Shin Sang-ok
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Shin Sang-ok (; 1925 or 1926 – April 11, 2006), anglicized as Simon Sheen, was a South Korean filmmaker who directed 74 films in a career spanning over five decades. He is best known in South Korea for his efforts during the 1950s and 1960s, many of them collaborations with his wife Choi Eun-hee. Shin posthumously received the Gold Crown Cultural Medal, the country's top honor for an artist. In 1978, Shin and Choi were kidnapped by order of Kim Jong-il, who wanted them to improve the North Korean film industry. The couple remained in captivity for 8 years and Shin directed seven films for Kim, including '' An Emissary of No Return'', '' Runaway'' (both 1984), '' Love, Love, My Love'', ''
Salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
'', and '' Pulgasari'' (produced in 1985), before they escaped in 1986 and sought asylum in the United States. Shin gained American citizenship in 1989, and continued to produce films in the United States, now under his adopted name Simon S. Sheen. He and Choi eventually returned to South Korea for his final years.


Early life

Sometime between 1925 and 1926, Shin was born Shin Tae-ik () or Shin Tae-seo () in
Chongjin Chŏngjin (; ) is the capital of North Korea's North Hamgyong Province (함경북도) and the country's List of cities in North Korea, third-largest city. Sometimes called the City of Iron, it is located in the northeast of the country. History ...
, in the northeastern part of the
Korean Peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...
, at the time occupied by Japan and currently a part of
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
. His father was a prominent doctor of Korean medicine. Shin studied in Japan at Tokyo Fine Arts School, the predecessor of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, before returning to Korea three years later."Accounting practices blamed for slump in Japanese films"
by Kakumi Kobayashi, ''
Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...
'', October 13, 2000, retrieved January 26, 2006
Biography at asianfilms.org


Career in South Korea (1946–1978)

Shin started his film career as an assistant production designer on Choi In-kyu's '' Viva Freedom!'', the first Korean film made after the country achieved independence from Japan. During the "Golden Age" of South Korean cinema in the late 1950s and 1960s, Shin worked prolifically, often directing two or more films per year, earning the nickname the "Prince of South Korean Cinema"."Pleasure and Pain"
by Chuck Stephens, ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'', February 27 – March 5, 2002
Shin featured the Western princess, female sex workers for American soldiers, in ''The Evil Night'' (1952) and '' A Flower in Hell'' (1958). The production company he started, Shin Films, produced around 300 films during the 1960s, including '' Prince Yeonsan'' (1961), the winner of the Best Film prize at the first Grand Bell Awards ceremony and a Grand Bell Award-winning 1964 remake of Na Woon-gyu's 1926 '' Beongeoli Sam-ryong''. His 1961 film '' The Houseguest and My Mother'' became the first South Korean submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. During the 1970s, Shin became less active, while South Korea's cinema industry in general suffered under strict
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...
and constant government interference. Most of the films he directed during this period ended up being flops. After Shin ran afoul of the repressive government in 1978,
Park Chung Hee Park Chung Hee (; ; November14, 1917October26, 1979) was a South Korean politician and army officer who served as the third president of South Korea from 1962 after he seized power in the May 16 coup of 1961 until Assassination of Park Chung ...
closed Shin's studio.


North Korean period (1978–1986)

In 1978, Shin's former wife, Choi Eun-hee, an actress who starred in many of his films, was kidnapped in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and taken to
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
. Shin himself came under suspicion of causing her disappearance and when he traveled to Hong Kong to investigate, he was kidnapped as well. The kidnappings were on orders of future leader Kim Jong-il, who wanted to establish a film industry for his country to sway international opinion regarding the views of the
Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), also called the Korean Workers' Party (KWP), is the sole ruling party of North Korea. Founded in 1949 from a merger between the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is ...
."The producer from hell"
by John Gorenfeld, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', April 4, 2003, retrieved January 26, 2006
The North Korean authorities have denied the kidnapping accusations, claiming that Shin came to the country willingly. Shin and Choi made secret audiotapes of conversations with Kim Jong-il, which supported their story. Shin was put in comfortable accommodation, but after two escape attempts was placed in a prison for over two years. Once his re-education in North Korean ideology was thought complete, he was taken to
Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...
in 1983 to meet Kim Jong-il and learn why he had been abducted to North Korea. His ex-wife was brought to the same dinner party, where she first learned that Shin was also in North Korea. They remarried shortly afterwards, as suggested by Kim Jong-il.Obituary
''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'', April 27, 2006
From 1983 on, Shin directed seven films, with Kim Jong-il acting as an executive producer. The last and best-known of these films is '' Pulgasari'', a giant-monster film similar to the Japanese ''
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
''. In 1986, eight years after his kidnapping, Shin and his wife escaped while in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
for a film festival. They managed to obtain political asylum from the US embassy in Vienna and Kim Jong-il became convinced that the couple had been kidnapped by the Americans. Shin and his wife lived covertly for two years in
Reston, Virginia Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, and a principal city of both Northern Virginia and the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Reston's population was 63,226. Founded in 1964, Rest ...
, under American protection and authorities debriefed the couple about Kim Jong-il and their experience in North Korea.


Late life (1986–2006)

According to Michael Lee, a former CIA agent, Shin and Choi adopted the names Simon Sheen and Theresa Sheen (respectively) and became American citizens in 1989, three years after their escape. The couple moved to Los Angeles, where Shin worked in the 1990s as Simon Sheen, directing '' 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up'' and working as an executive producer for '' 3 Ninjas Kick Back'' and '' 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain''. At first, Shin was reluctant to go back to South Korea, because he feared that the government's security police would not believe the kidnapping story; he eventually returned to South Korea permanently in 1994 and continued to work on new movies. The same year, he was invited to 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 ...
as a jury member. His last movie as a director was an unreleased 2002 film called ''Kyeoul-iyagi'' (The Story of Winter). Shin ended his career in 2004. That year, Shin underwent a
liver transplant Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a Liver disease, diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for Cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease and ...
. He died of complications caused by
hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...
two years later. At the time of his death he was planning a
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
about
Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...
. South Korean President
Roh Moo-hyun Roh Moo-hyun (, ; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea from 2003 to 2008. Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...
posthumously awarded Shin the Gold Crown Cultural Medal on April 12, 2006, the country's top honor for an artist.


In media

In 2015, an English language biography of his life (along with Choi Eun-hee), called ''A Kim Jong-Il Production: The Extraordinary True Story of a Kidnapped Filmmaker'', was published by Paul Fischer. In January 2016, at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, in the World Cinema Documentary Competition, a documentary about the North Korean ordeal, entitled '' The Lovers and the Despot'' and directed by Robert Cannan and Ross Adam, was presented. In 2017, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a drama ''Lights, Camera, Kidnap!'', based on Shin's ordeal, written by Lucy Catherine, directed by Sasha Yevtushenko, and starring Paul Courtenay Hyu as Shin and Liz Sutherland as Choi.Radio Drama Reviews, 2017
/ref>


Works


Filmography

Partial filmography as director:


Executive producer

* '' Galgameth'' (1996)


Bibliography

* * * * * *


See also

* North Korean abductions of South Koreans


Notes


References


Works cited

* * *


Further reading

* * * *


External links

* *
The Korea Society Film Journal: Review of "Flowers of Hell"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shin, Sang-ok 1925 births 1926 births 2006 deaths Deaths from hepatitis South Korean film directors People from Chongjin Formerly missing people Kidnapped South Korean people Liver transplant recipients North Korean abductions Best Director Paeksang Arts Award (film) winners Pyongsan Shin clan South Korean horror film directors South Korean people of North Korean origin American film directors of Korean descent Naturalized citizens of the United States People with multiple citizenship