Jang Tae-yoo (born 1972) is a South Korean
television director
A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the prod ...
. He directed the
Korean drama
Korean drama (), also known as K-drama or Koreanovela, refers to Korean language, Korean-language television shows made in South Korea. These shows began to be produced around the early 1960s, but were mostly consumed domestically until the rise ...
s ''
War of Money'' (2007), ''
Painter of the Wind'' (2008), ''
Deep Rooted Tree'' (2011), ''
My Love from the Star
''My Love from the Star'' () is a South Korean fantasy romantic comedy television series written by Park Ji-eun and directed by Jang Tae-yoo. Produced by Choi Moon-suk and Moon Bo-mi, it stars Jun Ji-hyun, Kim Soo-hyun, Park Hae-jin, Yoo ...
'' (2013-2014), ''
Hyena
Hyenas or hyaenas ( ; from Ancient Greek , ) are feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the family Hyaenidae (). With just four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the order Carnivora and one of the sma ...
'' (2020), and ''
Lovers of the Red Sky'' (2021).
Career
Jang Tae-yoo entered
Seoul National University
Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities.
The university's main c ...
in 1998 majoring in Industrial Design, but eventually dropped out. He originally wanted to direct
commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services
** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money
* a dose of advertising ...
s, but during the
IMF crisis, there were no new hires at advertising agencies. So his older brother Jang Hyuk-jae, then a
television director
A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the prod ...
at
SBS, encouraged him to join the network.
Jang began working as an
assistant director
The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...
on the
television drama
In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...
''Tomato'' in 1999, which he later described as more difficult than
mandatory military service. This was followed by ''Woman on Top'' (also in 1999; though he was replaced after three months), ''Ladies in the Palace'' (2001-2002), ''Sunrise House'' (2002), and ''Punch'' (2003). He was also the
second unit
A second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming s ...
director on ''Choice'' (2004-2005) and ''
Bad Housewife'' (2005).
Jang's first drama as the lead director was ''
The 101st Proposal'' (2006) starring
Lee Moon-sik
Lee Moon-sik (born November 13, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Lee Moon-sik debuted in Jang Jin films of the late 1990s after an illustrious career in Daehak-ro (considered the " Korean Broadway"), where he learned great comic timing, ad-lib ...
and
Park Sun-young, a
remake
A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...
of the same-titled 1991
Japanese drama about an unattractive but kind-hearted aging bachelor who meets the girl of his dreams, a TV announcer still mourning her dead boyfriend. Then in 2007, Jang directed ''
War of Money'', which explored
loan shark
A loan shark is a person who offers loans at Usury, extremely high or illegal interest rates, has strict terms of debt collection, collection, and generally operates criminal, outside the law, often using the threat of violence or other illegal, ...
culture and drew high ratings as well as praise for its cast led by
Park Shin-yang (Park later won the highest honor, called the "Daesang" or Grand Prize, at the 2007
SBS Drama Awards
The SBS Drama Awards (), also known as SBS Awards Festival, is an awards ceremony presented annually by Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) for outstanding achievements in Korean dramas aired on its network. It is held annually on December 31. The hi ...
). Jang reunited with Park in the
period drama
A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...
''
Painter of the Wind'' (2008), adapted from Lee Jung-myung's
historical fiction
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...
novel that depicted the relationship between two
Joseon era
Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...
artists,
Kim Hong-do and
Shin Yun-bok (the latter is a woman disguised as a man, portrayed by
Moon Geun-young
Moon Geun-young (; born May 6, 1987) is a South Korean actress. Affectionately called the "Nation's Little Sister", Moon began modeling at the age of 10, then made her acting debut in 1999 as a child actress. She first rose to stardom through h ...
). Though Jang said he found it "challenging to make art interesting," the drama drew critical acclaim, particularly for Moon, who became the youngest ever Daesang winner at the
2008 SBS Drama Awards
The 2008 SBS Drama Awards () is a ceremony honoring the best performances in television on the Seoul Broadcasting System, SBS network for the year 2008. It was held on December 31, 2008, at the SBS Open Hall in Deungchon-dong, Seoul, and was host ...
. ''War of Money'' and ''Painter of the Wind'' established Jang as one of the top production-directors (or "PD") in Korean television.
For his next drama, Jang chose another Lee Jung-myung adaptation ''
Deep Rooted Tree'' (2011), about a murder mystery surrounding
King Sejong
Sejong (; 15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450), commonly known as Sejong the Great (), was the fourth monarch of the Joseon, Joseon dynasty of Korea. He is regarded as the greatest ruler in Korean history, and is remembered as the inventor of Hangu ...
's invention of the
Hangul
The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...
system. It starred
Han Suk-kyu and
Jang Hyuk, and was notable for Han's return to television after appearing mostly in films (Han won the Daesang at the
2011 SBS Drama Awards). Jang's track record continued to attract movie stars to the small screen, followed by
Jun Ji-hyun in ''
My Love from the Star
''My Love from the Star'' () is a South Korean fantasy romantic comedy television series written by Park Ji-eun and directed by Jang Tae-yoo. Produced by Choi Moon-suk and Moon Bo-mi, it stars Jun Ji-hyun, Kim Soo-hyun, Park Hae-jin, Yoo ...
'' (2013-2014). Written by
Park Ji-eun (herself a hitmaker), the romantic-
sci-fi
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
dramedy about an alien who falls for a famous actress (played by
Kim Soo-hyun
Kim Soo-hyun (; born February 16, 1988) is a South Korean actor. He is the recipient of five Baeksang Arts Awards, two Grand Bell Awards and one Blue Dragon Film Award. Kim made his television debut in 2007 with the family sitcom ''Kimchi Che ...
and Jun) was popular domestically and overseas. The drama's massive success in the Chinese market led to more opportunities for Jang, so he took a
leave of absence
The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they ar ...
from SBS, and signed an exclusive five-year contract with
Yuehua Entertainment
Yuehua Entertainment (; ) is a privately held Chinese multinational entertainment group and talent agency based in Beijing. The company was founded in June 2009 by former Huayi Brothers employee Du Hua. Yuehua is involved in television production ...
. His next project will be a Chinese
3D romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...
film.
Jang is also an adjunct
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
of Performing Arts at the Seoul Arts College since the first semester of 2012.
Filmography
Film
Television series
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jang, Tae-yoo
1972 births
Living people
South Korean television directors
Mass media people from Seoul