Giddens Ko (; born 25 August 1978) is a Taiwanese novelist and filmmaker. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Management from
National Chiao Tung University
National Chiao Tung University (NCTU; ) was a public research university located in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Established in 1896 as Nanyang Public School by an imperial edict of the Guangxu Emperor, it was one of China's leading universities. After th ...
and Master of Social Science from
Tunghai University
Tunghai University (THU; ) is the oldest private university in Taiwan, established in 1955. It was founded by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA). It is located in Xitun District, Taichung, Taiwan. According to ''Tim ...
. He has published more than 60 books, many of which have been adapted as films.
He writes under the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
of "Nine Knives" ().
Early life
Born on 25 August 1978 in
Changhua County
Changhua County (Mandarin Pinyin: ''Zhānghuà Xiàn''; Wade-Giles: ''Chang¹-hua⁴ Hsien⁴''; Hokkien POJ: ''Chiang-hòa-koān'' or ''Chiong-hòa-koān'') is the smallest county on the main island of Taiwan by area, and the fourth smallest ...
, Taiwan, Ko grew up as the second of three sons in Changhua, where his parents own a pharmacy.
[ Ko discovered his love of writing when he penned a story as part of his university application.]
Career
Early period: establishing reputation as a novelist
He started writing fiction in 1999, and posted most of his first works on the Internet. Ko struggled through the first five years of his writing career, before branching out into multiple genres, namely horror, science fiction, and romance. He writes 5000 words daily, and at his peak writing pace published one book per month for 14 consecutive months. This set of work helped Ko's popularity rise in Taiwan. Ko has compared himself favorably to Louis Cha
Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), pronounced "Gum Yoong" in Cantonese, was a Chinese wuxia ("martial arts and chivalry") novelist and essayist who co-founded the Hong Kong dail ...
, Gu Long
Xiong Yaohua (7 June 1938 – 21 September 1985), better known by his pen name Gu Long, was a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese novelist, screenwriter, film producer and director. A graduate of Cheng Kung Senior High School and Tamkang University, Xion ...
, and Ni Kuang
Ni Cong (30 May 1935 – 3 July 2022), courtesy name Yiming, better known by his pen name Ni Kuang (also romanised Ngai Hong, I Kuang and Yi Kuang), was a Hong Kong-American novelist and screenwriter. He wrote over 300 Chinese-language ''w ...
.
Pen name
"Jiubadao" was originally a song written by Ko as a senior high school student. The song's title stuck as a nickname when a tutor spotted students passing notes signed by Jiubadao and asked who he was. Classmates revealed Jiubadao to be Ko and he used the nickname as a pseudonym after graduating college.
Directing films
In 2008, Ko directed the film , along with Vincent Fang, Chen Yi-xian and Huang Zijiao.[ In 2010, Ko directed the film '']You Are the Apple of My Eye
''You Are the Apple of My Eye'' (, ) is a 2011 Taiwanese Coming of age film, coming of age romance film. It is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Taiwanese author Giddens Ko, who also made his directorial debut with ...
'', based on his book '.[ In 2011, Ko adapted his "Killer" series] into the film ''The Killer Who Never Kills''. He produced a documentary focusing on Taiwan's animal shelters in 2012, titled ''Twelve Nights''. In 2014, another of Ko's books was adapted into the film ''Café. Waiting. Love
''Café. Waiting. Love'' ( is a 2014 Taiwanese romantic comedy film directed by Chiang Chin-lin, adapted from Giddens Ko's novel of the same name. The film marks the first on-screen appearance of Vivian Sung.
Plot
Si-ying ( Vivian Sung) is a uni ...
''. The film adaptation of another of Ko's books, ''Kung Fu'', was originally set to be released in 2014, but its release date was pushed back to 2015. In September 2015, Ko announced another book–to–film adaption, ''The Tenants Downstairs
''The Tenants Downstairs'' is a 2016 Taiwanese black comedy- mystery-drama film based on Taiwanese writer Giddens Ko's novel of the same name. The film is written by Ko and also presented, produced and directed by Adam Tsuei and stars Simon Ya ...
'', was to be released in 2016.
In 2012, Ko notified Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
that some approved applications on the company's iOS platform were accessing pirated versions of his books. Apple initially refused to pull the apps, as the company was unsure about Ko's publisher having proper authorization to contact them. Ko traveled to Hong Kong to file a complaint in person before the matter was resolved with the removal of the apps. On 9 October 2012, Ko was chosen as one of "Ten Outstanding Young People of Taiwan" by the Junior Chamber International
Junior Chamber International, commonly referred to as JCI, is a non-profit international non-governmental organization of young people between and years old. It has members in about 124 countries, and regional or national organizations in mo ...
Taiwan.
In 2017, Ko directed the high school horror-comedy film ''Mon Mon Mon Monsters
''Mon Mon Mon Monsters'' is a 2017 Taiwanese horror-comedy film written, directed and co-produced by Giddens Ko. It premiered as the closing film for the 41st Hong Kong International Film Festival in April 2017, and was released in theaters on J ...
''. Ko originally intended for the film to be a mockumentary
A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary.
These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...
shot entirely on iPhone. This idea, however, was eventually disregarded as the project evolved into a more personal work inspired in part by the negative publicity the director was receiving at the time for his affair with Chou.
Personal life
Family
In October 2014, Ko admitted to cheating on his girlfriend of nine years, Hsiao-nei, with television reporter Chou Ting-yu. In early May 2015, Ko confirmed that his relationship with Hsiao-nei had ended. Ko and Chou began dating in March 2016; they married in late 2017. On 4 April 2020, Ko announced the birth of their first child, a girl.
Political views
In October 2014 it was reported that Beijing had ordered works by Ko removed from shelves in China. A few weeks previously, Ko had shaved his head to show solidarity for Occupy Central with Love and Peace
Occupy Central with Love and Peace (OCLP) was a single-purpose Hong Kong civil disobedience campaign initiated by Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, Benny Tai and Chan Kin-man on 27 March 2013. The campaign was launched on 24 September 2014, partially le ...
, the organization that started the 2014 Hong Kong protests
A series of sit-in street protests, often called the Umbrella Revolution and sometimes used interchangeably with Umbrella Movement, or Occupy Movement, occurred in Hong Kong from 26 September to 15 December 2014.
The protests began after ...
.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ko, Giddens
1978 births
Living people
21st-century Taiwanese writers
National Chiao Tung University alumni
Tunghai University alumni
People from Changhua County
Taiwanese film directors
Taiwanese screenwriters
Taiwanese film producers
Taiwanese male writers
20th-century Taiwanese writers
20th-century pseudonymous writers
21st-century pseudonymous writers