Hwang In-ho is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He wrote and directed the horror-

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

'' Spellbound'' (2011) and the

crime thriller Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

'' Monster'' (2014).

Career

As screenwriter

Hwang In-ho first wrote the screenplay of ''Sisily 2km'' (also known as ''

To Catch a Virgin Ghost ''Sisily 2 km'' (), released internationally as ''To Catch a Virgin Ghost'', is a 2004 South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula ...

''), a 2004 film that combined horror and

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...

elements in a story about

gangsters A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

(played by

Im Chang-jung Im Chang-jung (; born November 30, 1973) is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actor. He is often referred by Koreans as "the original multi-entertainer" for being active in all three fields: music, film and entertainment. He made his acting ...

and

Kwon Oh-joong Kwon Oh-joong (born November 24, 1971) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for starring in ''Gourmet'' (2008), as well as the television series ''The Secret Lovers'' (2005), '' Freedom Fighter, Lee Hoe-young'' (2010), and ''Miss Ajumma'' (2 ...

) who steal a

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

and escape to a small town, . His next screenplay, ''

Love Phobia ''Love Phobia'' (; lit. "Lizard") is a 2006 South Korean romance drama film directed by Kang Ji-eun and starring Kang Hye-jung and Cho Seung-woo. Plot One sunny day, a young boy named Jo-kang meets a curious young girl dressed in a bright yello ...

'' (titled "Lizard" in

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

) was a 2006 melodrama that starred

Cho Seung-woo Cho Seung-woo (born March 28, 1980) is a South Korean actor and singer. He is best known for his leading roles in the films '' The Classic'' (2003), '' Marathon'' (2005), '' Tazza: The High Rollers'' (2006), and ''Inside Men'' (2015), as well as ...

and

Kang Hye-jung Kang Hye-jung (born January 4, 1982) is a South Korean actress. Making her film debut in arthouse film '' Nabi'' (2001), she rose to stardom and critical acclaim in Park Chan-wook's 2003 revenge thriller '' Oldboy''. A rising star early in he ...

as a couple who meet each other only thrice in the 20 years spanning their childhood to adulthood. His third screenplay, '' Two Faces of My Girlfriend'' (2007) was a

about a 30-year-old male

virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

and loser who falls for a woman with DID (played by

Bong Tae-gyu Bong Tae-gyu (born 19 May 1981) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Television show Hosting Radio shows Music video appearances Theater Awards and nominations References External links Bong ...

and

Jung Ryeo-won Jung Ryeo-won (born January 21, 1981) is a South Korean-born Korean Australian actress. She began her entertainment career as a singer in the now-defunct girl group Chakra, and first rose to fame in the hit television series '' My Name Is Kim S ...

). Hwang also served as script editor on high school comedy ''

The Legend of Seven Cutter ''The Legend of Seven Cutter'' (; lit. "Escaping from Charisma") is a 2006 South Korean film starring Ahn Jae-mo and Yoon Eun-hye. Plot The "Seven Cutter" is a legendary fighter throughout various high schools within Korea. His name is Jung Han- ...

'' (also known as ''Escaping from Charisma'', 2006) starring

Yoon Eun-hye Yoon Eun-hye (; born October 3, 1984) is a South Korean actress, singer, entertainer and model. She debuted as a member of girl group Baby Vox, staying with the group from 1999 to 2005. Yoon has since moved on to acting and is best known for st ...

, and the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

blockbuster ''

My Way "My Way" is a song popularized in 1969 by Frank Sinatra set to the music of the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed by Jacques Revaux with lyrics by Gilles Thibaut and Claude François and first performed in 1967 by Claude François. Its E ...

'' (2011) starring Jang Dong-gun.

''Spellbound''

In 2011, Hwang made his feature directorial debut with '' Spellbound'' (titled "Chilling Romance" in Korean), about a stage magician (

Lee Min-ki Lee Min-ki (born January 16, 1985) is a South Korean actor, singer and model. Lee played his first TV leading role in the 2005 sports drama ''Taereung National Village'', followed by the television series '' Love Truly'' (2006), '' Dal-ja's Sp ...

) who meets an

introverted The traits of extraversion (also spelled extroversion Retrieved 2018-02-21.) and introversion are a central dimension in some human personality theories. The terms ''introversion'' and ''extraversion'' were introduced into psychology by Carl J ...

woman (

Son Ye-jin Son Ye-jin (born Son Eon-jin on January 11, 1982) is a South Korean actress. She rose to fame in 2003 for '' The Classic'' and '' Summer Scent'', which were followed by the commercially successful ''A Moment to Remember'' (2004) and ''April Snow ...

) who is constantly haunted by ghosts. Like ''Sisily 2km'', Hwang again flouted

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

conventions by combining

with horror. He said he had felt uncomfortable within the limitations of Korean commercial cinema, and wanted his "story to flow free of genre restrictions," adding, "Why do you have to respect every genre rule? My story still makes sense anyway, with or without them. ..I just added a ghost to a simple love story, which resulted in a romance with a totally different texture than other romance films." ''Spellbound'' became a hit with more than 3 million admissions, making it the 7th top-grossing Korean film of 2011 and one of the most commercially successful Korean rom-coms in recent years.

''Monster''

For his sophomore directorial effort, Hwang reunited with actor Lee Min-ki on '' Monster'' (2014), this time opposite

Kim Go-eun Kim Go-eun (born July 2, 1991) is a South Korean actress. She debuted in the film ''A Muse'' (2012) where she won several Best New Actress awards in South Korea. She is also known for her role in the television series ''Cheese in the Trap'' ( ...

. Kim played a

developmentally disabled Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...

woman who wreaks revenge on the

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

(Lee) who murdered her beloved younger sister. Hwang experimented further with his filmmaking by pushing genres to the extremes, combining thriller,

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

. But he primarily presented the film as "a character drama," saying he made "an effort to express the emotions, alienation and loneliness the main characters were experiencing. It was their emotions rather than the situations I wanted to explore. ..What counts for me are characters. What interests me is the fresh tone created by a new type of character when he or she is introduced to a different cinematic world." Critical and audience response were mostly negative, criticizing the unsuccessful genre mashup and a perceived

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practice ...

beneath the film's ostensible message of female

empowerment Empowerment is the degree of autonomy and self-determination in people and in communities. This enables them to represent their interests in a responsible and self-determined way, acting on their own authority. It is the process of becoming strong ...

Filmography

*'' Monster'' (2014) - director, screenplay *''

'' (2011) - script editor *'' Spellbound'' (2011) - director, screenplay *'' Two Faces of My Girlfriend'' (2007) - screenplay *''

'' (2006) - screenplay, script editor *''

'' (2006) - script editor *''

'' (2004) - screenplay

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hwang, In-ho Living people South Korean film directors South Korean screenwriters Year of birth missing (living people)