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Chung Ji-young (born November 19, 1946) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Among his most well-known films are '' North Korean Partisan in South Korea'' (1990), '' White Badge'' (1992), ''
Life and Death of the Hollywood Kid ''Life and Death of the Hollywood Kid'' ( ko, 헐리우드 키드의 생애, ''Hollywood Kid Eu Saeng-ae'') is a 1994 South Korean drama film directed by Chung Ji-young. The film was selected as the South Korean entry for the Best Foreign Langua ...
'' (1994), '' Unbowed'' (2012) and '' National Security'' (2012).


Career

Chung Ji-young honed his directing skills by working as an assistant director to legendary filmmaker
Kim Soo-yong Kim Soo-yong (born September 23, 1929) is a South Korean film director. Kim made his debut in 1958 with ''A Henpecked Husband'' and directed more than 100 movies through 1999 with ''Scent of Love'' (2000). He made many popular commercial films o ...
. Chung, whose feature debut was an erotic mystery, ''The Mist Whispers Like a Woman'' (1982), also directed about 20 episodes of the MBC single-episode anthology
drama series In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-ge ...
''Best Theater''. He spent the majority of the 1980s directing melodramatic fare before moving on to more politically-charged works following the end of the
Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah as president of South Korea from 1980 to 198 ...
administration. During his heyday, Chung helmed some of the most hard-hitting and socially conscious films of the 1980s and 1990s such as '' North Korean Partisan in South Korea'' (1990), '' White Badge'' (1992), and ''Life and Death of the Hollywood Kid'' (1994). But his influence on the industry extended far beyond his filmography, as he was also a fierce advocate for governmental reform, particularly as it affected the Korean film industry. As a leading voice in the
Chungmuro Chungmuro is an avenue 1.75 km in length and 10–20 m in width and the area nearby, located in Jung-gu, central Seoul, South Korea. Since the 1960s, Chungmuro has been known as the street of culture, artists, and the film industry. Dansun ...
filmmaking community, he argued for the establishment of a screen quota system, the abolishment of the pre-censorship system, campaigned against direct distribution of foreign movies, and was opposed to the signing of the Korea-USA
free trade agreement A free-trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occ ...
, among other issues confronting the industry at the time. However, following ''Naked Being'' (1998), Chung took an extended hiatus that finally ended thirteen years later when he returned with '' Unbowed'' at the 2011
Busan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festiv ...
. A critique of corruption in the judicial system inspired by the real-life case of a math professor who fired a
crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fire ...
at a judge, the film caused a sensation subsequent to its commercial release in January 2012. Aside from the enormous critical acclaim it received, the low-budget production was an unexpected box office success, drawing some 3.4 million viewers. And Chung was awarded Best Director at the 33rd Blue Dragon Film Awards. Later in 2012 he again turned to another politically sensitive, controversial topic for his next film. '' National Security'' is based on the true story of
Kim Geun-tae Kim Geun-tae (14 February 1947 – 30 December 2011) was a democracy activist and politician of the Republic of Korea. Life Kim was born in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do. He studied in Kyunggi High School and entered Seoul National University and ...
, a democracy activist who was kidnapped and tortured by the Chun Doo-hwan regime over 22 days within the walls of Room 515 in the anti-
communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...
division of the National Police Headquarters in
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
's Namyeong neighborhood circa 1985 (from which the film's
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 ** ...
title ''Namyeong-dong 1985'' is derived). Boldly opting to spend 90% of its running time on the
waterboarding Waterboarding is a form of torture in which water is poured over a cloth covering the face and breathing passages of an immobilized captive, causing the person to experience the sensation of drowning. In the most common method of waterboard ...
and other acts of horrific torture inflicted on Kim (who subsequently became Korea's Minister of Health and Welfare), Chung's film was uncompromising and challenging. By the director's own admission, he found it difficult to shoot the most trying scenes. Though it focused almost exclusively on the torture itself, many viewers have found the film to be tremendously moving in the end, and Chung hoped that the film will be a reminder of the sacrifices that some endured in order for Korea to progress to its present state. Chung appeared in Heo Chul's documentary ''Ari Ari the Korean Cinema'', in which he and actress
Yoon Jin-seo Yoon Jin-seo (born Yoon Soo-kyung, August 5, 1983) is a South Korean actress. She rose to prominence for her performance as Lee Soo-ah in the 2003 thriller film '' Oldboy'' which earned her the Best New Actress Award at the 40th Baeksang Arts ...
interviewed more than a hundred respected film professionals to discuss the industry's history and the issues it currently faces. Chung originally began the project as its co-director, but when his film ''Unbowed'' was
green-light To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead". Film industry In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...
ed, he turned over the final editing to his collaborator, the US-trained director and professor Heo Chul. As a veteran director, it was Chung's connections in the film industry that helped the documentary to assemble its impressive cast, which includes directors Lee Chang-dong,
Im Kwon-taek Im Kwon-taek (born December 8, 1934) is one of South Korea's most renowned film directors. In an active and prolific career, his films have won many domestic and international film festival awards as well as considerable box-office success, and h ...
, Bong Joon-ho, and
Park Chan-wook Park Chan-wook ( ; born 23 August 1963) is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, producer, and former film critic. He is considered as one of the most prominent filmmakers of South Korean cinema as well as world cinema in 21st century. ...
; and actors
Ahn Sung-ki Ahn Sung-ki (born January 1, 1952) is a South Korean actor. One of the country's most respected actors, he has appeared in more than 130 films during his career of over 60 years. Career A native of Seoul, Ahn was the son of a veteran filmmaker ...
, Park Joong-hoon,
Song Kang-ho Song Kang-ho (born January 17, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Song made his film debut in '' The Day a Pig Fell into the Well'' (1996), and came to national prominence with a series of critically acclaimed performances, including ''No. 3'' (1997 ...
, and
Choi Min-sik Choi Min-sik (born April 27, 1962) is a South Korean actor. He received critical acclaim for his roles in '' Oldboy'' (2003), ''I Saw the Devil'' (2010) and '' The Admiral: Roaring Currents'' (2014). For his role in ''Oldboy'', he won the Best ...
; as well as producers, critics, and other industry figures. In the film, Chung questions why major film companies in the country prefer working with up-and-coming directors ― it turns out it is because it is easier for the companies to take control over the products ― and how challenging it is for older directors like himself to produce the kind of movies that they want to make. He also openly criticizes the current film distribution system which he thinks makes it difficult for independent or small-budget films to secure screens. He was the recipient of the
Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (; ; 6 January 192418 August 2009), was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democracy and human ...
Nobel Peace Film Award at the 2012 Gwangju International Film Festival. Chung said he believes "there's still a lot of passion in this industry, and that’s what keeps the diversity of Korean cinema against the dominance of the major production houses." When asked why he keeps poking at sensitive areas of politics and society, Chung answered, "I wouldn’t do it if younger directors tackled this kind of topic. I'm only doing it because they aren’t saying what needs to be said. I decided that if making a film like this requires courage, I was going to show that courage."


Filmography

* ''
Boys A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is "a ...
'' (2022) - director *'' Black Money'' (2019) - director *''Project Cheonan Ship'' (2013) - producer *''Lee Heon's Odyssey'' (
short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
in ''A Journey with Korean Masters'', 2013) - director *''Ari Ari the Korean Cinema'' (2012) - actor *'' National Security'' (2012) - director, screenplay *'' Unbowed'' (2012) - director, screenplay, producer *''Iri'' (2008) - cameo *''Extra'' (1998) - cameo *''Naked Being'' (1998) - director, cameo *''Blackjack'' (1997) - director *''7 Reasons Why Beer Is Better Than a Lover'' (1996) - director *''
Life and Death of the Hollywood Kid ''Life and Death of the Hollywood Kid'' ( ko, 헐리우드 키드의 생애, ''Hollywood Kid Eu Saeng-ae'') is a 1994 South Korean drama film directed by Chung Ji-young. The film was selected as the South Korean entry for the Best Foreign Langua ...
'' (1994) - director, adaptation *''Sun of Fire'' (1994) - cameo *'' White Badge'' (1992) - director, adaptation *''Beyond the Mountain'' (1991) - director, adaptation *'' North Korean Partisan in South Korea'' (1990) - director, producer *''Mountain Snake'' (1988) - director *''A Forest Where a Woman Breathes'' (1988) - director, screenplay *''A Woman on the Verge'' (1987) - director, cameo *''A Street Musician'' (1987) - director, screenplay *''The Light of Recollection'' (1984) - director *''Mrs. Kim Ma-ri'' (1983) - cameo *''The Mist Whispers Like a Woman'' (1982) - director, screenplay *''A Woman's Trap'' (1982) - screenplay *''Bird That Cries At Night'' (1982) - screenplay *''White Smile'' (1980) - screenplay *''Flower Woman'' (1979) - screenplay *''The Terms of Love'' (1979) - assistant director *''The Sound of Laughter'' (1978) - assistant director *''The Swamp of Exile'' (1978) - assistant director *''A Splendid Outing'' (1977) - assistant director *''Scissors, Rock, and Wrap'' (1976) - assistant director


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chung, Ji-young South Korean film directors South Korean screenwriters Dongguk University alumni Korea University alumni 1946 births Living people Best Director Paeksang Arts Award (film) winners