Kim Yong-hwa (born September 25, 1971) is a South Korean

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. Kim wrote and directed ''Oh! Brothers'' (2003), ''

200 Pounds Beauty ''200 Pounds Beauty'' (; "Beauty is painful") is a 2006 South Korean musical romantic comedy film written and directed by Kim Yong-hwa. It is based on the Japanese manga by Yumiko Suzuki about an overweight ghost singer who undergoes intensive pla ...

'' (2006), '' Take Off'' (2009) and '' Mr. Go'' (2013).

Career

Kim Yong-hwa majored in Film Studies at Chung-Ang University, but because of financial difficulties, it took him a decade to graduate. His graduation project in 1999 was the

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 the Jungle'' (titled "Salted Mackerel" in Korean), about two brothers (one of whom is a deaf-mute) taking care of a terminally ill mother, who are ordered to leave the hospital after they are late in paying the bills. ''In the Jungle'' won prizes at the 42nd Rochester International Film Festival and the 33rd Houston International Film Festival in 2000. For his feature directorial debut, Kim wrote and directed ''Oh! Brothers'', a comedy about an amoral, debt-ridden private detective who upon his father's death learns he has a younger half-brother with progeria, played by Lee Jung-jae and Lee Beom-soo. ''Oh! Brothers'' was the sixth best-selling Korean film of 2003, with 3.2 million tickets sold. In 2006, Kim cast Kim Ah-joong in a star-making role as the protagonist of ''

'' (titled "It's Hard to Be a Beauty" in Korean), based on the Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

''Kanna's Big Success!'' by Yumiko Suzuki about an overweight ghost singer/

phone sex Phone sex is a conversation between two or more people by means of the telephone which is sexually explicit and is intended to provoke sexual arousal in one or more participants. All parties participate voluntarily; it is typically accompanied ...

operator who transforms her life after intensive plastic surgery and becomes a pop star. A

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 ...

as well as a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

indictment of a hypocritical society that places too much value on appearance, the film's themes on beauty and self-esteem resonated with female Korean audiences, and ''200 Pounds Beauty'' became a

sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little promo ...

with 6.6 million admissions, making it the year's third best-selling domestic film. Kim won Best New Director at the 30th Golden Cinematography Awards in 2007, and received several nominations for directing and screenwriting. Critics praised Kim for his smart, well-made commercial films, as well as for challenging the bias against physical disability and obesity in Korean society. Kim said, "Comedy starts off with pain. But is it really best to portray that pain in a painful way? If one has really experienced pain, and really gone to the depth of it, I doubt one will really put a raw edge on it. I am drawn to a movie that contains both joy and sadness, and at the same time remains simple and light. My answer to comedy is to include both 'a teardrop and a smile.'" 2009 sports film '' Take Off'' (titled "National Athlete" or "National Team" in Korean) became Kim's third consecutive box office hit. Starring Ha Jung-woo, Kim Dong-wook, Kim Ji-seok, Choi Jae-hwan, Lee Jae-eung and Sung Dong-il as a rag-tag group of athletes formed to support Muju City's 1996 Olympics bid but whose passion and competitive spirit won them a berth at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, it was based on the true story of the oft-overlooked Korean national ski jumping team, which faced poor domestic support and unfavorable conditions but went on to win successive medals in the Winter Universiade. According to Kim, the protagonist played by Ha Jung-woo, an ex-U.S. junior alpine skier and

adoptee Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

who returns to Korea in search of his birth mother, was inspired by real-life athlete

Toby Dawson Toby Dawson ( ko, 김수철, Kim Soo-cheol, born 김봉석, Kim Bong-seok May 4, 1979 in Busan, South Korea) is an American retired mogul (skiing), mogul skier. He won a bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Dawson is a featured athlete on t ...

. ''Take Off'' became the second highest-grossing Korean film of the year, with 8.8 million tickets sold. Kim won Best Director at the 29th

Korean Association of Film Critics Awards The Korean Association of Film Critics Awards (), also known as the Critics Choice Awards (), is an annual awards ceremony for excellence in film in South Korea. It was established in 1980 by the Korean Association of Film Critics (KAFC). The c ...

, the 46th

Grand Bell Awards The Grand Bell Awards (), also known as the Daejong Film Awards, is an awards ceremony presented annually by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea for excellence in film in South Korea. The Grand Bell Awards retains prestige as the oldest co ...

, and the 30th

Blue Dragon Film Awards The Blue Dragon Film Awards () is an annual awards ceremony that is presented by ''Sports Chosun'' (a sister brand of the ''Chosun Ilbo'') for excellence in film in South Korea. The Blue Dragon Film Awards considers only blockbusters and popula ...

, while ''Take Off'' won Best Film at the 17th Chunsa Film Art Awards and the 46th Baeksang Arts Awards. Kim next took on his most ambitious project to date with '' Mr. Go'', which had a () budget (one of the largest budgets in Korean cinema history), with funded by China-based Huayi Brothers. Based on Huh Young-man's 1984 manhwa ''The 7th Team'', the film centers on a 15-year-old girl (played by Xu Jiao) who tries to save her grandfather's circus after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake by becoming the sports agent of a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

-playing

gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...

named Ling Ling (inspired by Christian the lion). ''Mr. Go'' was filmed in stereoscopic 3D, and Kim founded a new

visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...

company Dexter Studios to develop and innovate

motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...

and

facial motion capture Facial motion capture is the process of electronically converting the movements of a person's face into a digital database using cameras or laser scanners. This database may then be used to produce computer graphics (CG), computer animation for mo ...

techniques, and a digital fur production program to make the gorilla as realistic as possible; a team of more than 500 animators and CG professionals spent four years on the production and over a year

editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

. ''Mr. Go'' was released in South Korea and China simultaneously in 2013; it was not a commercial success in South Korea, ending Kim's winning streak at the domestic box office. However, it fared better in Mainland China where it was marketed as a children's film and shown exclusively in 3D theaters (with premium ticket prices), making more than double the South Korean gross. ''Mr. Go'' also made a name for Dexter Studios, now recognized as a VFX pioneer in Korea. In April 2022, Kim signed a contract with United Talent Agency

Filmography

*''In the Jungle'' (

, 1999) -

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

*''Oh! Brothers'' (2003) - director, screenwriter *''

'' (2006) - director, screenwriter *'' Take Off'' (2009) - director, screenwriter,

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

*'' My Way'' (2011) -

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

*'' Mr. Go'' (2013) - director, screenwriter, script editor,

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

, executive producer *'' Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds'' (2017) - director, screenwriter * '' Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days'' (2018) - director, screenwriter

Awards

*2007 30th Golden Cinematography Awards: Best New Director (''

'') *2009 17th Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards: Best Film Director ('' Take Off'') *2009 Young Artist of Today: Recipient, Film category *2009 29th

: Best Director ('' Take Off'') *2009 46th

: Best Director ('' Take Off'') *2009 30th

: Best Director ('' Take Off'') *2018

54th Baeksang Arts Awards The 54th Baeksang Arts Awards () ceremony was held on May 3, 2018, at Hall D, COEX in Seoul. Hosted by Shin Dong-yup, Bae Suzy and Park Bo-gum, it was broadcast live on JTBC. Organised by '' Ilgan Sports'' and JTBC Plus, it is South Korea's on ...

: Best Director ('' Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds'')

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Yong-hwa 1971 births Living people South Korean film directors South Korean screenwriters South Korean film producers Chung-Ang University alumni Best Director Paeksang Arts Award (film) winners