Kim Ki-young
Encyclopedia
Kim Ki-young was a South Korea
n film director
, known for his intensely psychosexual and melodramatic horror films, often focusing on the psychology of their female characters. Kim was born in Seoul
during the Japanese occupation
, raised in Pyongyang
and spent time in Japan
, where he became interested in theater and cinema. In Korea after the end of World War II
, he studied dentistry while becoming involved in the theater. During the Korean War
, he made propaganda films for the United States Information Service. In 1955, he used discarded American equipment to produce his first two films. With the success of these two films Kim formed his own production company and produced popular melodramas for the rest of the decade.
Kim Ki-young's first expression of his mature style was in his The Housemaid (1960), which featured a powerful femme fatale
character. It is widely considered to be one of the best Korean films of all time. After a "Golden Age" during the 1960s, the 1970s were a low-point in the history of Korean cinema because of governmental censorship and a decrease in audience attendance. Nevertheless, working independently, Kim produced some of his most eccentric cinematic creations in this era. Films such as Insect Woman
(1972
) and Iodo
(1977
) were successful at the time and highly influential on the younger generations of South Korea
n filmmakers both at their time of release, and with their rediscovery years later. By the 1980s, Kim's popularity had gone into decline, and his output decreased in the second half of the decade. Neglected by the mainstream during much of the 1990s, Kim became a cult figure in South Korean film Internet
forums in the early 1990s. Widespread international interest in his work was stimulated by a career retrospective at the 1997 Pusan International Film Festival
. Kim's films, previously little-known or totally unknown outside South Korea, were shown and gained enthusiastic new audiences in Japan, the United States, Germany
, France
and elsewhere. He was preparing a come-back film when he and his wife were killed in a house fire in 1998. The Berlin International Film Festival
gave Kim a posthumous retrospective in 1998, and the French Cinémathèque screened 18 of Kim's films, some newly rediscovered and restored, in 2006. Through the efforts of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), previously lost films by Kim Ki-young continue to be rediscovered and restored. Many current prominent South Korean filmmakers, including directors Im Sang-soo
, Kim Ki-duk
, Bong Joon-ho
and Park Chan-wook
, claim Kim Ki-young as an influence on their careers.
—now part of Gyeongun-dong
in Jongno-gu
—on October 10, 1922. His family had lived in Seoul for several generations, and his grandfather was a guard at Gwanghwamun
. Kim's family was well-educated and artistically inclined. His father, Kim Seok-jin, was an English
teacher, and his mother, Han Jin-cho, was also a teacher and a graduate of Gyeonggi Women's College. Both painted as a hobby. The family had two daughters, and Kim Ki-young was their only son. One of his sisters graduated as an art
major from Seoul National University
, and the other majored in dance
at Ewha Womans University
. His sisters encouraged the young Kim to develop his own creativity. The family moved to Pyongyang
in 1930, where they stayed for the next 10 years. At Pyongyang National High School, Kim showed exceptional talent in music
, painting
and writing
, and his studious nature earned him the nickname "Professor of Physics". While still a student, one of Kim's poem
s was published in a Japanese newspaper, and he was awarded first prize in a painting competition.
Despite his artistic talents, Kim's main interest was medicine
, and he applied for entrance into medical school
upon graduation from high school in 1940. When he failed to gain admittance, Kim moved to Japan
, planning to study and save up money to reapply for medical school. He traveled in Japan for three years, supporting himself by working as a cook. In later years, Kim enjoyed cooking for his family, especially Japanese food
, because of the experience he had gained during these years. The theater
and cinema
grew into lifetime interests at this time. Kim often went to Kyoto
, where he attended many stage productions and saw Japanese and international films. Josef von Sternberg
's Morocco
(1930
) and Fritz Lang
's M
(1931
) made a particularly strong impression on him, and their influence was to show in his mature film style.
Kim returned to Korea in 1941, initially planning to work as a dentist
, but instead immersing himself in the study of drama
. At this time he was particularly interested in classical Greek theater
, Ibsen
and Eugene O'Neill
. To avoid conscription by the Japanese into the military, Kim returned to Japan briefly before 1945. He returned to Pyongyang where he studied Stanislavsky's theories of acting and founded a theatrical group called "The Little Orchid". In 1946 Kim enrolled in Seoul Medical School, Seoul National University
, and graduated with a major in dentistry
in 1950. While attending university, his theatrical activities continued. He founded the National University Theater in 1949, and with this group staged many works of the Western theater, including Ibsen's Ghosts
, Čapek
’s Robots
, Shakespeare
's The Merchant of Venice
, and works by Chekhov
and O'Neill. The main actress Kim worked with while at the university was Kim Yu-bong, who would later become his wife.
at Seoul University Medical Clinic when the Korean War
broke out. He went to Pusan on June 1, 1951, the day the North Korea
n army retreated. In Pusan, Kim met Oh Young-jin, a fellow Pyongyang National High School graduate. Oh, who would later write the screenplay to the popular film The Wedding Day (1956
), was producing newsreels for the Korean News through the Bureau of Public Information, and helped Kim get a job writing screenplays with this organization. With Oh's help, Kim was able to get a job working for the United States Information Service in Jinhae
. The job helped shape Kim's life in several ways. With the increase in pay he received from the U.S.I.S., he was able to marry Kim Yu-bong in 1951, and their first son, Kim Dong-won, was born in 1952. They would have a daughter born in 1955 and a second son, Kim Dong-yang, born in 1958. The two remained married for the rest of their lives. Kim Yu-bong supported her husband's filmmaking career through her dental practice, giving him a unique degree of independence among Korean filmmakers of his era to pursue his own personal visions. At a career retrospective during the last year of his life, Kim commented, "My wife's support has been unflagging over the years, even if, at times, she has seen one of my films and cried 'What have you done with my money?' But at rare moments like this retrospective, she becomes very emotional, recognizing that finally it has all been worthwhile."
Kim filmed about 20 documentaries
for the U.S.I.S. with such titles as Diary of the Navy and I Am a Truck for "Liberty News". The latter title was given an award by the U.S. State Department. The training and equipment Kim gained while working on these propaganda
newsreels for the U.S.I.S. also enabled him to direct his first commercial film, Box of Death
(1955
). Kim used expired film stock
and a manually operated camera
from the U.S.I.S. to make this debut feature, an anti-communist
melodrama about war orphans. The film, now lost, showed stylistic influences from the Italian neo-realists
and was the first Korean film to employ synchronous sound.
With the success of this first film, Kim was able to direct his second feature, the historical costume drama
Yangsan Province
(also 1955), again using primitive equipment obtained from the U.S.I.S. Although Kim claimed to have based the film on a traditional song he learned from his mother, no exact source for the story has been found. It is suspected that the director made up the story himself, modeling it on traditional stories such as Chunhyangjeon
, Lee Kyu-hwan's remake of which had recently become a major success, stimulating a rebirth in Korean cinema
. After Lee's Chunhyangjeon, Yangsan Province was the second most successful Korean film of 1955. Though a popular success, critics of the time were not kind to Yangsan Province. Yoo Do-yeon called the film a "work of bad taste," and Heo Baek-nyeon said that it "debases the dignity of Korean cinema." As his only surviving film of the 1950s, Yangsan Province sheds considerable light on Kim Ki-young's early career. In an era in which Korean film critics considered realism to be important, the now-lost ending to Yangsan Province, in which two dead lovers ascend to heaven on a beam of light, was harshly criticized. In light of Kim's later career, critics today believe that this cut scene displays some of the most recognizable characteristics of Kim's mature style such as an interest in the fantastic, and a jarring blending of genres. Other motifs that were to be explored in depth in Kim's later work can also be found in Yangsan Province, such as animal imagery, particularly the use of hens as a representation of fertility and sexuality.
In 1956 Kim started Kim Ki-young Productions, and began making melodrama
s, the most popular film genre in South Korea at the time. His first independent production was Touch-Me-Not
(1956
). In 1957, Kim was living near the red-light district
of Yongsan
, and the atmosphere of this neighborhood influenced his films, A Woman's War
and Twilight Train
(both 1957
). With First Snow
(1958
), Kim moved from melodrama to a more socially conscious realism. Defiance of a Teenager
(1959
) and Sad Pastorale
(1960
) followed in this style. Defiance of a Teenager was one of Kim's most successful and respected early works, and he attended the San Francisco International Film Festival
in 1960 for a showing of this film.
through the civilian April Revolution
. In 1962, another military authoritarian, General Park Chung-Hee
, would ascend to power and rule South Korea for nearly two decades. The short period of relative freedom between these two administrations was known as the Second Republic
. During this time, filmmakers took advantage of the relaxation of governmental control over the film industry to create several boldly experimental works. Director Yu Hyun-mok
's film Aimless Bullet (1960
) dates from this period, as does Kim Ki-young's major breakthrough, The Housemaid (also 1960). A lurid, expressionistic
melodrama set in an eerie house, involving sexual obsessions, murder and rats, this is the first film in which Kim's mature style is fully evident, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest Korean films ever made.
The film is a domestic thriller telling of a family's destruction by the introduction of a sexually predatory femme fatale into the household. A composer
has just moved into a two-story house with his wife and two children. When his wife becomes exhausted from working at a sewing machine
to support the family, the composer hires a housemaid to help with the work around the house. The new housemaid behaves strangely, catching rats with her hands, spying on the composer, seducing him and eventually becoming pregnant by him. The composer's wife convinces the housemaid to induce a miscarriage by falling down a flight of stairs. After this incident, the housemaid's behavior becomes increasingly more erratic. She kills the composer's son, and then persuades the composer to commit suicide with her by swallowing rat poison. The film ends with the composer reading the story from a newspaper with his wife. The narrative of the film has apparently been told by the composer, who then warns the film audience that this is just the sort of thing could happen to anyone.
The Housemaid marked Kim's full break with realism, the main style of Korean cinema at the time, into his own version of expressionism
. The plot, themes and even character names set out in The Housemaid were to be revisited by Kim repeatedly in his later career. Besides the first film, the official "Housemaid Trilogy" consists of Woman of Fire
(1971
) and Woman of Fire '82
(1982
). Also, at least two other later films—Insect Woman
(1972
) and Beasts of Prey
(1985
)—are, in some ways, remakes of The Housemaid. By using the story as a template, Kim was able to emphasize different aspects of the scenario, and to concentrate on different details and aspects of the central situation with each new re-telling.
(1961
) transcended its roots in the standard anti-Japanese World War II
film to become a distinctive examination of humanity, sadism, greed, lust for power and sexuality. The box-office success of this film enabled Kim to buy his first house, in the Namsan
district of Seoul. Goryeojang
(1963
), dealt with a similar subject matter as The Ballad of Narayama
(1983
), directed by Shohei Imamura
, a filmmaker with whom Kim has often been compared. Kim's version of the story is marked by his mixing of genres. For example, he frames the story—which deals with an ancient tradition in which elders were abandoned to die—within a modern lecture on birth control
.
Some of the characteristic traits of Kim's mature style, first seen in these three films, are gothic
excess, surrealism
, horror
, perversions and sexuality. Although in stark contrast to the realism, harmony, balance and sentimentality typical of Korean cinema of the time, Kim's films, in an eccentric and metaphorical way, deal with the realities of postwar, industrializing South Korean society and psychology. After having firmly established his auteur
status with these films, Kim's unique vision began to wane in his films of the later 1960s.
During the 1970s, South Korea's film industry was at a low point due to government censorship
and underfunding. Because of the poor state of the local film industry, cinema attendance in South Korea had dropped drastically since its high-point in the 1960s. Kim Ki-young, however, working independently in B-movie
-like genre films, began to produce some of his most innovative and personal works at this time. Kim fully regained his auteurist spirit with Woman of Fire
(1971
), the second of his Housemaid trilogy. The use of color, particularly reds and blues to express the anxiety and desires of the film's characters, distinguished this film from the original Housemaids dark, shadowy black-and-white photography. For this film, Kim was named Best Director at the Blue Dragon Awards and actress Yoon Yeo-jeong
was given Special Mention for Best Actress at the Festival de Cine de Sitges
. Not only popular with the critics, Kim's independently produced films were box-office successes during this era in which most films were harmed through heavy governmental interference. In 1972 Kim's Insect Woman
was the only film to sell more than 100,000 tickets in Seoul and won Kim the Best Director prize at the PaekSang Arts Awards
in 1973.
Although a critically acclaimed, financially successful independent
filmmaker, Kim was not immune from governmental pressure. He filmed Ban Geum-ryeon
in 1975, but it was banned at the time, and not released until 1981, with 40 minutes of footage censored. The government also coerced Kim into making an anti-Communist propaganda film. The resulting film, Love of Blood Relations
(1976
), transcended the bounds of propaganda by portraying the communist agent as one of Kim's typical femme fatale characters. Kim later commented, "North or south, capitalist or communist, ideology is far less interesting to me than the things that divide the sexes."
Film professor and programmer for the Pusan International Film Festival, Lee Yong-kwan calls Iodo
(1977
) Kim's best film, and Variety
s Seoul-correspondent Darcy Paquet calls it "one of Korean cinema's most compelling, unnerving depictions of the primal forces that motivate humankind." An examination of environmental
, religious
, social and sexual taboo
s, the film culminates in a scene of necrophilia
that Paquet calls "one of the most shocking, brazen sequences ever shot by a Korean filmmaker".
programming director Kenji Ishizaka recalls that Kim's way of writing a screenplay
was to walk away from home for three months. He would shut himself up in a cheap hotel, listen to neighborhood gossip, and write all night in the dark. South Korean film critic
Lee Young-il remembers that Kim's shoes were never shined, and that one of his few material pleasures was high-quality coffee
. Kim Ki-young's unconventional and nonconformist nature also prevented him from participating in South Korea's mainstream film industry. The only official title he held within the film community was member of The National Academy of Arts, which he joined in 1997, and he did not cultivate friendships with journalist
s who could further his career.
Nevertheless, since the early 1960s, Kim Ki-young's status as one of the greatest and most original Korean film directors had never been in doubt. His stylistic preoccupation with sexuality, horror and melodrama had earned Kim the nickname, "Mister Monster" from his admirers. However, by the 1980s Kim's career had fallen into neglect. His continued fascination with B-movie exploitation
themes as well as the increasingly obsessive and subversive nature of his films resulted in his isolation from the film community, and in financial failures at the box-office. The last of the Housemaid trilogy, Woman of Fire '82
(1982
) is an even more radicalized and baroque retelling of the same basic story he had filmed numerous times in the previous two decades. By the mid-1980s, Kim's film output had slowed and finally stopped.
In the early 1990s Kim's work began to be rediscovered by South Korean cult film
fans who discussed his films through the Internet
and exchanged hard-to-find copies by videotape
. Noticing this growing domestic Kim Ki-young cult, the Dongsung Cinematheque, an art-house theater in Seoul, programmed a retrospective showing of Kim's films. With his profile again high in Korean film society, Kim's work began to attract international attention. Five of his films were screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 1996. When Kim Ki-young's career was highlighted at the second Pusan International Film Festival
in 1997, his work found enthusiastic new audiences in the international film community. The strongly positive reception of Kim's work by international audiences surprised the festival organizers, who immediately began receiving requests for overseas retrospectives of Kim's career. With this renewed interest, Kim began work on a comeback film to be titled Diabolical Woman. The Berlin International Film Festival
invited him to attend a showing of his films in 1998. Before Kim started work on the film or attended the festival, he and his wife were killed in a house fire caused by an electrical short circuit on February 5, 1998.
Kim Ki-young's death did not stop the revival of interest in his films. A six-film retrospective of Kim's career was shown in San Francisco twice in 1998. Within the year, Kim's films were screened at the Belgrade International Film Festival
, the London Pan-Asian Film Festival, the Estate Romana and the Paris Videothèque. Few prints of Korean films before the 1970s survive, and at one point 90% of Kim's output was considered lost
. Under the "Kim Ki-young Renaissance Project", the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) has worked to find Kim's lost films and to restore those that are damaged. In 2006, the French Cinémathèque presented 18 of Kim's films, many of them newly rediscovered and restored through the efforts of the KOFIC.
During his lifetime, Kim gained many supporters among the younger generation of South Korean directors. Park Kwang-su
reportedly admires Kim Ki-young above all other directors, and Lee Chang-ho
is another of Kim's followers. In the years since his death, Kim's influence on Korean cinema has continued to be seen through the work of the current generation of South Korean filmmakers, including such prominent directors as Im Sang-soo
and Kim Ki-duk
. Bong Joon-ho
calls Kim his mentor and favorite director. Park Chan-wook
names The Housemaid as one of the films which most influenced his career, and says of Kim Ki-young, "He is able to find and portray beauty in destruction, humor in violence and terror."
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, known for his intensely psychosexual and melodramatic horror films, often focusing on the psychology of their female characters. Kim was born in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
during the Japanese occupation
Korea under Japanese rule
Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....
, raised in Pyongyang
Pyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
and spent time in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, where he became interested in theater and cinema. In Korea after the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he studied dentistry while becoming involved in the theater. During the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, he made propaganda films for the United States Information Service. In 1955, he used discarded American equipment to produce his first two films. With the success of these two films Kim formed his own production company and produced popular melodramas for the rest of the decade.
Kim Ki-young's first expression of his mature style was in his The Housemaid (1960), which featured a powerful femme fatale
Femme fatale
A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art...
character. It is widely considered to be one of the best Korean films of all time. After a "Golden Age" during the 1960s, the 1970s were a low-point in the history of Korean cinema because of governmental censorship and a decrease in audience attendance. Nevertheless, working independently, Kim produced some of his most eccentric cinematic creations in this era. Films such as Insect Woman
Insect Woman (1972 film)
The Insect Woman is an award-winning 1972 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.- Synopsis :A melodrama about a professor under psychiatric care because of a mental breakdown due to the stress brought on by an extramarital affair.- Cast :* Yoon Yeo-jeong* Jeon Gye-hyeon* Nam Koong Won* Kim...
(1972
1972 in film
The year 1972 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Avanti!, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet MillsB...
) and Iodo
Iodo (film)
Iodo is a 1977 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young. It was shown at the 28th Berlin International Film Festival.- Synopsis :When a man from an island ruled by women disappears, the man suspected of killing him investigates his past....
(1977
1977 in film
The year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network....
) were successful at the time and highly influential on the younger generations of South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n filmmakers both at their time of release, and with their rediscovery years later. By the 1980s, Kim's popularity had gone into decline, and his output decreased in the second half of the decade. Neglected by the mainstream during much of the 1990s, Kim became a cult figure in South Korean film Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
forums in the early 1990s. Widespread international interest in his work was stimulated by a career retrospective at the 1997 Pusan International Film Festival
Pusan International Film Festival
Busan International Film Festival , held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan , South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia...
. Kim's films, previously little-known or totally unknown outside South Korea, were shown and gained enthusiastic new audiences in Japan, the United States, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and elsewhere. He was preparing a come-back film when he and his wife were killed in a house fire in 1998. The Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
gave Kim a posthumous retrospective in 1998, and the French Cinémathèque screened 18 of Kim's films, some newly rediscovered and restored, in 2006. Through the efforts of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), previously lost films by Kim Ki-young continue to be rediscovered and restored. Many current prominent South Korean filmmakers, including directors Im Sang-soo
Im Sang-soo
Im Sang-soo is an award-winning South Korean film director and screenwriter.-Early life and film career:Im was born in Seoul. He studied sociology at Seoul's Yonsei University before making a move to The Korean Academy of Film Arts in 1989...
, Kim Ki-duk
Kim Ki-duk
Kim Ki-duk is a South Korean filmmaker noted for his idiosyncratic "art-house" cinematic works. His films have received many distinctions in the festival circuit. He is not related to the Kim Ki-duk who directed Yonggary in the 1960s...
, Bong Joon-ho
Bong Joon-ho
Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean film director and screenwriter.-Biography:He was born in Daegu in 1969 and decided to become a filmmaker while in middle school, perhaps influenced by an artistic family He majored in sociology in Yonsei University in the late 1980s and was a member of the film club...
and Park Chan-wook
Park Chan-wook
Park Chan-wook is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, producer, and former film critic. One of the most acclaimed and popular filmmakers in his native country, Park is most known for his films Joint Security Area, Thirst and what has become known as The Vengeance Trilogy, consisting of...
, claim Kim Ki-young as an influence on their careers.
Early life
Kim Ki-young was born in the Gyo-dong neighborhood of SeoulSeoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
—now part of Gyeongun-dong
Gyeongun-dong
Gyeongun-dong is a dong, neighbourhood of Jongno-gu in Seoul, South Korea. It is a legal dong governed under its administrative dong , Jongno 1, 2, 3, 4 ga-dong.-External links:*...
in Jongno-gu
Jongno-gu
Jongno-gu is a gu, or district, in central Seoul, South Korea. It takes its name from a major local street, Jongno, which means "Bell Street". Jongno-gu has been the center of the city for 600 years, since where the Joseon dynasty established its capital city...
—on October 10, 1922. His family had lived in Seoul for several generations, and his grandfather was a guard at Gwanghwamun
Gwanghwamun
Gwanghwamun is the main and largest gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace, located in Seoul, South Korea. As a landmark and symbol of Seoul's long history as the capital city during the Joseon Dynasty, the gate has gone through multiple periods of destruction and disrepair...
. Kim's family was well-educated and artistically inclined. His father, Kim Seok-jin, was an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
teacher, and his mother, Han Jin-cho, was also a teacher and a graduate of Gyeonggi Women's College. Both painted as a hobby. The family had two daughters, and Kim Ki-young was their only son. One of his sisters graduated as an art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
major from Seoul National University
Seoul National University
Seoul National University , colloquially known in Korean as Seoul-dae , is a national research university in Seoul, Korea, ranked 24th in the world in publications in an analysis of data from the Science Citation Index, 7th in Asia and 42nd in the world by the 2011 QS World University Rankings...
, and the other majored in dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
at Ewha Womans University
Ewha Womans University
Ewha Womans University is a private women's university in central Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the city's largest institutions of higher learning and currently the world's largest female educational institute. It is one of the best-known universities in South Korea, and often considered to...
. His sisters encouraged the young Kim to develop his own creativity. The family moved to Pyongyang
Pyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
in 1930, where they stayed for the next 10 years. At Pyongyang National High School, Kim showed exceptional talent in music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and writing
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, and his studious nature earned him the nickname "Professor of Physics". While still a student, one of Kim's poem
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
s was published in a Japanese newspaper, and he was awarded first prize in a painting competition.
Despite his artistic talents, Kim's main interest was medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, and he applied for entrance into medical school
Medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
upon graduation from high school in 1940. When he failed to gain admittance, Kim moved to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, planning to study and save up money to reapply for medical school. He traveled in Japan for three years, supporting himself by working as a cook. In later years, Kim enjoyed cooking for his family, especially Japanese food
Japanese cuisine
Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes throughout Japan. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of shogun rule...
, because of the experience he had gained during these years. The theater
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
grew into lifetime interests at this time. Kim often went to Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, where he attended many stage productions and saw Japanese and international films. Josef von Sternberg
Josef von Sternberg
Josef von Sternberg — born Jonas Sternberg — was an Austrian-American film director. He is particularly noted for his distinctive mise en scène, use of lighting and soft lens, and seven-film collaboration with actress Marlene Dietrich.-Youth:Von Sternberg was born Jonas Sternberg to a Jewish...
's Morocco
Morocco (1930 film)
Morocco is a 1930 film in which a Foreign Legionnaire meets and falls in love with a singer. It was directed by Josef von Sternberg and stars Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich and Adolphe Menjou. The story was adapted by Jules Furthman from the novel Amy Jolly by Benno Vigny...
(1930
1930 in film
-Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...
) and Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
's M
M (1931 film)
M is a 1931 German drama-thriller directed by Fritz Lang and written by Lang and his wife Thea von Harbou. It was Lang's first sound film, although he had directed more than a dozen films previously....
(1931
1931 in film
-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
) made a particularly strong impression on him, and their influence was to show in his mature film style.
Kim returned to Korea in 1941, initially planning to work as a dentist
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
, but instead immersing himself in the study of drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
. At this time he was particularly interested in classical Greek theater
Theatre of Ancient Greece
The theatre of Ancient Greece, or ancient Greek drama, is a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece between c. 550 and c. 220 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political and military power during this period, was its centre, where it was...
, Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
and Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
. To avoid conscription by the Japanese into the military, Kim returned to Japan briefly before 1945. He returned to Pyongyang where he studied Stanislavsky's theories of acting and founded a theatrical group called "The Little Orchid". In 1946 Kim enrolled in Seoul Medical School, Seoul National University
Seoul National University
Seoul National University , colloquially known in Korean as Seoul-dae , is a national research university in Seoul, Korea, ranked 24th in the world in publications in an analysis of data from the Science Citation Index, 7th in Asia and 42nd in the world by the 2011 QS World University Rankings...
, and graduated with a major in dentistry
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
in 1950. While attending university, his theatrical activities continued. He founded the National University Theater in 1949, and with this group staged many works of the Western theater, including Ibsen's Ghosts
Ghosts (play)
Ghosts is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was written in 1881 and first staged in 1882.Like many of Ibsen's better-known plays, Ghosts is a scathing commentary on 19th century morality....
, Čapek
Karel Capek
Karel Čapek was Czech writer of the 20th century.-Biography:Born in 1890 in the Bohemian mountain village of Malé Svatoňovice to an overbearing, emotional mother and a distant yet adored father, Čapek was the youngest of three siblings...
’s Robots
R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)
R.U.R. is a 1920 science fiction play in the Czech language by Karel Čapek. R.U.R. stands for Rossum's Universal Robots, an English phrase used as the subtitle in the Czech original. It premiered in 1921 and introduced the word "robot" to the English language and to science fiction as a whole.The...
, Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
, and works by Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
and O'Neill. The main actress Kim worked with while at the university was Kim Yu-bong, who would later become his wife.
Film career
Kim was working as an internIntern
Internship is a system of onthejob training for white-collar jobs, similar to an apprenticeship. Interns are usually college or university students, but they can also be high school students or post graduate adults seeking skills for a new career. They may also be as young as middle school or in...
at Seoul University Medical Clinic when the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
broke out. He went to Pusan on June 1, 1951, the day the North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
n army retreated. In Pusan, Kim met Oh Young-jin, a fellow Pyongyang National High School graduate. Oh, who would later write the screenplay to the popular film The Wedding Day (1956
1956 in film
The year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
), was producing newsreels for the Korean News through the Bureau of Public Information, and helped Kim get a job writing screenplays with this organization. With Oh's help, Kim was able to get a job working for the United States Information Service in Jinhae
Jinhae
Jinhae is a district in Changwon City, South Korea. This region is served by the Korean National Railroad, and is famous for its annual cherry blossom festival every spring....
. The job helped shape Kim's life in several ways. With the increase in pay he received from the U.S.I.S., he was able to marry Kim Yu-bong in 1951, and their first son, Kim Dong-won, was born in 1952. They would have a daughter born in 1955 and a second son, Kim Dong-yang, born in 1958. The two remained married for the rest of their lives. Kim Yu-bong supported her husband's filmmaking career through her dental practice, giving him a unique degree of independence among Korean filmmakers of his era to pursue his own personal visions. At a career retrospective during the last year of his life, Kim commented, "My wife's support has been unflagging over the years, even if, at times, she has seen one of my films and cried 'What have you done with my money?' But at rare moments like this retrospective, she becomes very emotional, recognizing that finally it has all been worthwhile."
Kim filmed about 20 documentaries
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
for the U.S.I.S. with such titles as Diary of the Navy and I Am a Truck for "Liberty News". The latter title was given an award by the U.S. State Department. The training and equipment Kim gained while working on these propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
newsreels for the U.S.I.S. also enabled him to direct his first commercial film, Box of Death
Box of Death
Box of Death is a 1955 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young. It was the celebrated director's debut film, and the first Korean film to use synchronous sound.-Synopsis:...
(1955
1955 in film
The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
). Kim used expired film stock
Film stock
Film stock is photographic film on which filmmaking of motion pictures are shot and reproduced. The equivalent in television production is video tape.-1889–1899:...
and a manually operated camera
Movie camera
The movie camera is a type of photographic camera which takes a rapid sequence of photographs on strips of film which was very popular for private use in the last century until its successor, the video camera, replaced it...
from the U.S.I.S. to make this debut feature, an anti-communist
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
melodrama about war orphans. The film, now lost, showed stylistic influences from the Italian neo-realists
Italian neorealism
Italian neorealism is a style of film characterized by stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed on location, frequently using nonprofessional actors...
and was the first Korean film to employ synchronous sound.
Costume drama
A costume drama or period drama is a period piece in which elaborate costumes, sets and properties are featured in order to capture the ambiance of a particular era.The term is usually used in the context of film and television...
Yangsan Province
Yangsan Province (film)
Yangsan Province aka The Sunlit Path is a 1955 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:The film is a historical melodrama about a high government official who wants to marry a woman who is engaged to marry another man.-Cast:* Kim Sam-hwa... Ok-rang* Cho Yong-soo... Su-dong* Kim...
(also 1955), again using primitive equipment obtained from the U.S.I.S. Although Kim claimed to have based the film on a traditional song he learned from his mother, no exact source for the story has been found. It is suspected that the director made up the story himself, modeling it on traditional stories such as Chunhyangjeon
Chunhyangga
The Chunhyangga is the most famous Pansori in Korea. The Chunhyangga has delighted all Korean for a century. The Chunhyangga is the best Pansori as musically, literary, and a well-made play....
, Lee Kyu-hwan's remake of which had recently become a major success, stimulating a rebirth in Korean cinema
Cinema of Korea
Korean cinema encompasses the motion picture industries of North and South Korea. As with all aspects of Korean life during the past century, the film industry has often been at the mercy of political events, from the late Joseon dynasty to the Korean War to domestic governmental interference...
. After Lee's Chunhyangjeon, Yangsan Province was the second most successful Korean film of 1955. Though a popular success, critics of the time were not kind to Yangsan Province. Yoo Do-yeon called the film a "work of bad taste," and Heo Baek-nyeon said that it "debases the dignity of Korean cinema." As his only surviving film of the 1950s, Yangsan Province sheds considerable light on Kim Ki-young's early career. In an era in which Korean film critics considered realism to be important, the now-lost ending to Yangsan Province, in which two dead lovers ascend to heaven on a beam of light, was harshly criticized. In light of Kim's later career, critics today believe that this cut scene displays some of the most recognizable characteristics of Kim's mature style such as an interest in the fantastic, and a jarring blending of genres. Other motifs that were to be explored in depth in Kim's later work can also be found in Yangsan Province, such as animal imagery, particularly the use of hens as a representation of fertility and sexuality.
In 1956 Kim started Kim Ki-young Productions, and began making melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
s, the most popular film genre in South Korea at the time. His first independent production was Touch-Me-Not
Touch-Me-Not (film)
Touch-Me-Not is a 1956 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Cast:* Na Gang-hui* An Seok-jin* Beak Song* Hong Il-hwa* Ko Seol-bong* Go Seon-ae* Park Am* Lee Hyeon* Kang Kye-shik* Jo Hyang...
(1956
1956 in film
The year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
). In 1957, Kim was living near the red-light district
Red-light district
A red-light district is a part of an urban area where there is a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc...
of Yongsan
Yongsan-gu
Yongsan-gu is a district of Seoul, South Korea. Its name means "Dragon Hill", derived from the hanja characters for dragon and hill/mountain . It sits to the North of the Han River under the shadow of Seoul Tower. Geographically, it is located right in the center of Seoul. It is home to roughly...
, and the atmosphere of this neighborhood influenced his films, A Woman's War
A Woman's War
A Woman's War aka Women at the Front is a 1957 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:A melodrama about a housemaid who bears her employer's illegitimate daughter...
and Twilight Train
Twilight Train
Twilight Train is a 1957 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Cast:* Park Am* Do Kum-bong* Choi Sam* Kim Ji-mee* An Seok-jin* Go Seon-ae* Ahn Sung-ki* Lee Yeong-ok* Kim Dong-won-Contemporary reviews:...
(both 1957
1957 in film
The year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
). With First Snow
First Snow (1958 film)
First Snow is a 1958 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:A melodrama about refugees existing on the black market surrounding the Yongsan U.S. army base after the Korean War....
(1958
1958 in film
The year 1958 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 16- "In the Money" by William Beaudine is released on this date. It would be the last installment of The Bowery Boys series which began back in 1946....
), Kim moved from melodrama to a more socially conscious realism. Defiance of a Teenager
Defiance of a Teenager
Defiance of a Teenager is a 1959 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:A melodrama about a group of delinquent teenagers under the leadership of a corrupt boss....
(1959
1959 in film
The year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
) and Sad Pastorale
Sad Pastorale
Sad Pastorale is a 1960 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Cast:* Kim Seok-hun... Kang Byeong-cheol* Kim Ui-hyang... Lee Shin-ok* Choi Eun-hee... Han Do-suk...
(1960
1960 in film
The year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
) followed in this style. Defiance of a Teenager was one of Kim's most successful and respected early works, and he attended the San Francisco International Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival is the oldest continuously running film festival in the Americas. Organized by the San Francisco Film Society, the International is held each spring for two weeks, presenting an average of 150 films from over 50 countries...
in 1960 for a showing of this film.
The Housemaid
1960 was a critical year for South Korea, marking the end of the rule of Syngman RheeSyngman Rhee
Syngman Rhee or Yi Seungman was the first president of South Korea. His presidency, from August 1948 to April 1960, remains controversial, affected by Cold War tensions on the Korean peninsula and elsewhere. Rhee was regarded as an anti-Communist and a strongman, and he led South Korea through the...
through the civilian April Revolution
April Revolution
The April Revolution, sometimes called the April 19 Revolution or April 19 Movement, was a popular uprising in April 1960, led by labor and student groups, which overthrew the autocratic First Republic of South Korea under Syngman Rhee. It led to the peaceful resignation of Rhee and the transition...
. In 1962, another military authoritarian, General Park Chung-Hee
Park Chung-hee
Park Chung-hee was a Republic of Korea Army general and the leader of South Korea from 1961 to 1979. He seized power in a military coup and ruled until his assassination in 1979. He has been credited with the industrialization of the Republic of Korea through export-led growth...
, would ascend to power and rule South Korea for nearly two decades. The short period of relative freedom between these two administrations was known as the Second Republic
Second Republic of South Korea
The Second Republic of South Korea was the government of South Korea for eight months in 1960 and 1961. It succeeded the First Republic, but was followed by a military government under the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction.-Establishment:...
. During this time, filmmakers took advantage of the relaxation of governmental control over the film industry to create several boldly experimental works. Director Yu Hyun-mok
Yu Hyun-mok
Yu Hyun-mok was a South Korean film director. Born in Sariwon, North Hwanghae, Korea , he made his film debut in 1956 with Gyocharo...
's film Aimless Bullet (1960
1960 in film
The year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
) dates from this period, as does Kim Ki-young's major breakthrough, The Housemaid (also 1960). A lurid, expressionistic
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
melodrama set in an eerie house, involving sexual obsessions, murder and rats, this is the first film in which Kim's mature style is fully evident, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest Korean films ever made.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
has just moved into a two-story house with his wife and two children. When his wife becomes exhausted from working at a sewing machine
Sewing machine
A sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric, cards and other material together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies...
to support the family, the composer hires a housemaid to help with the work around the house. The new housemaid behaves strangely, catching rats with her hands, spying on the composer, seducing him and eventually becoming pregnant by him. The composer's wife convinces the housemaid to induce a miscarriage by falling down a flight of stairs. After this incident, the housemaid's behavior becomes increasingly more erratic. She kills the composer's son, and then persuades the composer to commit suicide with her by swallowing rat poison. The film ends with the composer reading the story from a newspaper with his wife. The narrative of the film has apparently been told by the composer, who then warns the film audience that this is just the sort of thing could happen to anyone.
The Housemaid marked Kim's full break with realism, the main style of Korean cinema at the time, into his own version of expressionism
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
. The plot, themes and even character names set out in The Housemaid were to be revisited by Kim repeatedly in his later career. Besides the first film, the official "Housemaid Trilogy" consists of Woman of Fire
Woman of Fire
Woman of Fire is an award-winning 1971 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young. This was the second film in Kim's Housemaid trilogy followed by Woman of Fire '82.-Synopsis:A variation on Kim's classic The Housemaid...
(1971
1971 in film
The year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
) and Woman of Fire '82
Woman of Fire '82
The Woman of Fire '82 is a 1982 South Korean film written and directed by Kim Ki-young. This was the third film in Kim's Housemaid trilogy.-Synopsis:A variation on Kim's classic The Housemaid...
(1982
1982 in film
-Events:* March 26 = I Ought to Be in Pictures, starring Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and Dinah Manoff is released. Manoff would not appear in another movie until 1987's Backfire.* June = PG-rated film E.T...
). Also, at least two other later films—Insect Woman
Insect Woman (1972 film)
The Insect Woman is an award-winning 1972 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.- Synopsis :A melodrama about a professor under psychiatric care because of a mental breakdown due to the stress brought on by an extramarital affair.- Cast :* Yoon Yeo-jeong* Jeon Gye-hyeon* Nam Koong Won* Kim...
(1972
1972 in film
The year 1972 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Avanti!, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet MillsB...
) and Beasts of Prey
Beasts of Prey
Beasts of Prey aka Carnivore, Carnivorous Animals is a 1985 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:A social drama about a man with an inferiority complex to his wife...
(1985
1985 in film
-Events:* 3 December - Roger Moore steps down from the role of James Bond after twelve years and seven films. He is replaced by Timothy Dalton.* The Academy Award for Best Picture was won by Out Of Africa, while the highest grossing film was Back to the Future.* Bliss wins AFI Award for best Movie...
)—are, in some ways, remakes of The Housemaid. By using the story as a template, Kim was able to emphasize different aspects of the scenario, and to concentrate on different details and aspects of the central situation with each new re-telling.
Mid-Career
Kim solidified his break with cinematic realism by following The Housemaid with two more films exploring styles and mixing genres, radically new for Korean cinema at the time. The Sea KnowsThe Sea Knows
The Sea Knows is a 1961 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:A wartime melodrama about Aroun, a Korean living in Japan and conscripted into the army. He endures cruel treatment at the hands of the Japanese soldiers, and objections from the mother of his Japanese girlfriend. The...
(1961
1961 in film
The year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
) transcended its roots in the standard anti-Japanese World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
film to become a distinctive examination of humanity, sadism, greed, lust for power and sexuality. The box-office success of this film enabled Kim to buy his first house, in the Namsan
Namsan-dong
Namsan-dong is a legal dong, or neighbourhood of the Jung-gu district in Seoul, South Korea and governed by its administrative dong, Myeong-dong.-External links:*...
district of Seoul. Goryeojang
Goryeojang
Goryeojang , aka Burying Old Alive, is a 1963 South Korean film written, produced and directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:The film tells the story of a poor farm-worker who, according to local tradition, must take his 70-year-old mother into the mountains to die. Deciding to break the custom, he...
(1963
1963 in film
The year 1963 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* June 12 - Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City....
), dealt with a similar subject matter as The Ballad of Narayama
The Ballad of Narayama (1983 film)
is a 1983 Japanese film by director Shohei Imamura. It stars Sumiko Sakamoto as Orin, Ken Ogata, and Shoichi Ozawa. It is an adaptation of the book Narayama bushiko by Shichiro Fukazawa and remake of the 1958 film directed by Keisuke Kinoshita.- Plot :...
(1983
1983 in film
-Events:*February 11 - The Rolling Stones concert film Let's Spend the Night Together opens in New York*May 25 - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the final film in the original Star Wars trilogy, is released. Like the previous films, it goes on to become the top grossing picture of...
), directed by Shohei Imamura
Shohei Imamura
was a Japanese film director. Imamura was the first Japanese director to win two Palme d'Or awards.His eldest son Daisuke Tengan is also a script writer and film director, and worked on the screenplays to Imamura's filmsThe Eel , Dr...
, a filmmaker with whom Kim has often been compared. Kim's version of the story is marked by his mixing of genres. For example, he frames the story—which deals with an ancient tradition in which elders were abandoned to die—within a modern lecture on birth control
Birth control
Birth control is an umbrella term for several techniques and methods used to prevent fertilization or to interrupt pregnancy at various stages. Birth control techniques and methods include contraception , contragestion and abortion...
.
Some of the characteristic traits of Kim's mature style, first seen in these three films, are gothic
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
excess, surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
, horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, perversions and sexuality. Although in stark contrast to the realism, harmony, balance and sentimentality typical of Korean cinema of the time, Kim's films, in an eccentric and metaphorical way, deal with the realities of postwar, industrializing South Korean society and psychology. After having firmly established his auteur
Auteur theory
In film criticism, auteur theory holds that a director's film reflects the director's personal creative vision, as if they were the primary "auteur"...
status with these films, Kim's unique vision began to wane in his films of the later 1960s.
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
and underfunding. Because of the poor state of the local film industry, cinema attendance in South Korea had dropped drastically since its high-point in the 1960s. Kim Ki-young, however, working independently in B-movie
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
-like genre films, began to produce some of his most innovative and personal works at this time. Kim fully regained his auteurist spirit with Woman of Fire
Woman of Fire
Woman of Fire is an award-winning 1971 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young. This was the second film in Kim's Housemaid trilogy followed by Woman of Fire '82.-Synopsis:A variation on Kim's classic The Housemaid...
(1971
1971 in film
The year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
), the second of his Housemaid trilogy. The use of color, particularly reds and blues to express the anxiety and desires of the film's characters, distinguished this film from the original Housemaids dark, shadowy black-and-white photography. For this film, Kim was named Best Director at the Blue Dragon Awards and actress Yoon Yeo-jeong
Yoon Yeo-jeong
-Biography:When Yoon was a freshman at Hanyang University majoring in Korean literature, she was chosen as a TV actress in a public recruit by TBC TV. Yoon was cast in the lead role in Mister Bear one year after her debut, and gained popularity...
was given Special Mention for Best Actress at the Festival de Cine de Sitges
Festival de Cine de Sitges
The Sitges Film Festival is a Spanish film festival that is one of the most recognizable ones held in Europe, considered the world's foremost international festival specializing in fantasy and horror movies...
. Not only popular with the critics, Kim's independently produced films were box-office successes during this era in which most films were harmed through heavy governmental interference. In 1972 Kim's Insect Woman
Insect Woman (1972 film)
The Insect Woman is an award-winning 1972 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.- Synopsis :A melodrama about a professor under psychiatric care because of a mental breakdown due to the stress brought on by an extramarital affair.- Cast :* Yoon Yeo-jeong* Jeon Gye-hyeon* Nam Koong Won* Kim...
was the only film to sell more than 100,000 tickets in Seoul and won Kim the Best Director prize at the PaekSang Arts Awards
PaekSang Arts Awards
PaekSang Arts Awards, also known as BaekSang Arts Awards, is an awards ceremony held annually by IS PLUS Corp, since 1965. It is to honour outstanding achievements in the South Korean entertainment industry and to garner public attention upon the best in Korean films and dramas...
in 1973.
Although a critically acclaimed, financially successful independent
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
filmmaker, Kim was not immune from governmental pressure. He filmed Ban Geum-ryeon
Ban Geum-ryeon
Ban Geum-ryeon aka The Story of Pan Kumyon is a 1982 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young. Filmed in 1975, the film was banned at the time, and 40 minutes of footage had been censored when it was finally released.-Cast:* Lee Hwa-si...
in 1975, but it was banned at the time, and not released until 1981, with 40 minutes of footage censored. The government also coerced Kim into making an anti-Communist propaganda film. The resulting film, Love of Blood Relations
Love of Blood Relations
Love of Blood Relations is a 1976 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young. When the South Korean government pressured Kim to make an anti-Communist film, he responded with this film...
(1976
1976 in film
The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...
), transcended the bounds of propaganda by portraying the communist agent as one of Kim's typical femme fatale characters. Kim later commented, "North or south, capitalist or communist, ideology is far less interesting to me than the things that divide the sexes."
Film professor and programmer for the Pusan International Film Festival, Lee Yong-kwan calls Iodo
Iodo (film)
Iodo is a 1977 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young. It was shown at the 28th Berlin International Film Festival.- Synopsis :When a man from an island ruled by women disappears, the man suspected of killing him investigates his past....
(1977
1977 in film
The year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network....
) Kim's best film, and Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
s Seoul-correspondent Darcy Paquet calls it "one of Korean cinema's most compelling, unnerving depictions of the primal forces that motivate humankind." An examination of environmental
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
, religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, social and sexual taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
s, the film culminates in a scene of necrophilia
Necrophilia
Necrophilia, also called thanatophilia or necrolagnia, is the sexual attraction to corpses,It is classified as a paraphilia by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. The word is artificially derived from the ancient Greek words: νεκρός and φιλία...
that Paquet calls "one of the most shocking, brazen sequences ever shot by a Korean filmmaker".
Rediscovery - Death
Kim's associates characterize the director as an eccentric individual. Tokyo International Film FestivalTokyo International Film Festival
Tokyo International Film Festival is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biannually from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter...
programming director Kenji Ishizaka recalls that Kim's way of writing a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
was to walk away from home for three months. He would shut himself up in a cheap hotel, listen to neighborhood gossip, and write all night in the dark. South Korean film critic
Film criticism
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. In general, this can be divided into journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, and other popular, mass-media outlets and academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory and...
Lee Young-il remembers that Kim's shoes were never shined, and that one of his few material pleasures was high-quality coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
. Kim Ki-young's unconventional and nonconformist nature also prevented him from participating in South Korea's mainstream film industry. The only official title he held within the film community was member of The National Academy of Arts, which he joined in 1997, and he did not cultivate friendships with journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
s who could further his career.
Nevertheless, since the early 1960s, Kim Ki-young's status as one of the greatest and most original Korean film directors had never been in doubt. His stylistic preoccupation with sexuality, horror and melodrama had earned Kim the nickname, "Mister Monster" from his admirers. However, by the 1980s Kim's career had fallen into neglect. His continued fascination with B-movie exploitation
Exploitation film
Exploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...
themes as well as the increasingly obsessive and subversive nature of his films resulted in his isolation from the film community, and in financial failures at the box-office. The last of the Housemaid trilogy, Woman of Fire '82
Woman of Fire '82
The Woman of Fire '82 is a 1982 South Korean film written and directed by Kim Ki-young. This was the third film in Kim's Housemaid trilogy.-Synopsis:A variation on Kim's classic The Housemaid...
(1982
1982 in film
-Events:* March 26 = I Ought to Be in Pictures, starring Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and Dinah Manoff is released. Manoff would not appear in another movie until 1987's Backfire.* June = PG-rated film E.T...
) is an even more radicalized and baroque retelling of the same basic story he had filmed numerous times in the previous two decades. By the mid-1980s, Kim's film output had slowed and finally stopped.
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
fans who discussed his films through the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and exchanged hard-to-find copies by videotape
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
. Noticing this growing domestic Kim Ki-young cult, the Dongsung Cinematheque, an art-house theater in Seoul, programmed a retrospective showing of Kim's films. With his profile again high in Korean film society, Kim's work began to attract international attention. Five of his films were screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 1996. When Kim Ki-young's career was highlighted at the second Pusan International Film Festival
Pusan International Film Festival
Busan International Film Festival , held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan , South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia...
in 1997, his work found enthusiastic new audiences in the international film community. The strongly positive reception of Kim's work by international audiences surprised the festival organizers, who immediately began receiving requests for overseas retrospectives of Kim's career. With this renewed interest, Kim began work on a comeback film to be titled Diabolical Woman. The Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
invited him to attend a showing of his films in 1998. Before Kim started work on the film or attended the festival, he and his wife were killed in a house fire caused by an electrical short circuit on February 5, 1998.
Kim Ki-young's death did not stop the revival of interest in his films. A six-film retrospective of Kim's career was shown in San Francisco twice in 1998. Within the year, Kim's films were screened at the Belgrade International Film Festival
FEST (Belgrade)
FEST is annual film festival held in Belgrade, Serbia since 1971. The festival is usually held in the first quarter of the year.It was the only film festival in socialist countries that attracted big Hollywood stars such as Jack Nicholson, Kirk Douglas, Robert De Niro and directors like Miloš...
, the London Pan-Asian Film Festival, the Estate Romana and the Paris Videothèque. Few prints of Korean films before the 1970s survive, and at one point 90% of Kim's output was considered lost
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
. Under the "Kim Ki-young Renaissance Project", the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) has worked to find Kim's lost films and to restore those that are damaged. In 2006, the French Cinémathèque presented 18 of Kim's films, many of them newly rediscovered and restored through the efforts of the KOFIC.
During his lifetime, Kim gained many supporters among the younger generation of South Korean directors. Park Kwang-su
Park Kwang-su
Park Kwang-su is a Korean filmmaker. He was born in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, South Korea on January 22, 1955 and grew up in Busan, South Korea. Park joined the Yallasung Film Group as a student of Fine Arts at Seoul National University...
reportedly admires Kim Ki-young above all other directors, and Lee Chang-ho
Lee Chang-ho
Lee Chang-ho is a South Korean professional Go player of 9-dan rank. He is regarded by many as one of the strongest modern Go players. He was a student of Cho Hunhyun 9-dan. He is the only player to have won all eight international competitions at least once.-Biography:He turned professional in...
is another of Kim's followers. In the years since his death, Kim's influence on Korean cinema has continued to be seen through the work of the current generation of South Korean filmmakers, including such prominent directors as Im Sang-soo
Im Sang-soo
Im Sang-soo is an award-winning South Korean film director and screenwriter.-Early life and film career:Im was born in Seoul. He studied sociology at Seoul's Yonsei University before making a move to The Korean Academy of Film Arts in 1989...
and Kim Ki-duk
Kim Ki-duk
Kim Ki-duk is a South Korean filmmaker noted for his idiosyncratic "art-house" cinematic works. His films have received many distinctions in the festival circuit. He is not related to the Kim Ki-duk who directed Yonggary in the 1960s...
. Bong Joon-ho
Bong Joon-ho
Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean film director and screenwriter.-Biography:He was born in Daegu in 1969 and decided to become a filmmaker while in middle school, perhaps influenced by an artistic family He majored in sociology in Yonsei University in the late 1980s and was a member of the film club...
calls Kim his mentor and favorite director. Park Chan-wook
Park Chan-wook
Park Chan-wook is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, producer, and former film critic. One of the most acclaimed and popular filmmakers in his native country, Park is most known for his films Joint Security Area, Thirst and what has become known as The Vengeance Trilogy, consisting of...
names The Housemaid as one of the films which most influenced his career, and says of Kim Ki-young, "He is able to find and portray beauty in destruction, humor in violence and terror."
Filmography
| Film title | Cast | Notes | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box of Death Box of Death Box of Death is a 1955 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young. It was the celebrated director's debut film, and the first Korean film to use synchronous sound.-Synopsis:... |
Choi Moo-ryong Choi Moo-ryong Choi Moo-ryong was South Korean actor, producer, and director.-Biography:Choi was born in Paju, Gyeonggi province, Korea. Choi was one of popular actors of the 1960s along with Shin Young-kyun and Kim Jin-kyu. Choi gained a popularity for his handsome appearance and masculine image... Kang Hyo-shil Kang Hyo-shil Kang Hyo-shil was a South Korean film and stage actress.-Biography:Kang was born in Pyongyang in 1932, now the capital of North Korea... |
Anti-Communist melodrama Kim's commercial debut |
June 11, 1955 |
| Yangsan Province Yangsan Province (film) Yangsan Province aka The Sunlit Path is a 1955 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:The film is a historical melodrama about a high government official who wants to marry a woman who is engaged to marry another man.-Cast:* Kim Sam-hwa... Ok-rang* Cho Yong-soo... Su-dong* Kim... |
Kim Sam-hwa Cho Yong-soo |
Historical melodrama Kim's only surviving pre-1960 film |
October 13, 1955 |
| Touch-Me-Not Touch-Me-Not (film) Touch-Me-Not is a 1956 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Cast:* Na Gang-hui* An Seok-jin* Beak Song* Hong Il-hwa* Ko Seol-bong* Go Seon-ae* Park Am* Lee Hyeon* Kang Kye-shik* Jo Hyang... |
Na Gang-hui An Seok-jin |
Historical melodrama Kim Ki-young Production's first film |
November 10, 1956 |
| A Woman's War A Woman's War A Woman's War aka Women at the Front is a 1957 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:A melodrama about a housemaid who bears her employer's illegitimate daughter... |
Jo Mi-ryeong Park Am Park Am Park Am was a South Korean actor. Park was born in Seoul in 1924. He graduated from the college of Dentistry at Seoul National University.-Filmography:*Note; the whole list is referenced.'-Awards:... |
Melodrama | March 1, 1957 |
| Twilight Train Twilight Train Twilight Train is a 1957 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Cast:* Park Am* Do Kum-bong* Choi Sam* Kim Ji-mee* An Seok-jin* Go Seon-ae* Ahn Sung-ki* Lee Yeong-ok* Kim Dong-won-Contemporary reviews:... |
Jo Mi-ryeong Park Am Park Am Park Am was a South Korean actor. Park was born in Seoul in 1924. He graduated from the college of Dentistry at Seoul National University.-Filmography:*Note; the whole list is referenced.'-Awards:... |
Melodrama | October 31, 1957 |
| First Snow First Snow (1958 film) First Snow is a 1958 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:A melodrama about refugees existing on the black market surrounding the Yongsan U.S. army base after the Korean War.... |
Kim Ji-mee Kim Ji-mee Kim Ji-mee is a South Korean actress, producer, and film planner whose activity began in 1957. She was born in Daedeok, South Chungcheong province, Korea in 1940. While a student of Deokseong Girls' High School, Kim was cast to Kim Ki-duk's film, Hwanghon yeolcha in 1957... Kim Seung-ho Kim Seung-ho Kim Seung-ho was a Korean actor. Kim was a star of the 1950s and 1960s and regarded as one of best actors in Korean film history. Kim started acting at the age of 20, but he took lead roles when he was over 40 years old. Kim is also the father of actor Kim Hee-ra.-Acting:Kim Seung-ho was a Korean... |
Melodrama | May 30, 1958 |
| Defiance of a Teenager Defiance of a Teenager Defiance of a Teenager is a 1959 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:A melodrama about a group of delinquent teenagers under the leadership of a corrupt boss.... |
Hwang Hae-nam Um Aing-ran Um Aing-ran Um Aing-ran is a South Korean actress. She has starred in about 190 films, and gained a popularity with the image of "a cheerful female college student" in the 1960s. Her marriage with Shin Seong-il, a colleague actor and big star of the time attracted a national attention... |
Melodrama | July 16, 1958 |
| Sad Pastorale Sad Pastorale Sad Pastorale is a 1960 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Cast:* Kim Seok-hun... Kang Byeong-cheol* Kim Ui-hyang... Lee Shin-ok* Choi Eun-hee... Han Do-suk... |
Kim Seok-hun Kim Ui-hyang |
Melodrama | March 24, 1960 |
| The Housemaid | Lee Eun-shim Ju Jeung-ryu Ju Jeung-ryu Ju Jeung-ryu was South Korean actress whose fame peaked in the 1950s and 1960s. She starred in about 400 films. Ju was born in Yonghung, Hamkyongnam-do, nowadays in North Korea. While attending Hamnam Girls' High School, Ju became an ardent play fan. When she became eighteen, she ran away from... |
Considered one of the greatest Korean films | November 3, 1960 |
| The Sea Knows The Sea Knows The Sea Knows is a 1961 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:A wartime melodrama about Aroun, a Korean living in Japan and conscripted into the army. He endures cruel treatment at the hands of the Japanese soldiers, and objections from the mother of his Japanese girlfriend. The... |
Kim Wun-ha Gong Midori |
Wartime melodrama | November 10, 1961 |
| Goryeojang Goryeojang Goryeojang , aka Burying Old Alive, is a 1963 South Korean film written, produced and directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:The film tells the story of a poor farm-worker who, according to local tradition, must take his 70-year-old mother into the mountains to die. Deciding to break the custom, he... |
Kim Jin-kyu Kim Jin-kyu Kim Jin-kyu was a South Korean actor, film director, and producer.- Filmography :-Director:Kim Jin-kyu was a South Korean actor, film director, and producer.... Ju Jeung-ryu Ju Jeung-ryu Ju Jeung-ryu was South Korean actress whose fame peaked in the 1950s and 1960s. She starred in about 400 films. Ju was born in Yonghung, Hamkyongnam-do, nowadays in North Korea. While attending Hamnam Girls' High School, Ju became an ardent play fan. When she became eighteen, she ran away from... |
March 5, 1963 | |
| Asphalt Asphalt (1964 film) Asphalt is a 1964 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:A revenge melodrama about a criminal whose wife is killed during his arrest... |
Kim Jin-kyu Kim Jin-kyu Kim Jin-kyu was a South Korean actor, film director, and producer.- Filmography :-Director:Kim Jin-kyu was a South Korean actor, film director, and producer.... Jang Dong-he |
Crime melodrama | April 10, 1964 |
| A Soldier Speaks after Death A Soldier Speaks after Death A Soldier Speaks after Death is a 1966 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:It is a war film about a soldier who plants flower seeds before leaving for his military service... |
Hwang Jung-seun Seonwoo Yong-nyeo |
War drama | January 22, 1966 |
| Woman Woman (1968 film) Woman is a 1968 three-part South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young, Jung Jin-woo and Yu Hyun-mok. The film was based on ideas of Kim Ki-young's wife, Kim Yu-bong, and Kim directed the last third.-Synopsis:... |
Shin Seong-il Shin Seong-il Shin Seong-il is a South Korean actor, film director, producer, and former politician. He was a star in the 1960s and 1970s, and has starred in over 500 films.- Filmography :*Note; the whole list is referenced.-Director:-Planner:... Moon Hee Moon Hee Moon Hee is a South Korean actress active since 1965. She was born in Busan, South Korea in 1947. While attending Seorabeol Art College with a film and theater major, Moon applied for recruiting new actors by KBS TV. When she was attending for a camera test, Moon was picked up by an assistant... |
Melodrama | December 23, 1968 |
| Lady Hong Lady Hong Lady Hong is a 1969 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:A man whose fiancee and her family have died, reluctantly marries another woman. When the ghost of his fiancee visits him, he is tempted to join her in matrimony.... |
Lee Soon-jae Lee Soon-jae -Biography:Lee was born in Hoeryong, North Hamgyeong, now part of North Korea. When he was 4 years old, his family moved to Seoul where Lee's grandparents were living. Lee's grandfather ran a small real estate business, while his father produced and sold soaps. Lee was raised in the neighborhood of... Moon Hee Moon Hee Moon Hee is a South Korean actress active since 1965. She was born in Busan, South Korea in 1947. While attending Seorabeol Art College with a film and theater major, Moon applied for recruiting new actors by KBS TV. When she was attending for a camera test, Moon was picked up by an assistant... |
Supernatural horror film | August 8, 1969 |
| Elegy of Ren Elegy of Ren Elegy of Ren is a 1969 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Cast:* Kim Jin-kyu... Simon* Kim Ji-mee... Ren* Kim Myeong-jin* Baek Yeong-min* Park Am* Sa Mi-ja... Simon's wife* Kim Sin-jae* Ji Bang-yeol* Kim Se-ra... |
Lee Soon-jae Lee Soon-jae -Biography:Lee was born in Hoeryong, North Hamgyeong, now part of North Korea. When he was 4 years old, his family moved to Seoul where Lee's grandparents were living. Lee's grandfather ran a small real estate business, while his father produced and sold soaps. Lee was raised in the neighborhood of... Moon Hee Moon Hee Moon Hee is a South Korean actress active since 1965. She was born in Busan, South Korea in 1947. While attending Seorabeol Art College with a film and theater major, Moon applied for recruiting new actors by KBS TV. When she was attending for a camera test, Moon was picked up by an assistant... |
Romantic literary drama | October 16, 1969 |
| Woman of Fire Woman of Fire Woman of Fire is an award-winning 1971 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young. This was the second film in Kim's Housemaid trilogy followed by Woman of Fire '82.-Synopsis:A variation on Kim's classic The Housemaid... |
Nam Koong Won Nam Koong Won Nam Koong Won is a South Korean actor. Nam Koong was born Hong Gyeong-il in 1934. He was a popular actor of the 1960s along with Shin Seong-il, Shin Young-kyun and Choi Moo-ryong... Yoon Yeo-jeong Yoon Yeo-jeong -Biography:When Yoon was a freshman at Hanyang University majoring in Korean literature, she was chosen as a TV actress in a public recruit by TBC TV. Yoon was cast in the lead role in Mister Bear one year after her debut, and gained popularity... |
Second in the Housemaid trilogy Best Director: Blue Dragon Awards Special Mention Best Actress: Festival de Cine de Sitges Festival de Cine de Sitges The Sitges Film Festival is a Spanish film festival that is one of the most recognizable ones held in Europe, considered the world's foremost international festival specializing in fantasy and horror movies... |
April 1, 1971 |
| Insect Woman Insect Woman (1972 film) The Insect Woman is an award-winning 1972 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.- Synopsis :A melodrama about a professor under psychiatric care because of a mental breakdown due to the stress brought on by an extramarital affair.- Cast :* Yoon Yeo-jeong* Jeon Gye-hyeon* Nam Koong Won* Kim... |
Yoon Yeo-jeong Yoon Yeo-jeong -Biography:When Yoon was a freshman at Hanyang University majoring in Korean literature, she was chosen as a TV actress in a public recruit by TBC TV. Yoon was cast in the lead role in Mister Bear one year after her debut, and gained popularity... Jeon Gye-hyeon |
Best Director, Best Actor: PaekSang Arts Awards PaekSang Arts Awards PaekSang Arts Awards, also known as BaekSang Arts Awards, is an awards ceremony held annually by IS PLUS Corp, since 1965. It is to honour outstanding achievements in the South Korean entertainment industry and to garner public attention upon the best in Korean films and dramas... |
July 6, 1972 |
| Cheju Island Terror | Kang Moon Mayu Loh |
Written by Kim, co-directed with Park Yoon-kyo | July 24, 1973 |
| Transgression Transgression (film) Transgression is a 1974 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:Based on a novel by Go Eun, the film tells the story of two students of Zen Buddhism.... |
Choi Bool-am Choi Bool-am Choi Bool-am is a South Korean actor and a professor.-Biography:Choi was born in the neighborhood of Geumgok-dong, Dong-gu, Incheon, Korea in 1941. Choi was the only son to his father Choi Cheol, a business man, and his mother Lee Myeong-suk who was a daughter of a royal pharmacist of the Korean... Park Byeong-ho |
Literary adaptation | November 9, 1974 |
| Promise of the Flesh Promise of the Flesh Promise of the Flesh is an award-winning 1975 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:A melodrama about a female prisoner who meets a man while on leave to visit her mother's grave... |
Kim Ji-mee Kim Ji-mee Kim Ji-mee is a South Korean actress, producer, and film planner whose activity began in 1957. She was born in Daedeok, South Chungcheong province, Korea in 1940. While a student of Deokseong Girls' High School, Kim was cast to Kim Ki-duk's film, Hwanghon yeolcha in 1957... Lee Jung-gil Lee Jung-gil Lee Jung-gil is a veteran South Korean actor. He has appeared in many television series, including 2009's Iris.-References:... |
Melodrama | July 26, 1975 |
| Love of Blood Relations Love of Blood Relations Love of Blood Relations is a 1976 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young. When the South Korean government pressured Kim to make an anti-Communist film, he responded with this film... |
Kim Ji-mee Kim Ji-mee Kim Ji-mee is a South Korean actress, producer, and film planner whose activity began in 1957. She was born in Daedeok, South Chungcheong province, Korea in 1940. While a student of Deokseong Girls' High School, Kim was cast to Kim Ki-duk's film, Hwanghon yeolcha in 1957... Lee Jung-gil |
Anti-Communist melodrama | October 5, 1976 |
| Iodo Iodo (film) Iodo is a 1977 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young. It was shown at the 28th Berlin International Film Festival.- Synopsis :When a man from an island ruled by women disappears, the man suspected of killing him investigates his past.... |
Lee Hwa-si Lee Hwa-si Lee Hwa-si is a South Korean actress. While Lee was attending Dongguk University with a major in Korean literature, she was cast to star in Ban Geum-ryeon directed by Kim Ki-young. Lee is commonly referred to as director Kim Ki-young's persona due to her frequent appearances in Kim's films during... Kim Chung-chul |
Literary adaptation with supernatural and environmental themes | October 4, 1977 |
| Peasants Peasants (film) Peasants is a 1978 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:During the Japanese occupation, a Korean lawyer devotes his work to rural development, believing this is the only way to preserve Korean identity. Interpreting these actions as anti-Japanese, the Japanese authorities imprison... |
Lee Hwa-si Lee Hwa-si Lee Hwa-si is a South Korean actress. While Lee was attending Dongguk University with a major in Korean literature, she was cast to star in Ban Geum-ryeon directed by Kim Ki-young. Lee is commonly referred to as director Kim Ki-young's persona due to her frequent appearances in Kim's films during... Kim Chung-chul |
Literary melodrama | March 25, 1978 |
| Killer Butterfly Killer Butterfly Killer Butterfly is a 1978 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:... |
Nam Koong Won Nam Koong Won Nam Koong Won is a South Korean actor. Nam Koong was born Hong Gyeong-il in 1934. He was a popular actor of the 1960s along with Shin Seong-il, Shin Young-kyun and Choi Moo-ryong... Kim Ja-ok Kim Ja-ok Kim Ja-ok is a South Korean actress. Kim was born in Busan in 1951. Kim dropped out of Hanyang University majoring in Film. Kim started her acting career after admitted to a public recruit by MBC TV. During the early period of the 1970s, she mainly starred in TV series, while in the late 1970s,... |
Science-fiction/horror melodrama | December 2, 1978 |
| Water Lady Water Lady Water Lady is a 1979 South Korean film written, produced and directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:A literary drama telling the story of Jin-seok, a Korean veteran of the Vietnam War, and his marital life. His wife Sun-ok, runs a company that makes goods from bamboo. Her habitual stutter is passed on... |
Kim Ja-ok Kim Ja-ok Kim Ja-ok is a South Korean actress. Kim was born in Busan in 1951. Kim dropped out of Hanyang University majoring in Film. Kim started her acting career after admitted to a public recruit by MBC TV. During the early period of the 1970s, she mainly starred in TV series, while in the late 1970s,... Lee Hwa-si Lee Hwa-si Lee Hwa-si is a South Korean actress. While Lee was attending Dongguk University with a major in Korean literature, she was cast to star in Ban Geum-ryeon directed by Kim Ki-young. Lee is commonly referred to as director Kim Ki-young's persona due to her frequent appearances in Kim's films during... |
Literary adaptation | April 21, 1979 |
| Neumi Neumi Neumi aka The Deaf Worker is a 1980 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Cast:* Chang Mi-hee* Hah Myung-joong* Lee Hwa-si* Kim Chung-chul* Baek Il-seob* Gwon Mi-hye* Park Am* Lee Young-ho* Joo Sun-tae* Moon Mi-bong... |
Chang Mi-hee Chang Mi-hee Chang Mi-hee is a South Korean actress active since 1976. She was born Lee Yun-hui in Seoul, South Korea in 1957. Chang debuted as an actress in 1976 as starring in Seong Chun-hyang jeon directed by Park Tae-won and TBC TV drama, Haenyeo Dang-sil... Hah Myung-joong Hah Myung-joong Hah Myung-joong is a South Korean actor, film director, producer, planner, and screen writer. Hah started his career as an actor, but expanded his career to film directing, and film producing. Hah graduated from Kyung Hee University with a major in English literature. His brother Ha Gil-jong was... |
Melodrama about a mute woman | June 13, 1980 |
| Ban Geum-ryeon Ban Geum-ryeon Ban Geum-ryeon aka The Story of Pan Kumyon is a 1982 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young. Filmed in 1975, the film was banned at the time, and 40 minutes of footage had been censored when it was finally released.-Cast:* Lee Hwa-si... |
Lee Hwa-si Lee Hwa-si Lee Hwa-si is a South Korean actress. While Lee was attending Dongguk University with a major in Korean literature, she was cast to star in Ban Geum-ryeon directed by Kim Ki-young. Lee is commonly referred to as director Kim Ki-young's persona due to her frequent appearances in Kim's films during... Shin Seong-il Shin Seong-il Shin Seong-il is a South Korean actor, film director, producer, and former politician. He was a star in the 1960s and 1970s, and has starred in over 500 films.- Filmography :*Note; the whole list is referenced.-Director:-Planner:... |
Directed in 1975, banned and released censored in 1981 | March 13, 1981 |
| Woman of Fire '82 Woman of Fire '82 The Woman of Fire '82 is a 1982 South Korean film written and directed by Kim Ki-young. This was the third film in Kim's Housemaid trilogy.-Synopsis:A variation on Kim's classic The Housemaid... |
Kim Ji-mee Kim Ji-mee Kim Ji-mee is a South Korean actress, producer, and film planner whose activity began in 1957. She was born in Daedeok, South Chungcheong province, Korea in 1940. While a student of Deokseong Girls' High School, Kim was cast to Kim Ki-duk's film, Hwanghon yeolcha in 1957... Na Young-hee Na Young-hee Na Young-hee is a South Korean actress. Na was born in Boeun, North Chungcheong province, South Korea in 1961.-Filmography:*Note; the whole list is referenced.'-Awards:... |
Last of the Housemaid trilogy | June 26, 1982 |
| Free Woman Free Woman (film) Free Woman is a 1982 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Cast:* Ahn So-young* Shin Seong-il* Kim Won-seop* Han Seong-gyeong* Kim Chung-chul* Cho Ju-mi* Han U-ri* Kim Seong-geun* Lee Yeong-ho* Yoo Myeong-sun... |
Ahn So-young Ahn So-young Ahn So-young is a South Korean actress. Ahn was born in Seoul in 1959 and graduated from Jeonghwa Girls' Commerce High School. Ahn debuted in 1979 with Naeil tto naeil directed by Im Kwon-taek and entered stardom with Madame Aema in 1982.-Filmography:*Note; the whole list is... Shin Seong-il Shin Seong-il Shin Seong-il is a South Korean actor, film director, producer, and former politician. He was a star in the 1960s and 1970s, and has starred in over 500 films.- Filmography :*Note; the whole list is referenced.-Director:-Planner:... |
Melodrama | October 29, 1982 |
| Hunting of Fools Hunting of Fools Hunting of Fools is a 1984 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:A social drama about two men who have failed to graduate from college.-Cast:* Eom Sim-jeong* Kim Seong-geun* Bae Gyu-bin* Kim In-moon... |
Eom Sim-jeong Kim Seong-geun |
Melodrama | December 1, 1984 |
| Beasts of Prey Beasts of Prey Beasts of Prey aka Carnivore, Carnivorous Animals is a 1985 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Synopsis:A social drama about a man with an inferiority complex to his wife... |
Kim Sung-kyom No Gyeong-sin |
Social melodrama | March 23, 1985 |
| Be a Wicked Woman Be a Wicked Woman Be a Wicked Woman , also known as Angel, Become an Evil Woman and An Experience to Die For, is a 1990 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young.-Release:... |
Yoon Yeo-jeong Yoon Yeo-jeong -Biography:When Yoon was a freshman at Hanyang University majoring in Korean literature, she was chosen as a TV actress in a public recruit by TBC TV. Yoon was cast in the lead role in Mister Bear one year after her debut, and gained popularity... Hyun Kil-soo |
Melodrama about two women who plot to kill each others husbands | September 28, 1990 July 21, 1995 |