Im Kwon-taek (; born December 8, 1934) is one of South Korea's most renowned film directors. In an active and prolific career, his films have won many domestic and international film festival awards, as well as considerable box-office success, and helped bring international attention to the Korean film industry. As of spring 2015, he has directed 102 films.
Early life
Im Kwon-taek was born in
Jangseong,
Zenranan Prefecture,
Korea, Empire of Japan
From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (), the Japanese reading of "Joseon".
Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under polic ...
, and grew up in
Gwangju
Gwangju (; ), formerly romanized as Kwangju, is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated Special cities of South Korea, metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home ...
. After the
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 ...
, he moved to
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 ...
in search of work. He then moved to
Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
in 1956, where
Jeong Chang-hwa, director of ''
Five Fingers of Death'' (1972), offered him room and board for work as a production assistant. Jeong recommended him for directing in
1961.
Career
Im's directorial premiere was with the
1962
The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War.
Events January
* January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...
film, ''
Farewell to the Duman River'' (''Dumanganga jal itgeola'').
Before 1980, he was known primarily as a commercial filmmaker who could efficiently direct as many as eight genre pictures a year, helping to fulfill the quota for domestic pictures set by the governmen
His desire to make more artistically satisfying films began to show itself with his
1978 in film, 1978 film ''Jokbo'' (''Genealogy'' or ''The Family Tree''), but the turning point of his career came with the
1981 film ''
Mandala''. From this point his films have been regarded as
art-house cinema, and have been regularly shown at international film festivals, and have won numerous awards.
Im has continued to explore themes from Korea's past while also focusing on the Korean cultural identity in modern times. Among Im's most notable recent films are ''
Sopyonje'' (1993) and ''
Chunhyang'' (2000), both of which concentrate on the traditional Korean musical art of
pansori. The latter film was also based on a traditional Korean legend. Apart from being a critical success, ''Sopyonje'' was also a success at the box office, becoming the first domestic film to draw over a million viewers in
Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
alone. ''
Chihwaseon'' (2002) was also a critical success, earning him Korea's first Best Director award at the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
.
Im Kwon-taek was awarded an
Honorary Golden Bear award at the
Berlin Film Festival in 2005.
Im Kwon-taek's status, brought on by the critical success of his films, overlapped with a period of the film movement called "New Korean Cinema" or "Korean New Wave". Along with other directors, such as
Park Gwang-su and
Jang Sun-woo, Im is recognized as one of the founding figures of the movement, which gained international critical recognition and acclaim for Korean Cinema.
In April 2007, Im released his 100th film ''
Beyond the Years'', an informal sequel to ''Sopyonje''. In November 2007 the French government announced that it would make Im a knight of the
French Legion of Honor.
In 2013, a museum dedicated to Im opened in Busan, on the
Dongseo University Centum City Campus.
A documentary on Im, ''
Cloud, Encore'' (2018) by well-known film critic-turned-director
Jung Sung-il, made its world premiere at the
23rd Busan International Film Festival in 2018.
Personal life
He married the actress (), who appeared in several of his films. Their two sons Im Dong-joon and Im Dong-jae (
Kwon Hyun-sang) are also active in the film industry.
Filmography
Accolades
*
Asian Film Awards:
**Lifetime Achievement Award
*
Asia Pacific Film Festival
**Special Jury Award ''Chunhyang'' (2000)
**Best Director and Best Film ''Sibaji'' (1987)
*
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
**
Golden Bear: ''
Gilsoddeum'' (nominated) (
1986)
**Golden Bear: ''
The Taebaek Mountains'' (nominated) (
1995)
**
Honorary Golden Bear (2005)
*
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
**
Best Director ''Chihwaseon'' (2002)
*
Grand Bell Awards (Korea), Best Director
**''Testimony'' (''Jungon'') (1974)
**''Jokbo'' (Genealogy/Family Tree) (1979)
**''Mandala'' (1981)
**''Ticket'' (1986)
**''Yeonsan ilgi'' (''Diary of King Yonsan'') (1988)
*Hankuk Play and Film Arts Awards (Korea), Best Director
**''Wangshibri'' (''A Byegone Romance'') (1976)
**''Nakdongkaneun heureuneunga'' (''Commando on the Nakdong River'') (1976)
**''Angae maeul'' (''Village in the Mist'') (1983)
State honors
See also
*
Cinema of Korea
*
List of Korean film directors
*
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
*
List of Legion of Honour recipients by name (I)
*
Legion of Honour Museum
Notes
External links and references
*
Page about the Korean New Wave at asianinfo.org
*
*
a
asianfilms.org
*
*, p. 342-343.
Naver Cast - Im Kwon-taek
Doosan Encyclopedia - Im Kwon-taek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Im, Kwon-taek
1936 births
Knights of the Legion of Honour
Living people
South Korean film directors
People from Jangseong County
Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director winners
Fellini Gold Medalists
Honorary Golden Bear recipients
Recipients of the Ho-Am Prize in the Arts
Best Director Paeksang Arts Award (film) winners