Young Man Kang (born April 6, 1966 in

South Chungcheong South Chungcheong Province ( ko, 충청남도, ''Chungcheongnam-do''), also known as Chungnam, is a province of South Korea. South Chungcheong has a population of 2,059,871 (2014) and has a geographic area of 8,204 km2 (3,168 sq mi) located in ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

) is a

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 ** ...

filmmaker based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Kang directed and produced ''

The Last Eve ''The Last Eve'' is a 2005 action film directed by Young Man Kang, a Korean-born filmmaker who made his U.S. directing debut '' Cupid's Mistake'' (2001). Plot This film is journeying backwards through history while telling, re-telling and re-imag ...

'' (2005), '' Soap Girl'' (2002), ''

Cupid's Mistake ''Cupid's Mistake'' is a 2001 comedy film directed by Young Man Kang, a Korean-born filmmaker who made his U.S. directing debut with this production. The film is notable for being produced for $980, which was recognized by the '' Guinness Book of ...

'' (2001) and ''Kimchi Warrior'' (2009). He is the director and founder of Seoul Webfest.

Early life

Young Man Kang studied fine arts at Hong-ik University in Seoul, Korea. In 1994, Kang moved to New York City where he studied film at the New School. In 1996, Kang moved to Los Angeles and began his film career working as a director for a television commercial production company.

Career

Between 2000 and 2010, Kang directed five feature films. His feature debut,

, was made with a budget of $980 USD and held screenings in Los Angeles and New York City.

's low budget earned Kang a Guinness World Records award for the lowest film budget on record. In 2013, Kang premiered the documentary Innocence Abandoned: Street Kids of Haiti at the Monaco Charity Film Festival. Kang created the animated web drama Kimchi Warrior in 2009 to help promote

kimchi ''Kimchi'' (; ko, 김치, gimchi, ), is a traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including ''gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), sprin ...

and

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

in entertainment. The animation uses a mix of 2D animation with Flash, Photoshop, and After Effects and includes a character designed by Christopher Nadolski. Kimchi Warrior won several awards at the

Los Angeles Web Series Festival The Los Angeles Web Series Festival, more commonly known as the LA Web Fest, is a web series festival based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 2009 by Michael Okwudili Ajakwe Jr and was one of the first web series-based events; ''Filmm ...

including Best Animation and Best Score. In 2019, Kang released the web series Lotte Haus with the support of the Wetzlar Lotte House in Germany and the

Lotte World Tower The Lotte World Tower () is a 123-story Megatall skyscraper located in Sincheon-dong, Songpa, Seoul, South Korea. It opened to the public on April 3, 2017, and is currently the tallest building in South Korea and the sixth tallest in the worl ...

in Seoul, South Korea. Lotte House is based on

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...

’s first novel, “

The Sorrows of Young Werther ''The Sorrows of Young Werther'' (; german: Die Leiden des jungen Werthers) is a 1774 epistolary novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, which appeared as a revised edition in 1787. It was one of the main novels in the ''Sturm ...

”. Lotte Haus won the award for Best Branded Series at the British Web Awards in 2020 as well as several others at various festivals. Kang's production company, YMK Films, is located in

Seoul Webfest

Kang founded Seoul Webfest (formerly known as Kweb Fest) in July 2015. It takes place yearly in South Korea and is the first web series festival in Korea & Northeast Asia. The event was created as a result of the popularity of web series in Korea. Each year, Seoul Webfest chooses between 100 to 150 web series to screen and offers 30 to 40 awards. Additionally, the festival features panels, question and answer sessions, technology exhibitions, and tours. The event was formally sponsored by the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Filmography

# Lotte Haus - Director, Producer 2019 # Beyond the Border - Director, Producer, Writer (screenplay), Cinematographer, Editor 2009 # Haitian Street Kids Revisited - Director, Producer 2009 # Kimchi Warrior - Director, Producer, Writer, 2009 # Mad Cowgirl - Dirty Ho (as actor) 2006 # Koreatown - Producer 2006 #

- Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer 2005 # Until the Night - Reporter 2004 # Death Valley Diary - Director, Producer, Writer, 2003 # Soap Girl - Director, Editor 2002 # Secret of the Five Fingers (video) - Cinematographer 2002 #

- Director, Producer, Writer, Young 2001 # 1st Testament CIA Vengeance - Director, Producer, Korean Peace Preservation Agent, Editor 2001 # America So Beautiful - Storyboard Artist 2001 # Haitian Slave Children (documentary short) - Director, Cinematographer, Editor 2001 # Images of Korea (short) - Director, Writer 2000 # Desire L.A. (short) - Director, Producer 2000 # Rocket's Red Glare - Storyboard Artist 2000 # Toilet Lesson (short) - Director, Producer, Writer 2000 # The Mao Game - Storyboard Artist 1999 # Death of Sunflower - Director, Writer 1999

As Himself

*'' KBS Korean Report; Young Man Kang Goes to Hollywood (documentary, 2004)

Awards and honors

;Won *New York International Independent Film and Video Festival: *#Best Action Feature Film Award (

) *

New York B Movie Film Festival New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

: *#Best Cinematography (

) *

Big Bear Lake International Film Festival The Big Bear International Film Festival was held in the mountain community of Big Bear Lake, California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. Wit ...

: *#Audience Award ( Soap Girl) *

WorldFest Houston The WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, founded in 1968, is an annual film festival held annually in April in Houston, Texas. Notable festival alumni include John Lee Hancock, who wrote and directed the Oscar-winning film '' The Blind ...

: *#Silver Award ( Haitian Slave Children) *

Jamerican International Film Festival Jamaican Americans are an ethnic group of Caribbean Americans who have full or partial Jamaican ancestry. The largest proportions of Jamaican Americans live in South Florida and New York City, both of which have been home to large Jamaican commu ...

: *#Best Effort ( Haitian Slave Children) *

: *#Killer B Award (

1st Testament CIA Vengeance First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

) *#Special Achievement (

)

References

External links

*
YMK Films
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kang, Young Man 1966 births Living people South Korean film directors American film directors of Korean descent Hongik University alumni People from Seosan