Jang Hoon

Jang Hoon (born May 4, 1975) is a South Korean film director. He directed the films Rough Cut (2008), Secret Reunion (2010), The Front Line (2011), and A Taxi Driver (2017).

For Jang Hun the Korean baseball player, see Isao Harimoto.
In this Korean name, the family name is Jang.
Jang Hoon
Born (1975-05-04) May 4, 1975
Jeongseon, Gangwon, South Korea
EducationB.Des. (Visual design)
Alma materSeoul National University
OccupationFilm director, writer, editor
Years active2005 – present
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationJang Hun
McCune–ReischauerChang Hun

Career

Jang Hoon (along with Jang Cheol-soo and Juhn Jai-hong) honed his directorial skills as an assistant director under Kim Ki-duk. His debut film Rough Cut (2008), about a gangster who wants to become an actor and an actor who thinks he is as tough as a gangster, was written and produced by Kim. Rough Cut was much more commercially oriented than Kim's own movies, and the star power of its two leading actors So Ji-sub and Kang Ji-hwan propelled the indie to more than one million admissions, resulting in a profit 10 times its low budget.[1][2]

Jang's second feature, Secret Reunion (2010), benefited even more from the director's populist sensibility.[3] A story about two intelligence agents, one from South Korea and the other from the North (played by Song Kang-ho and Kang Dong-won, respectively), who approach each other in acts of espionage only to develop an unlikely friendship, the film sold 5.5 million tickets, making it the second highest grossing Korean film of that year.[2]

His third film, The Front Line, was a large-scale war movie that came out during the 2011 summer blockbuster season.[4][5] Starring Go Soo and Shin Ha-kyun, the film was the most well-received among the ample number of Korean War-themed films and TV dramas commemorating the 60th anniversary of the war. Through the guise of a mystery narrative, the film revolved around the story of South and North Korean soldiers carrying out meaningless sacrifices trying to capture a nameless hill.[6][7][8][2] It was selected as South Korea's submission to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film,[9] but did not make the final shortlist.[10]

Jang became the subject of controversy when former mentor Kim Ki-duk's documentary-style self-portrait Arirang was released. In the Cannes award-winning film, the elder cineaste explicitly criticized him as "a betrayer" after Jang signed with the film production company Showbox/Mediaplex.[11] Regarding the matter, Jang said, "I hope director Kim can find consolation through Arirang. He is a great teacher and I still respect him very much. I feel very sorry as a pupil of his."[4]

In 2012 Jang, Kang Hyeong-cheol and E J-yong made short films for Samsung Galaxy Note's ambitious PPL-film project Cine Note starring Ha Jung-woo.[12]

Filmography
  • A Taxi Driver 택시 운전사 (director, 2017)
  • Cine Note 시네 노트 "Lost Number" (short film, director, 2012)
  • The Front Line 고지전 (director, 2011)
  • Secret Reunion 의형제 (director, script editor, 2010)
  • Rough Cut 영화는 영화다 (director, script editor, 2008)
  • Time 시간 (assistant director, assistant editor, 2006)
  • The Bow 활 (assistant director, 2005)
  • 3-Iron 빈집 (assistant director, 2004)
  • Love, So Divine 신부수업 (assistant director, 2004)
  • Samaritan Girl 사마리아 (assistant director, 2004)
  • Hera Purple 헤라 퍼플 (assistant director, 2001)

Recurring collaborators

Actor Ko Chang-seok has appeared in all three of Jang's feature films in supporting roles.

References
  1. "The Rising Power of Chungmuro - Rookie Directors". KBS World. 22 October 2008. Archived from the original on 2013-05-24.
  2. "CHANG Hun". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  3. Lee, Ji-hye (16 March 2010). "Director Jang Hun's Movie Picks". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  4. Park, Sung-hee (16 June 2011). "The Front Line spotlights the Forgotten War". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  5. Ki, Sun-min (22 July 2011). "Battlefield film begins at war's end". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 11 June 2013. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  6. "Director Jang Hun - The Front Line". Asiance Magazine. 21 January 2012. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  7. Heskins, Andrew (15 March 2012). "On The Front Line: an interview with Jang Hun". Eastern Kicks. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  8. Conran, Pierce. "Interview: 'The Front Line' Director Jang Hoon". Modern Korean Cinema. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  9. Noh, Jean (2011-08-24). "South Korea submits The Front Line for Oscar race". Screen International. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  10. "9 Foreign Language Films Vie for Oscar". Oscars.org. Archived from the original on 2012-05-21. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
  11. Lee, Hyo-won (22 May 2011). "Cannes hears out filmmakers angst". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  12. Lee, Claire (20 January 2012). "Smartphones help directors look at films from new angles". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
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