Directors
Gwak Jae-young
b. 22 May 1959
Graduating from Kyunghee University, Gwak Jae-young majored in physics before turning his attention to film making. In 1989 he made his feature debut with A Sketch of a Rainy Day, a film fondly remembered for both it’s beautiful visuals and score; in fact so popular was the score that young audiences lapped it up, making it one of the most popular soundtracks of the time. In 1991 he filmed Autumn Trip and in 1993 A Sketch of a Rainy Day 2, but both films performed poorly at the box office, resulting in the man taking an eight year hiatus.
After his long absence from the big screen, Gwak bounced back in 2001 - big style. My Sassy Girl, based off of Kim Ho-sik’s online serialised letters, was a monumental hit, breathing new life into the romantic/comedy genre and subsequently made instant stars out of Jeon Ji-hyun and Cha Tae-hyun. The film, much like A Sketch of a Rainy Day, spawned a very successful soundtrack and has since found it’s way into the hearts of Asian film fans around the world. Gwak Jae-young attributes the film’s success to his young daughters who were the inspiration for his writing, carrying his philosophy of sharing his ideals of love with a young generation.
2003 saw The Classic. Again it was fuelled by strong, personal beliefs from the director. He describes the film as stemming from his embodying romantic imagination, harking back to a youthful innocence that hasn’t faded in time. Not quite gaining the same response as his last film, perhaps due to different expectations - it was nonetheless popular.
Over next few years, Gwak focused on writing for a few other features, such as 2004’s Ark and Daisy, returning to helming duties in 2007 with the often troubled My Mighty Princess. In 2008 he crossed the pond, making Japanese production My Girlfriend is a Cyborg, starring Keisuke Koide and Haruka Ayase.
Hur Jin-ho
b. 8 August 1963
Hur Jin-ho studied at the Korean Academy of Film Arts. It was here that he made his first short film - For Kochul. He went on to work as an assistant director for Park Kwang-su’s films: To the Starry Island and A Single Spark, the latter of which he leant his writing talent toward.
He made his feature debut in 1998 with Christmas in August. Heartfelt and extremely emotional, it starred Han Suk-kyu who gave one of the best performances of his career, along with Shim Eun-ha as his sweet love interest. It told the story of a dying man, falling in love for the last time. Getting an invite to the Cannes Film Festival opened it up to an entirely new audience, where it won critical acclaim. In 2001 he followed up with One Fine Spring Day which didn’t reach the same dizzy heights, but again saw the director deal with love and curiosity.
Hur Jin-ho attributes the success of his films to the changing face of Korea, especially throughout the 90s when it became more relaxed about open expression, allowing directors to be more creative with their freedom. Amusingly, he considers himself to be one of the laziest directors in Korea - preferring to take his time on a film and often pondering just what use he can make of his admitted lazy time. That somewhat explains why his output hasn’t been too busy; he worked on a couple of shorts in 2004 before returning to direct with April Snow in 2005, taking another break between his most recent film - 2007’s Happiness.
Like many directors in Korea, he studied philosophy before turning to screen, though he admits to not actually dreaming of becoming a film maker. His interest in film began when by chance he came upon “The Korean Academy of Film Arts” at the age of 29. In his desire to learn new things, he joined up and would later graduate. He did well to work under the wing of Park Kwang-su.
Hur doesn’t believe in using storyboards for his films. Always relying on his sense of innovation, he will often change scripts during the course of making a film. It’s this spontaneity that perhaps make his films that little bit more believable and natural.
Im Kwon-taek
b. 2 May 1936
Im Kwon-taek was born in the Cholla province of Jangseong. His father was involved in communist activities and as a result, after the Korean war of 1950-1953 his family became financially poor and suffered from a political backlash; this resulted in Im suffering from bouts of depression which he eased with drink. When he was young, however, Im met his mentor in Pusan. He learned many tricks of the trade at the Hanyang Film Company in Seoul, which geared him up for his debut feature.
In 1962 he made Farewell to the Duman River, which was one of many that he would make in the 60s, sometimes cramming in six or seven films in one year. Im would often be disappointed with his films up until the 70s, yearning to make the type of films that his idols put out. After Korea’s “Golden Age” of cinema, a time when people were thirsting for entertainment after the war, Im would begin fresh again at the turn of the 70s. He considers 1973 as a turning point in his life, at a time when he finally decided to turn things around. He made what he feels is his first important work - The Deserted Widow. The story told of a woman living during the post war period was not unlike his own mother’s. The film was different because it was the first one he felt truly passionate about; he needed to prove that he could make a serious film that wouldn’t just become another part of the mainstream. Funding it himself, the film failed to earn him back money, bombing in cinemas - but what it did bring was critical praise and a new sense of belonging.
During the 70s the Korea film industry was suffering under the new Park regime’s film law. Companies merged and a once 100-strong yearly output was reduced to under a quarter of that size. The importing of foreign films soon came about and they started to make more money than domestic productions. Film makers were soon urged to turn to literary classics - it was believed that their strong morals would appeal more so to the Korean film goers. As a result, Korean films were gaining more notice, winning awards and making money for the industry. A new problem arose however, at least for the government. Korean films were becoming more socially inclined, dealing with matters which made the government uncomfortable. Freedom of speech in art became compromised. Investment in films dropped and now Korea was producing too many cheap and unsuccessful films, topping off with a fast decline in studio output - numbers in crew members radically changed and Korea wasn’t the same industry it once was.
Im Kwon-taek indeed focused on cultural changes and often puts his own experiences into his films. He’s dealt with Japanese colonialism in 1978’s The Genealogy, about a man who refuses to change his family name, during a period that was dictated under Japanese rule.
Im is a firm believer in human spirituality. In 1985 his film Gilsoddeum gained a profound response from film-makers who also struggled with the ideals of a separated country, notably Germany. Im had made a brave move and the message of the film is simply one with hopes of unification. Today Im believes that if Korea is to be united then it will depend on moral and political ideas changing. It’s looking very far off still but the world hopes strongly for this.
He admits to having no interest in ideology on the basis that it causes nothing but misery. Mandala came out in 1980 and focused on Buddhism, something which is very strong in Korea. At the time of being made, there was massive political breakdown. Hundreds of people were being slaughtered by the military. This made it impossible for Im to base a film exactly on the events he wanted because the military had total control over everything. Mandala told of two monks searching for truth in life and taking separate paths. The underlying themes were there and he managed to capture the essence he was looking for.
Im Kwon-taek has a rich background, having made over 100 films in an almost 50 year career and to this day he still continues. Undeniably he os one of South Koreas most important figures in cinema.
I would like to acknowledge the researchers at www.asianfilms.org for providing this information held on their site from which this information was sourced. It also appears in Cinemaya 42/1998, p. 53.
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