily. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  14. ^ Lee, Eun-sun (14 June 2013). "Two Big Things Are Coming: The Dream Film of Korea – Mr. Go". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  15. ^ Ma, Kevin (7 October 2013). "Korean cinema, Chinese characteristics". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 29 December 2013. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
  16. ^ Yoon, Ina; Ji, Yong-jin (7 May 2015). "Anatomy of Success in Korea-China Co-Productions with Focus on Top 4 Films". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2015-05-31.
  17. ^ Kim Ji-hye (April 19, 2022). "김용화 감독, 미국 UTA와 계약…'신과 함께' 美 TV 시리즈로" [Director Kim Yong-hwa signed a contract with UTA... 'Along with the Gods' as an American TV series] (in Korean). SBS Entertainment News. Retrieved April 19, 2022 – via Naver.
  18. ^ Jean, Noh (2023-06-26). "Korean sci-fi drama 'The Moon' sold to 155 countries". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  19. ^ "'Along With the Gods' director unravels millennium-long link among grim reapers". The Korea Times. 5 August 2018.
  20. ^ "Take Off - Awards". Cinemasie. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  21. ^ Lee, Hyo-won (3 December 2009). "Closer to Heaven Couple Win Best Acting Nods". The Korea Times. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  22. ^ "Ko Hyun-jung, Haeundae win grand prize at PaekSang Arts Awards". 10Asia. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  23. ^ "Asian Film Awards 2018 nominations". South China Morning Post. 11 January 2018.
  24. ^ "'1987' shines at Baeksang awards : The annual ceremony honors the best works in local film and television". Korea JoongAng Daily. 5 May 2018.
  25. ^ "제54회 백상예술대상, TV·영화 각 부문별 수상 후보자 공개". JTBC (in Korean). 6 April 2018.
  26. ^ "청룡영화상 후보 발표, '1987' 최다·'공작'도 9개부문 후보". Newsen (in Korean). 1 November 2018.
  27. ^ "[23rd 춘사영화제 종합]'남한산성' 최우수감독상 수상…최희서 11관왕 달성". Herald Corporation (in Korean). 18 May 2018.
  28. ^ "제23회 춘사영화제 5월18일 개최..홍상수·김민희 참석하나". Newsen (in Korean). 3 May 2018.
  29. ^ "'1987' bags best film at KOFRA awards". IBTimes. 31 January 2018.
  30. ^ "'제2회 더 서울어워즈' 10월27일 개최, 드라마-영화 각 부문별 후보공개". iMBC (in Korean). 28 September 2018.
  31. ^ "[23회 부산국제영화제] 부일영화상". Busan Ilbo (in Korean). 20 September 2018.
  32. ^ "제55회 대종상, 각 부문 후보 공개…'공작' 12개 최다부문 노미네이트". Seoul Sports (in Korean). 21 September 2018. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  33. ^ "'버닝', 대종상 작품상 영예...1주기 故김주혁, 특별상 수상 [종합]". Osen (in Korean). 22 October 2018.
  34. ^ Yoo, Jae-hyuk (2015-12-09). "[2015 대한민국 콘텐츠 대상] 우리가 '콘텐츠 한류' 이끈 주인공입니다" [[2015 Korea Content Grand Prize] We are the main characters who led 'Content Hallyu']. The Korea Economic Daily (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-01-03.

External links[edit]

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