1. Kim Jee-woon is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, and producer.
60 Facts About Kim Jee-woon
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Kim Jee-woon was a theater actor and director before debuting with his self-written and directed film, The Quiet Family in 1998.
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Kim Jee-woon is known for the films The Foul King, The Good, the Bad, the Weird and I Saw the Devil.
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Kim Jee-woon was born on July 6,1964, in Seoul, South Korea and is the youngest of six siblings.
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Kim Jee-woon grew up in Samgak-dong, a neighborhood between present day Jongno and Euljiro.
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In 1983, Kim Jee-woon entered the Department of theater at Seoul Institute of the Arts.
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Kim Jee-woon built up his career in the field by writing and directing several plays, including Hot Sea and Movie Movie.
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Kim Jee-woon acted onstage in the musical Guys and Dolls and Anton Chekhov's play The Seagull.
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Kim Jee-woon begin his film career as assistant director for Lee Sung-soo's 1994 film The Young Lover.
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In 1996, Kim Jee-woon started his career as a screenwriter by chance, because he was in a car accident and had to pay for the repairs, which amounted to KRW 6 million.
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Kim Jee-woon won a competition in the movie magazine Premiere with his script entitled Wonderful Seasons.
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In 1997, Kim Jee-woon went to a ramen shop, and the lady owner used Cine21 magazine instead of a tray.
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Kim Jee-woon wrote a film script entitled The Quiet Family, and won first prize.
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In 2000, Kim Jee-woon directed and wrote his second feature film, The Foul King, which reunited him with Song Kang-ho.
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In 2001, Kim Jee-woon directed and wrote a short film entitled Coming Out.
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The film is about vampires, among other things, and Kim Jee-woon wrote and directed Coming Out as part of a project to distribute three digital short films online.
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Kim Jee-woon next wrote and directed the "Memories" segment in the omnibus film, Three, featuring segments directed by Peter Chan and Nonzee Nimibutr.
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Kim Jee-woon wrote and directed A Tale of Two Sisters, an adaptation of a Joseon Dynasty era folktale called Janghwa Hongryeon jeon.
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Kim Jee-woon won the "Action Asia Award" at the 2006 Deauville Asian Film Festival.
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In 2008, Kim Jee-woon wrote and directed The Good, the Bad, the Weird, his tribute to Sergio Leone's western action film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
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Kim Jee-woon would re-team again with Song Kang-ho as well as Lee Byung-hun in the film.
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In 2010, Kim Jee-woon directed, based on a screenplay from Park Hoon-jung, the thriller I Saw the Devil, the first time Kim Jee-woon directed a film from a script by someone else.
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Kim Jee-woon thought one of the most important things was to find the right antagonist for Choi's character.
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Kim Jee-woon met Lee Byung-hun whom he worked with previously on The Good, the Bad, the Weird in a festival and he agreed to headline the film.
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The Korea Media Rating Board forced Kim Jee-woon to re-cut the film for its theatrical release, objecting to its violent content.
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On 3 November 2010 Kim Jee-woon attended the London Korean Film Festival to introduce the restored version of I Saw The Devil.
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In 2006, Kim Jee-woon directed and wrote the segment known as "The Heavenly Creature" about a robot who achieves enlightenment in a Buddhist temple, in 2012 omnibus film Doomsday Book.
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In 2010, Kim Jee-woon was hired as director for US film The Last Stand, which was produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Lionsgate Films.
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Kim Jee-woon had acquired Andrew Knauer's spec script for The Last Stand in June 2009, prior to Kim's involvement.
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Kim Jee-woon himself expressed interest in the film's storyline of protecting something valuable, no matter how small, and the idea of using old-fashioned methods to take down advanced technology.
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Kim Jee-woon came up with a lot of ideas even though his on-site schedule was tight, and his instantaneous and intuitive judgments were excellent.
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Kim Jee-woon filmed The X using Korea's new multi-projection technology, ScreenX.
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In 2014, Kim Jee-woon was honored at the Gerardmer Film Festival, where his previous works had been recognized.
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Kim Jee-woon had previously received the Grand Prize in 2004 for A Tale of Two Sisters, as well as the Critics' Prize and Audience Prize in 2011 for I Saw the Devil.
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From 2017 to 2018, Kim Jee-woon filmed the science fiction action film Illang: The Wolf Brigade, which is a remake of the 1999 anime film Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade Featured a star-studded cast that includes Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung, Kim Jee-woon Mu-yeol and Choi Min-ho, the film was released in the summer of 2018.
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In September 2023, Kim Jee-woon participated in the 10th Prada Mode exhibition titled 'Multiple and Parallel' alongside director Yeon Sang-ho and Jeong Da-hee.
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Director Kim Jee-woon Ji-woon created a space called 'The Faint Shadow of Old Love' using 'the ordinary' as an object.
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Kim Jee-woon is recognized for his ability to push the boundaries of various film genres.
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Kim Jee-woon has written and directed films that span a wide range of genres, including horror, comedy, sci-fi, noir, western, and spy thrillers.
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Rather than relying on a formulaic approach, Kim Jee-woon's filmmaking involves exploring a diverse array of eras, styles, and genres with impressive proficiency.
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Kim Jee-woon is a filmmaker known for his meticulous attention to detail and processes, much like a watchmaker.
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Kim Jee-woon's directing techniques are characterized by smooth camerawork and his use of classic colors, lighting effects, and rich architectural set design, which are prominent features of his visual storytelling.
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One of the defining characteristics of Kim Jee-woon's work is his masterful staging of action sequences.
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Kim Jee-woon has a reputation for creating incredibly intense and realistic action scenes that are both visually stunning and emotionally impactful.
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Additionally, Kim Jee-woon is renowned for his affinity for graphic violence, which makes even his famous compatriots Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-wook pale in comparison.
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Kim Jee-woon often explores the psychological motivations of his characters, delving deep into their inner worlds to reveal their fears, desires, and vulnerabilities.
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Kim Jee-woon's films are known for their intricate visual design, which is not derived from his personal background.
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However, critics have noted that Kim Jee-woon's films are quite different from Bresson's style.
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Kim Jee-woon has mentioned on multiple occasions that he was inspired and influenced by the works of French auteur Jean-Pierre Melville, whose films he watched as a child.
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Kim Jee-woon has referred to his film A Bittersweet Life was a Koreanized Melville.
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In regards to Melville's influence on his filmmaking, Kim Jee-woon identifies two key takeaways.
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In essence, Kim Jee-woon seeks to emulate Melville's ability to speak without words, both in terms of expression and deeper meaning.
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Kim Jee-woon took inspiration from David Fincher's Zodiac when shaping the visual style of his film I Saw the Devil.
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Kim Jee-woon specifically incorporated the muted colors and contrast used in Zodiac to capture the mood of the time period.
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Kim Jee-woon has formed several long-lasting partnerships and close collaborations with talented professionals in these fields.
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Similarly, Kim Jee-woon collaborated with cinematographer Kim Jee-woon Ji-yong on A Bittersweet Life, The Last Stand, and The Age of Shadows.
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Kim Jee-woon has developed a productive partnership with music director Mowg, beginning with their first collaboration on the omnibus film Doomsday Book.
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Kim Jee-woon worked three times with Music director Dalpalan in Three.
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Furthermore, Kim Jee-woon has a talent for attracting top-tier acting talents.
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Kim Jee-woon donated his entire modeling fee from Japanese Sony Bravia to VANK, a cyber diplomatic mission.