Cho Sung-hyung is a German film maker, director, editor and professor living and working in Germany with South Korean roots. She got German citizenship in 2012 for her documentary ''My Brothers and Sisters in the North''.

Biography

Cho was born 1966 in

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

, and grew up in Busan. When she was five years old, her mother moved to West Germany, where she worked as a nurse. Cho received a BA in Mass Communications Studies from

Yonsei University Yonsei University () is a Private university, private Christian university, Christian research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Yonsei is one of the three most prestigious universities in the country, part of a group referred to as SK ...

. In 1990, Cho moved to Marburg in Germany to pursue an MA in art history, media studies and philosophy at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

. She continued with post-graduate studies in Theater Film and Media Sciences at

Goethe University Frankfurt Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...

and a course in electronic images at

Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach am Main The Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG) Offenbach am Main (English: ''Offenbach am Main College of Design'') is a German art and design university located in Offenbach am Main, in the German state of Hesse. It was given university status in 1970, a ...

. Between 2004 and 2007, she had taught ''Editoring, Documentary and Dramaturgy'' at

SAE Institute The SAE Institute (SAE) and SAE University College (in Australia), formerly the School of Audio Engineering and the SAE Technology College and badged SAE Creative Media Education, is a network of colleges around the world that provides creativ ...

and was between 2008 and 2009, an assistant lecturer at the Technical University of

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

; in 2010 as an assistant professor. Since 2011, Cho teaches as a regular professor ''The Art of Film/Movie Making'' at the University for Visual Arts of Saar in Saarbrücken, Germany. She worked as a freelance editor and led

editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written language, written, Image editing, visual, Audio engineer, audible, or Film editing, cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing p ...

seminars at the Filmhaus Frankfurt and SAE Institute. She also directed

documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...

and

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

s. Since 2018, she has been a member of the jury of the Federal Festival of Young Film at

St. Ingbert St. Ingbert (; sometimes spelled in full as Sankt Ingbert; or ''Dimbert'') is a town in the Saarpfalz district in Saarland, Germany with a population of 34,971 (2021). It is situated approximately 10 km north-east of Saarbrücken and 10&nb ...

Film career

Cho was an assistant editor for the German television series ''

Ein Fall für zwei ''A case for two'' (German: ''Ein Fall für zwei'') is a German television series, which premiered on 11 September 1981 on ZDF. The series, set in Frankfurt, features two main characters who solve crimes: a defense attorney and a private investi ...

'', also working on documentaries and music videos. Her documentary ''

Full Metal Village ''Full Metal Village'' is a 2006 documentary film about the lives of the residents of a small village in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken, in a series of interviews and visual tableaux as it prepares for the annual Wacken Open Air ...

'' received the Hessian Film Award in 2006 and the Max Ophüls Prize and was named best documentary by the Guild of German Art House Cinemas in 2007. In 2016, Cho had filmed and was starring in the documentary ''Meine Brüder und Schwestern in Nordkorea'' – other international titles: ''Meine Brüder und Schwestern im Norden'', ''My Brothers and Sisters in the North''. She was the first South Korean director who was allowed to visit North Korea after

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

without being charged for treason by South Korea, because she has a German passport. She gave up South Korean citizenship and took the German one just for making this documentary and getting a visa and the permission of shooting from North Korea.

Selected filmography

Director & Editor

* ''

'' (2006) * ''Home from Home'' (2009) * ''11 Freundinnen'' (2011) * ''Endstation Der Sehnsuchte'' (2012) * ''Far East Devotion – Love Letters from Pyongyang'' (2015) * ''Two Voices From Korea'' (2015) * ''My Brothers and Sisters in the North'' (2016)

Editor Only

* ''Freudenhaus'' (2001) * ''Verirrte Eskimos'' (2003) * ''Parzifal in Isfahan'' (2004)

Awards

Won

* 2006: Schleswig-Holstein Film Award for ''Full Metal Village'' * 2006: Hessian Film Award for ''Full Metal Village'' * 2007: Max Ophüls Award for ''Full Metal Village'' as first documentary ever * 2007: Guild of German Art House Cinemas Award for ''Full Metal Village'' * 2007: Award for advancing of upcoming artists of the DEFA Foundation * 2009: Best regional long film of 2. Lichter film festival for ''Endstation der Sehnsücht'' * 2016: Best regional long film of 9. Lichter film festival for ''eine Brüder und Schwesterin im Norde'' * 2016: Best documentary film at 26. Filmkunstfests Mecklenburg-Vorpommern for ''Meine Brüder und Schwesterin im Norde''

Norminated

* 2007 Golden Eye Award Zurich Film Festival for ''Full Metal Village''

References

External links

*
Personal homepage

Personal university homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cho, Sung-hyung 1966 births Living people South Korean women film directors South Korean film editors People from Busan Mass media people from Seoul University of Marburg alumni Women film editors Yonsei University alumni