Hwang Jung-Min 황정민 [Upcoming Movies: “12.12: The Day”, “Mission Cross”, “Veteran 2”, “Hope”]

[Helena]

Hwang Jung-min 황정민

PROFILE

Name: Hwang Jung-min [황정민]
Born: September 1, 1970 |
Body: 180cm | 75kg | Type O
Family: Wife, son
Education: Wolyoung Elementary School > Masan Middle School > Kaywon High School of Arts > Seoul Institute of Arts (Theater Department / Associate degree)
Debut: 1994 musical <Subway Line No. 1>
Religion: Protestantism
Specialty: Basketball, musical instrument performance
Agency: SEM Company [ Homepage | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter ]
Links: HP@SEM || dcinside | namu | 

 

[ 2009-2019 K-Movie Star Box Office Power #2 | Cr: THE SCREEN ]

 

[kofic] Hwang Jungmin, born in 1970, majored in theater in high school and went on with a degree in drama from the Seoul Institute of the Arts. It was while attending the latter that he managed to land his first role, playing a bar owner in Im Kwontaek’s <The General’s Son> (1990). He started his career in earnest four years later when he joined Hakchon Theater and took part in many of the musicals that would make its fame, such as the original creation <Subway Line No. 1> and the Korean productions of <Jesus Christ Superstar> and <Cats>. After another bit role in film in <Shiri>, he finally received a meatier role after an audition for Yim Sunrye’s critically acclaimed drama <Waikiki Brothers>. Following a series of memorable performances in <Road Movie>, <Y.M.C.A. Baseball Team>, <A Bittersweet Life> and <A Good Lawyer’s Wife>, the public and the critics started to see in him one of the most promising up-and-coming actors. <You Are My Sunshine> and <Happiness> displayed a different side of his acting, as both proved that he had what it takes to assume the position of male lead in a melodrama, a far cry from what we had come to expect after his early tough guy roles. He didn’t rest on his laurels as he played a blind swordsman in <Blades of Blood> and a corrupt detective who frames an innocent man to make up for a struggling investigation in <The Unjust>. The year 2011 saw Hwang star as a reporter with strong sense of righteousness in <Moby D>. He then played a man who accidentally becomes a mayoral candidate in <Dancing Queen> in 2012. Despite his successes in cinema, he never totally left the theater and even became stage director in 2012 with the musical <Assassins>. 2013 saw him take on the role of a gangster in <New World> and Kang Woosuk’s <Fists of Legend>. He returned to the romantic melodrama genre for his next film, the mid-level hit <Man in Love> in 2014, before he saw his fame rise to a new level with the release of the 2014 blockbuster biopic <Ode to My Father>, which became at the time the second highest-grossing Korean film in history with more than 14 million admissions. This wouldn’t remain a one-time event as his follow-up, Ryoo Seungwan’s action thriller <Veteran>, drew in 13 million people. Almost all his movies since then have posted impressive numbers, like the mountaineering drama <The Himalayas>, the prison thriller <A Violent Prosecutor> and the historical drama <The Battleship Island>, from Ryoo Seungwan again. His turn as an enigmatic shaman in Na Hongjin’s dark thriller <The Wailing> allowed him to gain international recognition, the film becoming the talk of the town upon its premiere at Cannes Film Festival. Hwang then more to espionage fare with the critically acclaimed <The Spy Gone North> (2017), before headlining one of the rare successes of the Covid-19 pandemic era, the action film <DELIVER US FROM EVIL> (2019). In 2022, he reunited with <The Spy Gone North> director Yoon Jongbin in the Netflix Original limited series <Narco-Saints> (2022), in which he plays a legendary drug lord.

Spoiler

[kofic] HWANG Jung-min is an actor who completely melts into his characters. No other actor is as versatile as he is. He turns himself instantly into a character like a chameleon for any genre or style of movies. Departing from the macho stereotype set in the non-mainstream milieu, he played a goofy, comic character in <Y.M.C.A. Baseball Team>. His acting style has evolved ever since in a shockingly unpredictable and colorful way. He created a tough, fearless character for <Wolf Returns> and <Bloody Tie> and a sinful character in <A Bittersweet Life>, a lovelorn writer in <This Charming Girl> a selfless man devoted to his girl in <All for Love>, and a snobby intellectual in <A Good Lawyer's Wife>. His appearance in <You Are My Sunshine> and <Happiness> overturned his image as a rough guy and made him a romantic lead. He emerged as one of Korea’s best melodrama heroes, albeit belatedly. But he does not rest on his laurels as he ventures to play rhythmical characters such as a blind swordsman in <Blades of Blood> and a corrupt detective who set up an innocent man as a fall guy in <The Unjust>. The year 2011 saw HWANG starring as a reporter with strong sense of righteousness in <Moby D>. He then played a man who accidentally becomes a mayoral candidate in <Dancing Queen> in 2012. 2013 saw him take on the role of a gangster alongside LEE Jeong-jae and CHOI Min-sik in <New World> and KANG Woo-suk’s <Fists of Legend>. He returned to the romantic melodrama genre for his next film, the mid-level hit <Man in Love> in 2014, before appearing in the big-budget, globe-trotting <Ode to My Father>. This began a record-breaking run for the actor, which was followed by RYOO Seung-wan’s action-thriller <Veteran>, the mountaineering drama The Himalayas and the prison thriller <A Violent Prosecutor> which came out during Lunar New Year in 2016. Combined, the films drew in 45 million spectators. Next for HWANG was NA Hong-jin’s dark thriller <THE WAILING>.

 


Hwang Jungmin | The Actor is Present | 황정민

[ photo by Kim Jungman ]


The whole masculinity that is hot, intense, humorous, and reliable!  
The actor has never lost in the box office hit

His name says it all.  Hwang Jungmin is the key actor of Chungmuro, the symbolic center of Korean cinema.  He, who has proven his amazing acting chops.  When the camera turns on, the actor empties himself to become a character he plays.  Hwang debuted with the musical Line 1 (1994) and started to make his presence felt after starring in the film Waikiki Brothers (2001).  At the time, director Yim Soonrye said, ‘Hwang Jungmin is like a rough gemstone being cut into a gem,’ which turned out to be like a prophecy of Hwang’s acting life.  It is said that actors wear different clothes depending on their characters, but Hwang is full of raw energy that is hard to see through.  He showed innocent-faced drummer Kangsoo in Waikiki Brothers, then he turned into a hypocritical and shameless lawyer in A Good Lawyer’s Wife (2003).  In A Bittersweet Life (2005), he became vicious, gruesome Boss Baek, sending shivers down people’s spines.

 


Hwang Jungmin, who can best play villain characters in South Korea, is also more than capable of playing a romantic character.  It is rather rare among Chungmuro’s top character actors to show their talents in melodramas as well.  The first work that confirmed his talent in melodrama was You’re My Sunshine (2005), in which he starred opposite Jeon Doyeon.  What otherwise can be considered predictable moments or cringeworthy lines become genuine and real thanks to Hwang’s brilliant acting.  It was no wonder that the Blue Dragon Award and the Korean Film Award of the year gave him the Best Actor Award.

 


Hwang Jungmin is a reliable actor for sponsor companies as he has a combination of personal charms, acting chops, and ticket power.  The audience often assumes that even a dark-themed film is worth watching if Hwang appears in it.  Despite the devastation of the movie industry due to COVID-19, DELIVER US FROM EVIL, in which Hwang starred, ranked second at the box office in 2020.  In short, Hwang Jungmin is ‘trust.’  With Ode to My Father (2014) and Veteran (2015), the actor attracted 10 million viewers respectively.  Among the leading actors of these films, Hwang reached a cumulative audience of 100 million following Song Kangho.  His presence is well felt even in the movies where he played minor roles, such as The Wailing (2016) and Asura: The City of Madness (2016), which proves the saying “An actor proves his value not with the importance of a role, but with the impression of a character.”  The actor’s next films include director Yim Soonrye’s new film The Point Men and the crime thriller Hostage: Missing Celebrity.  Hwang Jungmin still has a lot to show.  [ By Jung Siwoo in May 2021 ]

 

 

FILMOGRAPHY 

 

MOVIE  (Src: Kobis)
Opening Date | Title | Role | Total Admissions (people)

• - ‘Return 귀환’  // Yoon Jae-kyun (delayed)
• TBA ‘HOPE | 호프’ // Na Hong-jin 
• TBA ’Veteran 2 | 베테랑2’ as Seo Do-cheol 서도철 // Ryoo Seung-wan
• TBA ‘MISSION CROSS | 크로스’ as Gang-mu 강무
• TBA '12.12: The Day | Seoul Spring | 서울의 봄' as Chun Doo-gwang 전두광 // Kim Sung-soo
• 2023-03-31 ‘Kill Boksoon | 길복순’ (special appearance) [NETFLIX] // Byun Sung-hyun
• 2023-01-18 ‘The Point Men | Negotiations | 교섭’ as Jae-ho 재호 // Yim Soon-rye
• 2022-08-10 ‘HUNT | 헌트’ as Lieutenant Lee 리 중좌 (special appearance) [4,352,406] // Lee Jung-jae
• 2021-08-18 ‘Hostage: Missing Celebrity | 인질’ as Hwang Jung-min 황정민 [1,638,439] // Pil Gam-sung
• 2020-10-28 ‘DELIVER US FROM EVIL FINAL CUT | 다만 악에서 구하소서 파이널컷’ as Kim In-nam 김인남 [37,961]
• 2020-08-05 ‘DELIVER US FROM EVIL | 다만 악에서 구하소서’ as Kim In-nam 김인남 [4,357,873] // Hong Won-chan
• 2019-03-20 ‘Money | 돈’ (voice cameo) [3,389,035]
• 2018-08-08 ‘The Spy Gone North | 공작’ as Black Venus 흑금성 / Park Seok-young 박석영 [4,974,512] // Yoon Jong-bin 
• 2017-07-26 ‘The Battleship Island | 군함도’ as Lee Kang-ok 이강옥 [6,592,151] // Ryoo Seung-wan
• 2016-09-28 ‘Asura : The City of Madness | 아수라’ as Park Sung-bae 박성배 [2,594,028] // Kim Sung-soo 
• 2016-05-12 ‘The Wailing | 곡성’ as Il-gwang 일광 [6,879,908] // Na Hong-jin
• 2016-02-03 ‘A Violent Prosecutor | 검사외전’ as Byun Jae-wook 변재욱 [9,707,158] // Lee Il-hyung
• 2015-12-16 ‘The Himalayas | 히말라야’ as Um Hong-gil 엄홍길 [7,759,473] // Lee Seok-hoon 
• 2015-08-05 ‘Veteran | 베테랑’ as Seo Do-cheol 서도철 [13,414,009] // Ryoo Seung-wan
• 2014-12-17 ‘Ode to My Father | 국제시장’ as Yoon Duk-soo 윤덕수 [14,257,115] // Yoon Jae-kyun
• 2014-01-22 ‘Man in Love | 남자가 사랑할 때’ as Han Tae-il 한태일 [1,979,311] // Han Dong-wook
• 2013-04-10 ‘Fists of Legend | 전설의 주먹’ as Im Deok-kyu 임덕규 [1,744,585] // Kang Woo-suk
• 2013-04-04 ‘In My End is My Beginning | 끝과 시작’ as Min Jae-in 민재인 (omnibus Five Senses of Eros) [38,809] // Min Kyu-dong
• 2013-02-21 ‘New World | 신세계’ as Jung Chung 정청 [4,682,492] // Park Hoon-jung
• 2012-01-18 ‘Dancing Queen | 댄싱퀸’ as Hwang Jung-min 황정민 [4,057,546] // Lee Seok-hoon
• 2011-06-09 ‘Moby D | 모비딕‘ as Lee Bang-woo 이방우 [430,936]
• 2011-01-27 ‘Battlefield Heroes | 평양성‘ as King Munmu 문무왕 (cameo) [1,717,566] // Lee Joon-ik
• 2010-10-28 ‘The Unjust | 부당거래’ as Choi Chul-gi 최철기 [2,766,436] // Ryoo Seung-wan
• 2010-04-28 ‘Blades of Blood | 구르믈 버서난 달처럼’ as Hwang Jung-hak 황정학 [1,407,681] // Lee Joon-ik
• 2009-07-09 ‘Five Senses of Eros | 오감도: In My End is My Beginning’ as Min Jae-in 민재인 (omnibus feature) [443,462] 
• 2009-04-02 ‘Private Eye | 그림자 살인’ as Hong Jin-ho 홍진호 [1,914,779] // Park Dae-min
• 2008-01-31 ‘A Man Who was Superman | 슈퍼맨이었던 사나이’ as Superman [559,705]
• 2007-11-29 ‘My 11th Mother | 열한번째’ as Baek-jung 백중 (supporting) [337,700]
• 2007-10-03 ‘Happiness | 행복’ as Young-soon 영수 [1,239,789] // Hur Jin-ho
• 2007-06-21 ‘Black House | 검은집’ as Jeon Joon-oh 전준오 [1,408,882]
• 2006-04-27 ‘Bloody Tie | 사생결단’ as Corporal Do [2,104,716]
• 2005-10-07 ‘All for Love | 내 생애 가장 아름다운 일주일’ as Na Doo-chul 나두철 [2,533,103] // Min Kyu-dong
• 2005-09-23 ‘You’re My Sunshine! | 너는 내 운명’ as Kim Seok-joong 김석중 [3,051,134] // Park Jin-pyo
• 2005-07-15 ‘Heaven’s Soldiers | 천군’ as Park Jung-woo 박정우 [1,232,992]
• 2005-04-01 ‘A Bittersweet Life | 달콤한 인생’ as President Baek (special appearance) [1,271,595] // Kim Jee-woon 
• 2005-03-10 ‘This Charming Girl | 여자, 정혜’ as Writer [43,457] // Lee Yoon-ki 
• 2005-03-11 ‘Twentidentity | 이공’ (Digital Short Film Omnibus Project)
• 2004-04-01 ‘The Wolf Returns | 마지막 늑대’ as Go Jung-shik 고정식 [158,727]
• 2003-08-14 ‘A Good Lawyer’s Wife | 바람난 가족’ as Joo Young-jak 주영작 [1,748,258] // Im Sang-soo 
• 2002-10-17 ‘Road Movie | 로드무비’ as Dae-shik 대식 [16,039 (Seoul)]
• 2002-10-02 ‘YMCA Baseball Team | YMCA | 야구단’ as Ryu Kwang-tae 류광태 [560,000 (Seoul)]
• 2001-10-26 ‘Waikiki Brothers | 와이키키 브라더스’ as Kang Soo 강수 [88,214 (Seoul)] // Yim Soon-rye 
• 2001 ‘The She | 그녀’ (short)
• 1999-02-13 ‘Swiri | 쉬리’ [5,820,000] // Kang Je-kyu
• 1990-06-09 ‘General's Son | 장군의 아들’ (minor appearance) // Im Kwon-taek

 

TV DRAMA

Year / Network / Title / Role

• 2022 Netflix ‘Narco-Saints | Suriname | 수리남’ as Jeon Yo-hwan 전요환 // Yoon Jong-bin
• 2020-2021 JTBC ‘Hush | 허쉬’ as Han Joon-hyuk 한준혁
• 2012 TV Chosun ‘Korean Peninsula | 한반도’ as Seo Myung-joon 서명준
• 2009 KBS2 ‘The Accidental Couple | 그저 바라보다가’ as Goo Dong-baek 구동백
• 1999 KBS2 ‘Keeping on Looking’

 

PLAY

• 2022: ‘Richard III | 리차드3세’
• 2019: ‘Oedipus | 오이디푸스’
• 2018: ‘Richard III | 리차드3세’
• 2008: ‘University of Laughter | 웃음의 대학’
• 1991: ‘Hamlet | 햄릿’

 

MUSICAL

• 2015-2016 ‘The Orchestra | Pit 오케피’
• 2012-2013 ‘Assassins | 어쌔신’ 
• 2012 ‘Man of La Mancha | 맨오브라만차’
• 2009-2010 ‘The Wedding Singer | 웨딩싱어’
• 2008 ‘Nine | 나인’
• 2004 ‘Broadway & 42nd Street | 브로드웨이 42번가’
• 2001 ‘Tommy | 토미’
• 1999 ‘Cats | 캣츠’
• 1999 ‘Mosquito | 모스키토’
• 1997 ‘Sworn Brothers | 의형제’ {}
• 1997 ‘Jesus Christ Superstar | 지저스크라이스트수퍼스타’
• 1994, 1996, 2000 ‘Subway Line No. 1 | 지하철 1호선’

 

MUSIC VIDEO

• 2021: Im Chang-jung 임창정 ‘Nothing Special with the Day | 별거 없던 그 하루로’ [ Youtube ]
• 2020: U-KNOW YUNHO 유노윤호 ‘Thank U’ [ Youtube ]
• 2016: Lee Dong-woo 이동우 ‘What a Wonderful Cane | 톡탁’ [ Youtube ]
• 2005: Naul 나얼 ‘Way Back | 귀로’ [ Youtube ]

 

ALBUM

• [2015-12-18] ‘The Himalayas special remake | 히말라야 스페셜 리메이크’ - ‘A Glimpse of the Window may Remind You of Old | 창문너머 어렴풋이 옛 생각이 나겠지요’ || Youtube
• [2013–03-12] ‘Fists of Legend | 전설의 주먹’ Special OST - ‘No Regrets | 후회 없어’ (Hwang Jung-min 황정민, Yoo Joon-sang 유준상, Yoon Do-hyun 윤도현) || Youtube

 

BROADCAST

• 2021: tvN ‘You Quiz on the Block | 유 퀴즈 온 더 블럭’ episode 120
• 2020: tvN ‘Amazing Saturday- DoReMi Market | 놀라운 토요일 - 도레미 마켓’ episode 119
• 2020: MBC ‘The Manager | 전지적 참견 시점’
• 2018: KBS1 ‘News Line | 뉴스라인’
• 2018: SBS ‘Nightline | 나이트라인’
• 2016: MBC ‘Infinite Challenge | 무한도전’ episodes 499+500
• 2016: KBS2 ‘Happy Together season  3 | 해피투게더 시즌3’ episode 433
• 2015: tvN ‘On-site talk show TAXI | 현장토크쇼 TAXI’ episode 405
• 2015: SBS ‘Running Man | 런닝맨’ episode 258
• 2015: SBS ‘Healing Camp | 힐링캠프’ episode 194
• 2014: SBS ‘Healing Camp | 힐링캠프’ episode 126
• 2013: KBS2 ‘Happy Together season 3 | 해피투게더 시즌3’ episode 293
• 2013: Mnet ‘Yoon Do Hyun's MUST | 윤도현의 MUST’ episode 83
• 2013: SBS ‘Running Man | 런닝맨’ episode 132
• 2012: SBS ‘Go Show’ episode 14
• 2012: KBS2 ‘Happy Together season 3 | 해피투게더 시즌3’ episode 232
• 2012: tvN ‘On-site talk show TAXI | 현장토크쇼 TAXI’ episode 226
• 2011: MBC ‘Come to Play | 공감토크쇼 놀러와’ episode 341
• 2010: KBS2 ‘Kim Seung-woo's Win Win | 김승우의 승승장구’ episode 2
• 2009: MBC ‘Come to Play | 공감토크쇼 놀러와’ episode 371
• 2008: MBC ‘Knee-Drop Guru | 무릎팍도사’ episode 76
• 2007: KBS2 ‘Chuseok Tray Karaoke | 한가위 쟁반 노래방’
• 2005: MBC ‘Come to Play | 공감토크쇼 놀러와’ episode 57
• 2005: KBS2 ‘Photo Docu | 포토다큐’
• 2004 SBS ‘Yasim Manman | 야심만만 만명에게 물었습니다’

 

CF
tbd

 

 

26th Blue Dragon Film Awards: Best Actor (You are My Sunshine)

 

34th Blue Dragon Film Awards: Best Actor (New World)

 

AWARDS
[2020-12-15] 25th Consumer’s Day Awards - KCA Cultural and Entertainment Awards: 2020 Audience Choice Movie Actor of the Year (Deliver Us from Evil)

[2018-10-22] 55th Grand Bell Film Awards: Best Actor (The Spy Gone North)
[2015-12-22] 2nd Korean Film Producers Association Awards: Best Actor (Ode to My Father)
[2015-11-20] 52nd Grand Bell Film Awards: Best Actor (Ode to My Father)
[2015-10-xx] 8th Seoul International Senior Film Festival:  (Ode to My Father)
[2015-09-20] 35th Gold Awards Festival: Acting Grand Prize (Ode to My Father)
[2015-08-14] 15th Director's CUT Awards: Best Actor (Ode to My Father)
[2013-12-27] Korean Film Actor’s Association Awards: Top Star (New World)
[2013-11-22] 34th Blue Dragon Film Awards: Best Actor (New World)

[2013-10-04] 22nd Buil Film Awards: Best Actor (New World)

Spoiler

[2011-08-10] 15th Montreal Fantasia International Film Festival: Best Actor (The Unjust)
[2011-03-03] 45th Taxpayer’s Day: Presidential Citation
[2009-xx-xx] 4th Golden Ticket Awards 2008: Theater Section Ticket Power Male #1
[2007-11-23] 28th Blue Dragon Film Awards: Popular Star (Happiness)
[2006-10-13] 7th Busan Film Critics Association (BCFA) Awards: Best Actor (Bloody Tie)
[2006-03-30] 29th Gold Awards Festival: Best Actor (You are My Sunshine)
[2006-02-13] 3rd Max Movie Film Awards: Best Actor (You are My Sunshine)
[2005-12-27] 2005 Cine21 Movie Awards: Actor of the Year (You are My Sunshine)
[2005-12-04] 4th Korea Film Awards: Best Actor (You are My Sunshine)
[2005-12-04] 4th Korea Film Awards: Best Supporting Actor (A Bittersweet Life)

Spoiler

[2005-11-29] 26th Blue Dragon Film Awards: Best Actor (You are My Sunshine)

Spoiler

 

 

[2005-11-29] 26th Blue Dragon Film Awards: Best Couple with Jeon Do-yeon (You are My Sunshine)
[2005-07-08] 42nd Grand Bell Film Awards: Best Supporting Actor (A Bittersweet Life)
[2002-xx-xx] 5th Director's CUT Awards: Best New Actor (Road Movie)
[2002-12-12] 23rd Blue Dragon Film Awards: Best New Actor (Road Movie)

[2002-12-03] 1st Korea Film Award: Best Supporting Actor (Waikiki Brothers)
[2002-12-02] 22nd Korean Association of Film Critics (KAFC) Awards: Best New Actor (Road Movie)
[2002-11-15] 3rd Busan Film Critics Association (BCFA) Awards: Best New Actor (Road Movie)

 

REVIEWS

• All for Love (2005): DarcyParquet | 
• Asura: The City of Madness (2016): KyuHyunKim | PierceConran | 
• The Battleship Island (2017): KyuHyunKim | LadyMizDiva | PierceConran | 
• Black House (2007): KyuHyunKim | 
• Blades of Blood (2010): KyuHyunKim | 
• Bloody Tie (2006): KyuHyunKim | 
• This Charming Girl (2005): Mr X | KyuHyunKim | PaulQuinn | 
• Deliver Us from Evil (2020): KyuHyunKim | PierceConran | ACC | Yonhap | Zapzee | 
• Fists of Legend (2013): hangukyeonghwa | 
• A Good Lawyer’s Wife (2003): DarcyParquet | PaulQuinn | 
• Happiness (2007): AdamHartzell | 
• The Himalayas (2015): AdamHartzell | PierceConran | 
• Hostage: Missing Celebrity (2021): DarcyParquet
• Man in Love (2014): PierceConran | 
• A Man Who was Superman (2008): Mr X | PaulQuinn | 
• Moby D (2011): hangukyeonghwa | 
• New World (2013): DarcyPaquet | LadyMizDiva | PierceConran | 
• Ode to My Father (2014): LadyMizDiva | PierceConran | 
• Private Eye (2009): Djuna | 
• Road Movie (2002): KyuHyunKim | 
• The Spy Gone North (2018): KyuHyunKim | PierceConran | 
• The Unjust (2010): hangukyeonghwa | JiroHong | PierceConran | 
• Veteran (2015): LadyMizDiva + RyooSeung-wan_Interview | PierceConran | 
• A Violent Prosecutor (2016): Herald | JoongAng | HollywoodReporter | 
• The Wailing (2016): KyuHyunKim | PaulQuinn | PierceConran | ACC | 
• Waikiki Brothers (2001): KyuHyunKim | PierceConran | 
• You are My Sunshine (2005): DarcyParquet | hangukyeonghwa | 

 

NEWS

[2022-08-08] Netflix's 'Narco-Saints' to be released Sept. 9: koreatimes

[2021-08-17] Hwang Jungmin, the Eternal Elastic Everyman: x

[2019-12-31] THE SCREEN 2009-2019 K-Movie Actor Box Office Power Top 10: 1 

[2017-08-10] HWANG Jung-min Joins 100 Million Viewer Club

[2016-11-01] Asura interviews: kofic-director | kofic-ProductionDesigner | 

[2016-05-24] The Wailing interviews: kofic-NaHongJinKwakDoWon |

[2015-09-02] Top Korean Actors Who Guarantee Box Office Success: x

[2015-01-29] Ode to My Father interviews: kofic-1 | kofic-2 | kofic-director | 

[2013-02-21] New World interviews: kofic | kofic-director | 

[2009-07-06] Happiness interviews: x

 

 

Thread created by Rubie.

Data: gathered/translated/updated from namu | kobiz | kobis 
Images: re-uploaded from Naver + CTTO (all copyrights/credits belong to original sources/creators)

 

RULES [ Soompi ForumRules | K-Dramas/Movies/Actors/Actresses ForumRules ] 

[rubie]

FILMOGRAPHY  

     The Wailing (2016)

     The Himalayas (2015)

   Veteran (2015)

   Ode to My Father (2014)

   Man in Love (2014)

   Fists of Legend (2013)

In My End Is My Beginning (2013)

   New World (2013)

   Dancing Queen (2012)

   The Informers 모비딕 MobyDick (2011)

 Battlefield Heroes (2011)

   The Unjust l Bad Deal (2010) 

   Like the Moon Escaping from Clouds (2010) 

 오감도 Ogamdo l Five Senses of Eros (2009) 

  Private Eye l Shadow Murders (2009) 

   A Man Once A Superman (2008) 

 The 11th Mother (2007) 

    Black House (2007) 

   Happiness (2007)

   Over the Hedge (2006) 

   Bloody Tie (2006)

 Heaven's Soldiers (2005)

   You Are My Sunshine (2005)

  A Bittersweet Life (2005)

   All For Love l My Lovely Week (2005)

 The Wolf Returns (2004)

 This Charming Girl (2004)

  Twentidentity - Under a Big Tree (2004)

  A Good Laywer's Wife (2003)

 YMCA Baseball Team (2002)

 Road Movie (2002)

   Waikiki Brothers (2001)

The She (2001) 

 Swiri / Shiri (1999)

 The General's Son (1990)

[rubie]

Real Hwang

APRIL 20, 2006

by Seung-Jae Lee (sjda@donga.com)

"I must have been crazy," said Hwang Jeong-min about what he played in the movie shortly after the premiere of his new movie 'Bloody 2006,' on April 18.

"I came to think that life is so creepy. Yes, creepy. I really should live well: that is, I will not do damage to others in life."

Maybe, Hwang was talking about the character Do in the movie, a senior policeman, and Lee Sang-do, a drug broker, who reach a deadlock, thinking "I will see what's there in the end."

When asked, "How could you be so good at beating others in the movie?" he said, "In fact, it is so difficult to beat a person. So I do so, thinking to myself, 'Give me a break. I must do this."

Seeing actor Hwang Jeong-min, one cannot help but wonder, "Then, what is the real Hwang Jeong-min like?" Is Hwang Jeong-min in real life is a man like 'air' just as when he acted a character whose presence was hard to perceive in "The Charming Girl?" Or is he as knavish as he was in "A Bittersweet Life," or kind of dull, but warm-hearted like he was in "All For Love?"

"An actor should be an actor only when he is on stage or before a camera. An actor who is so pretentious for being an actor is not a genuine actor. Then, what about 'talent' as an actor? Going to nightclubs, flirting with women and crying anytime are not talents required of actors. I call it blind daring. The talent of an actor should be kept secretly inside himself. An actor should wait patiently until a movie comes to him. If he can't do just that, he's a silly richard simmons."

Hwang Jeong-min habitually says, "I am just me," at the end of his sentences. He explains that his direction in life is to draw a line between the actor Hwang and the Hwang who is the husband of a woman (musical actress Kim Ji-hye) and an ordinary person in real life. Hwang's predilection for taking subways and buses and stopping by bookstores and going to concerts whenever he wants to may be part of his life direction.

About his personality in real life, he said, "I am usually absent-minded. I am indecisive and hesitant."

He has two principles as an actor. The two philosophies may be the 'principles of survival' that made Hwang the best character actor in Korea as of April 2006.

"The first and foremost principle is to choose a good movie and act well so that viewers do not say, 'I wasted 7,000 won for the movie." The only thing I can do for those who choose me is to make them feel that their money was well-spent."

His explained his second principle as well, saying, "I always pick a movie only when I like its plot. I don't care whether I am the main actor or a supporting actor in it. I just choose a movie with a humane plot. Then the character and his role in the movie will be a hit naturally."

Hwang said that one of the most memorable lines he has said in movies was, "Mom, you are not going to live my life for me!" This is what he screamed to his mom, crying, in "You're My Sunshine!," when she hated him for being in love with a woman with AIDS. The reason Hwang cited the line as a special one is because it is exactly what he said to his mother who bitterly opposed his drama acting in his high school years.

To the question, "What do you like the most and the least?" he answered, "My favorite thing in the world is to take a walk with my wife." His least favorite thing is his birthday party.

"I really feel uncomfortable when people are all looking at me, waiting for me to put out candles on the cake. I do feel uncomfortable with being the focus of attention."

Source: The Dong-A Ilbo

http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?...d=2006042082988

Nov. 30, 2005

At the 26th Blue Dragon Film Awards held at KBS Hall in Yeouido , Seoul, on Tuesday night, Hwang Jeong-min (left) picked up the Best Actor award for his performance in 'You're My Sunshine' and Lee Young-ae took home the Best Actress award for her role in 'Sympathy for Lady Vengeance'.

Source: http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/new...0511300005.html

[rubie]

Past articles -

Oct 2, 2005

Hwang Jeong-min -- Acting from the Heart

Hwang Jeong-min's acting style can bring tears to the eyes of viewers -- if acting is the right word for what looks more like possession. "The camera doesn't lie. You can never fool the viewer. You have to act with your heart, not your head," he says.

In the film "You are My Sunshine," which debuted late last month, Hwang's character, Seok-jung is in love with Eun-ha (played by Jeon Do-yeon), a waitress who works in a teahouse. That does not change even when he finds out she has AIDS.

"I was moved by the tale of the genuine love between two people," Hwang explains. "I agreed with the director's idea of showing it as pure love, like an uncut gem, without sloppily adding to it or embellishing it." To start at the end, it was a smashing success. From the top of his head to the soles of his feet, Hwang inhabits the part of the aging bachelor, naivety and all, and it is Hwang's impassioned performance that takes a film that could have been a banal tear-jerker to box-office success.

In a scene that had audiences rolling in the aisles, Hwang dances in his underwear in the bathroom: it was improvised the day before shooting. A tearful prison interview scene that has attracted much comment was also a last-minute addition. For the entire 16 hours it took to shoot the scene, Hwang had to keep conjuring tears from the heart.

"Do-yeon gave me great strength: when I stood in front of her, I naturally became Seok-jung" It is because of this commitment to emotional truth that Hwang can confidently tell interviewers that he is 100 percent satisfied with his work. During a crisis on set, or when he is either feeling too satisfied or caught up in mannerisms, he takes out notes he made when he first read the screenplay. "I look at the screenplay again and again. That's where all the answers are," he says.

Wrapping up the interview, the Chosun Ilbo asked, "How would Seok-jung and Eun-ha have lived if they met under different circumstances? Wouldn't their love have been doomed in the end anyway?" Hwang the actor instantly disappeared and Seok-jun the aging provincial bachelor resurfaced. "They would have been all right, because they were people who knew the power of love."

Source: englishnews@chosun.com

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/new...0510020002.html

11-09-2005

More Than a Pretty Face

Good Acting Proves More Important Than Being Traditionally 'Handsome'

By Kim Tae-jong

Staff Reporter

Jung Jae-young

Local actor Jung Jae-young made his cinematic debut with the 1996 comedy film "The Adventures of Mrs. Park." He had such a minor role that if you blinked, you would have missed him. With his much-too-plain appearance, many thought him unsuited to play the leading character in a movie.

Jung continued to act in many films, but was barely noticed by moviegoers. Almost 10 years later, the 35-year-old is now one of the most welcomed actors in Chungmuro, the Korean equivalent of Hollywood, after this year’s biggest hit film "Welcome to Dongmakgol."

"When I made my debut, people said I had too plain a face (to be a successful actor)," Jung said in a recent interview with local newspaper Chosun Ilbo. "But now they say that I can play various roles because of my normal appearance."

After the success of "Welcome to Dongmakgol," where he plays a tough yet warm-hearted North Korean soldier, he is now waiting for the release of his 19th film "Wedding Campaign," in which he will take on another completely different character _ a shy 38-year-old farmer who has never had a girlfriend.

The turning point of Jung's career came after he starred in last year's blockbuster "Silmido," in which he plays one of the prisoners who were secretly trained for a deadly mission to assassinate North Korea's leader in the late 1960s.

It was a supporting role but he put on an impressive performance, which helped him capture the leading role in the romantic comedy "Someone Special."

Jung began his career as a stage actor after graduating from a college. Now, it seems that the long wait has finally paid off, but he didn’t just wait for the opportunity to come to him.

Behind the perfect portrayals of all the different characters, he takes a long time to prepare to show what is hidden behind his plain appearance.

In the "dark period," as he recalls, when he was eager to act but no one seemed to need him, he set up a video camera in front of him and played various roles, which helped him develop a diversity of emotions for different characters.

However, Jung is not the only actor proving that good acting is more important than good looks.

Hwang Jung-min

Behind the success of latest two romantic movies "You're My Sunshine" and "All for Love" stands Hwang Jung-min, who also went through the period of playing minor characters in films.

Debuting in the 2001 comedy film "Waikiki Brothers," Hwang has starred in a total of 10 movies playing various roles, including a kind and thoughtful man in "YMCA Baseball Team," a homeless person in "Road Movie," a mean lawyer in "A Good Lawyer's Wife" and a gangster in "A Bittersweet Life."

Given that five of his 10 films were screened this year, it is no doubt that he’s enjoying the best time of his acting career.

Hwang may be far from the conventional handsome actor admired by teenage girls, but what helps him bring the variety of characters alive is the years of acting experience gained as a stage actor _ all boosted by a passion for acting.

As "You're My Sunshine" is based on a true story of a man who fell in love with a woman who later found out she had AIDS, he gained 15 kilograms then lost 7 kilograms in 10 days in order to realistically portray a person overwhelmed by grief and sorrow.

"It's not a big deal to gain and lose weight. What I care is whether my acting was good," Hwang told reporters in a news conference after the screening of "You're My Sunshine."

e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr

Source: The Korea Times

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/culture/20...20091911690.htm

[rubie]

I first saw HJM in A Bittersweet Life, what a bada** character. And then in You Are My Sunshine, he was such a sweet dork of a man. The movie was a bit predictable (except for the ending that I love) but HJM simply shines throughout. In A Good Lawyer's Wife, him & Moon So Ri made my jaw dropped. Yet... I never expected him in This Charming Girl, a really pleasant surprise & charming actor indeed... he'll definitely, grows on you. :blush:

Obviously, obviously looking forward to the new movie, Happiness in 2007!

Prelude to the 27th Blue Dragon Awards 2006

Winners of 2005 Blue Dragon Film Awards

Dec. 7, SEOUL, South Korea -- Winners of the 26th Blue Dragon Film Awards pose for camera during a handprinting event at Daehan Theater in Seoul on Dec. 7. From left to right: Kim Ji-soo, Hwang Jung-min, Lee Young Ae, Kang Hye-jung and Lim Ha-ryong. (Yonhap)

Source: http://english.yna.co.kr/Engservices/5500000000.html & innolife.net

Hwang Jung Min - Best Actor 2005

Hwang Jung Min & Lee Young Ae (2005 Best Actress)

Kim Ji Soo (Best New Actress) & Hwang Jung Min

Related threads -

26th Blue Dragon Films Awards

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?sho...18897&st=80

27th Blue Dragon Films Awards - 15 December 2006

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=99396

[rubie]

+ Bloody Tie . Heaven's Soldiers . You Are My Sunshine +

Bloody Tie 2006 ["Sasaeng-gyeoldan"] Directed by Choi Ho. Screenplay by Choi Ho and Yoon Deok-won. In Busan during the IMF crisis, a low-level drug pusher is pressured by a corrupt cop to help him catch a local drug lord. Starring Ryoo Seung-beom, Hwang Jeong-min, Kim Hee-ra, Choo Ja-hyun, On Ju-wan, Lee Do-kyung. Cinematography by Oh Hyun-jae. Produced, distributed and sold internationally by MK Pictures. Rating: 18+. 117 min. Date of release: April 26, 2006.

Posters in clickable thumbnails

More pics at http://kr.movies.yahoo.com/movie/detail_ph...?movie_id=12612

Heaven's Soldiers 2005 ["Cheon-gun"] Written and directed by Min Joon-ki. A group of North and South Korean soldiers are sent back in time to 1572, where they meet a young man who is slated to become the great admiral Lee Soon-shin. Starring Park Joong-hoon, Kim Seung-woo, Hwang Jeong-min, Gong Hyo-jin, Kim Byeong-chun, Kim Seung-cheol, Kim Soo-hyun. Cinematography by Park Jae-hyung. Produced by Sidus Pictures. Distributed and sold internationally by Showbox. Rating: 15+. 106 min. Date of Release: July 15, 2005.

More pics at http://kr.movies.yahoo.com/movie/detail_ph...l?movie_id=8933

You Are My Sunshine 2005 ["Neoneun nae unmyeong"] Written and directed by Park Jin-pyo. A farmer in his mid-thirties falls in love with a sex worker from the local coffee shop, and tries to convince her to marry him. Starring Jeon Do-yeon, Hwang Jeong-min, Na Moon-hee, Ryu Seung-soo, Jeong Yu-seok, Seo Ju-hee, Yun Jae-moon. Cinematography by Seong Seung-taek. Produced by b.o.m. film productions. Distributed and sold internationally by CJ Entertainment. Rating: 18+. 121 min. Date of release: September 23, 2005.

Posters in clickable thumbnails

Movie-info credit to koreanfilm.org, images from yahoo.kr + CINE21

[rubie]

+ All For Love . A Bittersweet Life . This Charming Girl . The Wolf Returns +

All For Love ["Nae saengae gajang areumdaun iljuil"] 2005 Directed by Min Kyu-dong. Screenplay by Yu Seong-hyeop and Min Kyu-dong. Six different couples living in Seoul experience a week full of joy and heartbreak, with many of their stories overlapping. Starring Uhm Jung-hwa, Hwang Jung-min, Im Chang-jung, Seo Young-hee, Kim Soo-ro, Kim Yu-jeong, Ju Hyun, Oh Mi-hee, Yun Jin-seo, Jeong Kyung-ho. Cinematography by Oh Seung-hwan. Produced by Doosaboo Films and Soo Films. Distributed and sold internationally by CJ Entertainment. Rating: 15+. 138 min. Date of release: October 7, 2005

.

A lot of pics at http://kr.movies.yahoo.com/movie/detail_ph...l?movie_id=9413

A Bittersweet Life ["Dalkomhan insaeng"] 2005 Written and directed by Kim Jee-woon. A high-ranking gang member who manages a hotel bar is asked by his boss to spy on his girlfriend, and kill her if she is being unfaithful. Starring Lee Byung-heon, Kim Young-cheol, Shin Min-ah, Hwang Jeong-min, Kim Roi-ha, Eric, Oh Dal-soo, Kim Hae-gon, Lee Mu-young. Cinematography by Kim Ji-yong. Produced by b.o.m. Film Productions. Distributed and sold internationally by CJ Entertainment. Rating: 18+. 120 min. Date of release: April 1, 2005.

This Charming Girl 2004 ["Yeoja, Jeong-hye"] Written and directed by Lee Yoon-ki. An emotionally withdrawn woman who works in a post office goes about her daily life, as memories of her past echo through her mind. Starring Kim Ji-soo, Hwang Jeong-min, Kim Hye-ok, Lee Dae-won, Kim Mi-seong, Seo Dong-won. Cinematography by Choi Jin-woong. Produced by LJ Films. Distributed and sold internationally by Showbox. Rating: 15+. 95 min. Date of release: March 10, 2005.

More pics at http://kr.movies.yahoo.com/movie/detail_ph...l?movie_id=8818

The Wolf Returns ["Majimak neukdae"] 2004 Written and directed by Gu Ja-hong. A detective fed up with the city gets himself transferred to a remote county where there is no crime. His co-worker grew up in the country, and is dying for a little excitement. Starring Yang Dong-geun, Hwang Jeong-min, Jang Hang-seon, O Kwang-rok, Jo Hui-bong, Kim Hyeon-jeong. Cinematography by Lee Mo-gae. Produced by Genesis Pictures. Distributed by Showbox. Rating: 15+. 97 min. April 1, 2004.

Movie-info credit to koreanfilm.org, images from yahoo.kr + CINE21

[rubie]

+ Twentidentity . A Good Lawyer's Wife . YMCA Baseball Team . RoadMovie +

Twentidentity 2004. Ryu Seung-Beom, Hwang Jung Min, etc. Directed by Min Gyu-Dong. Please click here for the DVD Review at Twitch. (thanks to melusine for the info ^^)

For more pics at http://movie.naver.com/search/movie_photo.php?code=C7726

A Good Lawyer's Wife ["Baramnan gajok"] 2003 Written and directed by Im Sang-soo. A troubled family sees the wife, husband and grandmother all pursuing extra-marital affairs, while more fundamental problems with marital life start to pull the family apart. Starring Moon So-ri, Hwang Jeong-min, Yoon Yeo-jung, Kim In-moon, Bong Tae-gyu, Baek Jeong-rim, Seong Ji-ru. Cinematography by Kim Woo-hyung. Produced by Myung Films. Distributed by Chungeorahm. Rating: 18+. 104 min. Date of release: August 14, 2003

Some daring pics at http://kr.movies.yahoo.com/movie/detail_ph...l?movie_id=7084

YMCA Baseball Team ["YMCA Yagudan"] 2002 Written and directed by Kim Hyun-seok. A story about Korea's very first baseball team, which was formed in 1906 against the backdrop of Japanese imperialism. Starring Song Kang-ho, Kim Hye-soo, Kim Ju-hyuk, Hwang Jeong-min, Lee Dae-yeon, Kim Il-woong, Shin Ku. Cinematography by Park Hyun-chul. Produced by Myung Films. Distributed by CJ Entertainment. Rating: General. 104 min. Date of release: October 3, 2002.

Anyone with pics/details from this movie, too? ^^

Roadmovie ["Rodeu mubi"] 2002 Written and directed by Kim In-sik. A young businessman loses everything in a stock market crash, and abandoned by his wife, takes to living on the street. Another homeless man named Daeshik takes him under his wing and the two set off traveling. A young prostitute joins them on their journey and begins to develop feelings for Daeshik, but soon she realizes that he is in love with his companion. Starring Hwang Jeong-min, Jeong Chan, Suh Rin, Jeong Hyung-ki, Pang Eun-jin. Cinematography by Kim Jae-ho. Produced by Sidus Uno Films. Distributed by Big Blue Films. Rating: 18+. 115 min. Date of release: October 18.

More daring pics at http://kr.movies.yahoo.com/movie/detail_ph...l?movie_id=5896

Waikiki Brothers ["Waikiki Beu-ra-deo-seu"] 2001 Written and directed by Yim Soon-rye. A band named the Waikiki Brothers travels the country in search of gigs, eventually settling in the hometown of the lead singer. While there he must cope with how life has changed for him and his former circle of friends. Starring Lee Eol, Hwang Jeong-min, Park Won-sang, Oh Ji-hye, Ryoo Seung-beom, Oh Gwang-rok, Han Ki-joong, Park Hae-il. Cinematography by Choi Ji-yeol. Produced by Myung Film. Distributed by CJ Entertainment. Rating: 18+. 109 min. Date of release: October 27, 2001.

Posters in clickable thumbnails

Movie-info credit to koreanfilm.org, images from yahoo.kr + CINE21

[rubie]

Dec 18, 2006

The emergence of a Korean hero

By Darcy Paquet

This December, South Korean screens will play host to a new British hero. If James Bond were a normal person, by now he might be sipping martinis in a retirement home. But instead, each new generation gets treated to a new face. The latest Bond, Daniel Craig, will project a grittier, more vulnerable image in hopes of appealing to today’s young audiences.

This fantasy character - suave, deadly, attractive - may have little in common with real British spies, but over 44 years he has turned out 21 films and sold US$4 billion worth of movie tickets. The U.S. has produced its own share of heroes: Superman, first conceived in the 1930s; Rambo, the hyper-masculine fantasy figure of the Reagan years (unfortunately set to return in 2008); and Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean - my personal choice for the most interesting and appealing American hero.

As for Asian heroes, there are Chow Yun-fat’s appearances in John Woo’s early films - even if they were different characters, it was basically the same, distinctive hero. On a more comic level, Japan produced the longest-running hero in film history with the Tora-san films. From 1969 until his death in 1996, actor Atsumi Kiyoshi played the same character in the original and 47 sequels.

Perhaps the mark of a true franchise is that the hero is more interesting than the films themselves. Certainly this is true of Pirates of the Caribbean, and most of the Bond films. Film companies who are able to produce such a charismatic hero can look forward to years of hit films, if they play their cards right.

And Korean heroes? Most Korean films seem to be constructed around interesting situations, rather than a single strong personality. The Chinese seem to think that "Her" from My Sassy Girl is the most memorable Korean hero, given that they named her alongside kimchi and taekwondo as things they most associate with Korea. Could the "yupki girl" from that film have indeed been turned into a franchise?

Oh Dae-soo from Oldboy certainly qualifies as a memorable, charismatic hero. But it would be hard to turn this into a franchise, since one of the defining aspects of the character is that he is subsumed to one, single goal that is resolved at the end of the film. Besides, it’s usually better not to attempt sequels of director-centered works like Oldboy. Arguably, this is true of the characters in The Host, as well.

Korea has so many good character actors that it would seem there is good potential for creating highly memorable, charismatic heroes. When watching Tora-san, it’s not hard to imagine someone like Song Kang-ho or Oh Dal-soo being just as hilarious in a similar role; Korean film companies should consider remaking that film. If Korea wanted to go the James Bond/Chow Yun-fat route, either Cho Seung-woo or Hwang Jeong-min would make a great charismatic action star.

The most famous film heroes seem to capture some aspect of an era’s mood, or give voice to its anxieties. It’s possible that Korean society has a bit of an anti-hero bias at the moment, which if true is probably good thing. Still, it will be interesting to see the emergence of an iconic Korean hero at some point in the future. What kind of figure will it be?

Source: http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edi...ent/178950.html

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4th Korean Film Award (4th December 2005)

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?sho...=20143&st=0

+ Best Actor award for You Are My Sunshine AND Best Supporting Actor Award for A Bittersweet Life +

[rubie]

+ OVER THE HEDGE +

- cute venture by HJM, anyone knows name of the "ring leader" he's lending his voice to?

Posters in clickable thumbnails

Source: CINE21 + http://www.hedge2006.co.kr/

[Guest Dahee Fanel]

Wow, THANK YOU for this thread! I adore Hwang Jung Min. He's such an incredible actor, and so cute! I first saw him in his bit role in Shiri (although his role was so tiny that I didn't catch him, of course), and then I started noticing him in This Charming Girl (a wonderful movie, by the way; everyone should watch it). My love for him was confirmed when I saw A Bittersweet Life, All For Love and You Are My Sunshine all in the space of a week. I really want to watch Waikiki Brothers and Bloody Ties now. And of course, I can't wait for Happiness, where his co-star will be one of my very favourite actresses, Im Soo Jung!

[rubie]

2007 HAPPINESS 행복



Genre Drama - In Production
Directed by HUR Jin-ho
Starring IM Su-jung HWANG Jung-min
Release Date 2007

Young-soo has enjoyed his life in Seoul before he finds himself suffering from cirrhosis. Losing any desire to live, he decides to leave the city and go to a sanatorium in the countryside. He meets a girl, Eun-hee who is also suffering from a critical disease. They start to live together. But one day, his old girlfriend appears in front of him, asking him to return to the life they once had before. He leaves Eun-hee to live with his old girlfriend. As time passes, he misses Eun-hee, and goes down to the house they used to live together. But he finds the empty house and Eun-hee who is waiting for her last moment in the sanatorium.

Source: mediaplex.co.kr

New HAPPINESS movie stills from CINE21



< clickable thumbs

Happiness@soompi
http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=99436

[rubie]

Wow, THANK YOU for this thread! I adore Hwang Jung Min. He's such an incredible actor, and so cute! I first saw him in his bit role in Shiri (although his role was so tiny that I didn't catch him, of course), and then I started noticing him in This Charming Girl (a wonderful movie, by the way; everyone should watch it). My love for him was confirmed when I saw A Bittersweet Life, All For Love and You Are My Sunshine all in the space of a week. I really want to watch Waikiki Brothers and Bloody Ties now. And of course, I can't wait for Happiness, where his co-star will be one of my very favourite actresses, Im Soo Jung!

Hi! Good to see you here... I know what you mean, incredible actor indeed. I just love actors who doesn't need extreme makeovers/make-up (other than needed) to deliver believable acting, which they can achieve effortlessly by becoming the character like no other. HJM can be so charming and full of passion, dorky & naive, as well as really mean and bad, evil crook. He even dared to be daring than usual. :blush: That's what makes him endearing & likeable to the audience.

Can't wait for Happiness, too... hope to see a really good HJM-ISJ chemistry.

[rubie]

Bloody Tie Movie review from koreanfilm.org -



Despite a relaxation of censorship standards since the late 1990s which helped Korean filmmakers such as Jang Sun-woo (Lies) and Park Jin-pyo (Too Young to Die) push the envelope in terms of the explicitness of sexuality depicted onscreen, Korean cinema had for years stayed away from quite a few "taboo" topics. Two among them were the negative experiences of military draftees (there is no such thing as sexual abuse among men in the Korean military, of course) and the widespread use of drugs (only Americans do drugs, of course). I've in fact vilified Korean filmmakers on more than one occasion for not having the guts to take on these issues. Well, I am as happy as Winnie the Pooh with a pot of honey to eat my own words, as we now have The Unforgiven tackling the military controversy, and Bloody Tie, one of the most harrowing crime thrillers to come out in Korea for some time, for the drug problem.

The drug of choice for Korean addicts is Philophon (called hiroppong or ppong in the street argot), basically a Japanese version of crystal meth or methampethamine solids. Meth was used by various governments (Japanese, Nazis, American) during the Second World War to boost production and keep troops alert: today it is recognized as one of the most widely used and socially destructive addictive substances in the world, next to alcohol, caffeine and nicotine (What, did you expect cannabis to make the list?).

Bloody Tie begins with an actual news montage chronicling the explosive rise of meth use in the Busan area following the 1997 IMF crisis. The film then introduces two protagonists: Sang-do (Ryoo Seung-beom from Crying Fist), a cocky, street-savvy small-time dealer with a tragic family history involving his dopehead uncle (the veteran Kim Hee-ra), and Lieutenant Do (Hwang Jeong-min, You Are My Sunshine, Bittersweet Life), a corrupt cop obsessed with bagging his arch-nemesis Jang Cheol (theatrical actor Lee Do-gyung), a big-shot crime lord ensconced in China. Sang-do and the Lieutenant hate each other with virulence yet have built a complex symbiotic relationship over the years, compared to one between a crocodile and an Egyptian plover in Yoon Deok-won's intelligent but perhaps overly literate screenplay.

Bloody Tie has a four-Chinese-character Korean title, "A Life-or-Death Decision," that alludes to Hong Kong urban action films of the 1980s. In substance, however, the film is shorn of the H.K.-brand macho romanticism packaged in aesthetically pleasing slow-mo visuals. Rather, it is fast, dirty and mean like an angry hedgehog rolling itself into a ball of pointed quills, ready to pounce at your face. I was reminded of William Friedkin's equally nasty To Live and Die in L.A. minus its fashion-magazine slickness. Director Choi Ho, who previously helmed the interesting Who Are You? starring Lee Na-young, displays an impressive level of storytelling skills and an excellent ear for character interaction. Several obviously cliched setups attain, under his careful direction, a sense of dramatic authenticity, such as Sang-do's don't-tell-me-why-I-am-doing-this effort to detox an upper-class addict Ji-young (the TV drama actress Choo Ja-hyun), which develops into a highly convincing, non-sentimental relationship between the two.

At the center of this hardball film noir are two of the best actors working in Korean cinema today, Hwang Jeong-min and Ryoo Seung-beom. Hwang is brilliant as usual. His trademark steam-engine puffing ("Ssssheee...") is no longer oddly endearing here as was in A Bittersweet Life, but revealed as a sound made by a viper spitting venom at his prey before swallowing her whole. Unfortunately for me, the character played by Hwang remains a weak link in Bloody Tie. If Director Choi, as the publicity materials imply, intended to make this character reminiscent of the scary-as-hell sociopaths in Graveyard of Honor and other yakuza films of Fukasaku Kinji, I must say he did not quite pull it off. This is where perhaps the director's arthouse sensibility, aspiring toward a dry-eyed expose of the lethal absurdity of a human creature, and his (or the producer's?) attraction to Hong Kong-style romanticism collided with and ended up canceling one another. To put it in another way, Lieutenant Do is an evil bastard from whom I could not detect any shred of "moral ambiguity" or "complexity of character." Indeed, I am a bit worried that his final dialogue, spoken while striking an iconic pose of a Cool Cop and most probably meant to be ironical, will be embraced by many viewers as an uncomplicated statement of Dirty Harry-ism.

Hwang delivers a showstopper as Lieutenant Do but the movie really belongs to Ryoo Seung-beom's Sang-do. I am fast running out of superlatives to praise Ryoo, undoubtedly the most naturally talented Korean actor of his generation, no contest. Following at the heels of his stunning turn in Crying Fist, Ryoo, without ever resorting to cute mannerisms or exaggerated theatrics, makes us root for Sang-do, a craven little thug full of hot air, who is just smart enough to be one step ahead of his competitors but not smart enough to see that he is nothing more than a rat in a pinwheel in terms of the Big Picture. The only possible fault I could find in his interpretation of Sang-do is that his Busan accent is not always convincing, probably a non-issue for most readers of this review. (For the record, my mother's family is from Busan)

Bloody Tie is a dark, vicious and surprisingly poignant film noir, which maintains its integrity despite wholly unnecessary (and ultimately detrimental) capitulation on its maker's part to the lineage of '80s Hong Kong cinema. Do not expect something beautiful and slick: this baby's got a bite. (Kyu Hyun Kim)

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A lot of Hwang Jung Min & Ryu Seung Bum's pics (CINE21, FILM2.0, Movieweek, etc) posted at another talented actor, RSB's thread. Having collaborated in 3 movies; Waikiki Brothers, Twentidentity and Bloody Tie... there're really a lot of info & pics, courtesy of melusine.

The Talented Mr. Ryu 류승범
http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=74864

[rubie]

You Are My Sunshine movie review from koreanfilm.org


One of the nastiest putdowns wielded by Korean film critics is the term 'shinpa'. If a film drives you crazy with its histrionic, sappy, overblown plot machinations, there's no need to write paragraphs picking apart its many faults. One word will do: call it shinpa. The word originally referred to a type of stage play that appeared in Japan in the 1880s ('shimpa' in Japanese), which adapted the Western melodrama -- particularly tales about scandalous romance -- into a form that local audiences could relate to. They were introduced into Korea in the 1910s and quickly became popular with general audiences, but highbrow critics attacked the plays for their escapist character and supposed appeal to base instincts and emotions. The term was later adopted into film criticism and it is used often today to refer to TV dramas or to melodramas like The Letter (1997) and A Moment To Remember (2004).

Most directors who aspire to auteur status would sooner quit filmmaking than make a work that could be branded as shinpa. Yet Park Jin-pyo, who proved he had guts enough to tackle septuagenarian sex in 2002 with Too Young To Die, now proves he has guts enough to tackle the most villified, banal genre in Korean cinema. The latter probably required more courage.

You Are My Sunshine (yes, the song does make an appearance) tells the story of a 36-year old farmer named Seok-joong who, apart from his cow and his mother, has difficulty relating to women. After backing out of a scheme that would have set him up with a Philippine bride, he decides to make do without a wife, until the day Eun-ha drives past him on her scooter. (Cue slow motion, music, and Seok-joong's mouth hanging wide open... he's in love) Eun-ha, meanwhile, is employed as a sex worker at the local coffee shop, delivering beverages and a variety of services to whoever in town pays for them. She reacts with bemusement at first when the awkward, stammering Seok-joong presents himself, delivering free bottles of milk and roses to her on a daily basis. As time passes, though, she begins to wonder if life with him might be a better option than her current day-to-day routine.

You Are My Sunshine leaves no stone unturned in the shinpa book of techniques, with all the plot twists you'd expect in any 1970s Korean hostess film. The film even admits as such, in a scene where a reporter calls his boss to summarize the situation facing our heroes, saying "This is even better than I thought... it's total shinpa!" And yet there's a world of difference between this film and a work like The Letter. Like Hur Jin-ho (whose feature One Fine Spring Day is referenced several times within the text), Park presents a host of realistic details to support the film's sentiment, and characterizes his leads so well that they seem to exist outside the film as well as in it. Without preaching, the film also manages to slip in some cutting observances about rural life and societal prejudice. The film is unfortunately too long, meandering a bit in the middle, but when the requisite disasters set in towards the end, they carry their share of emotional force.

Much of the the credit for that emotional force has to be shared with the actors. Hwang Jeong-min's portrayal of the physically imposing but somewhat childish Seok-joong is the more acrobatic of the two performances, with Hwang enacting a 180-degree turnaround from the gangster he played in A Bittersweet Life. His character is the one who will be most discussed and noticed among Korean viewers. Nonetheless this film confirms for me that Jeon Do-yeon simply operates on another plane from her contemporaries. She has so much visceral talent, and she's so convincing in her role that, ironically, it's easy to overlook her performance. She never looks like she's acting, she just morphs into the character. Also deserving of major praise is Na Moon-hee, who is fantastic as Seok-joong's mother.

Some might argue that Park has sold out with this film, after making such a subversive debut in 2002. Certainly this is a more commercial venture -- at the time of this writing, it's scheduled to be released on 450 screens, a new record for a melodrama. But one can't help but admire the unpredictability of the director's vision, and the way in which he tackles a maligned genre in so straightforward a fashion. Sometimes, the most conventional artistic choices are the most radical. (Darcy Paquet)

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All For Love movie review from koreanfilm.org

A week passes in Seoul, with a diverse group of couples and singles experiencing love or tragedy in strong doses. Broken families and newly-formed marriages, struggles with debt or with an uneasy conscience, conflict and resolution, sickness and health, newly-discovered love, the resurfacing of old relationships... Similar to Robert Altman's Short Cuts or, more recently, Richard Curtis' Love Actually, sophomore director Min Kyu-dong (Memento Mori) utilizes a large cast of talented actors and a well-written screenplay to weave a multitude of stories into a single narrative.

Whereas sweet-tinged optimism tied together the multiple parts of Love Actually, director Min adopts a more somber tone in All For Love that is sympathetic to the struggles of its characters, but not necessarily convinced that everything will work out for them. Indeed, the film feels like it was made in a time of economic insecurity, with people feeling a bit uneasy about the future. Thanks in part to this, real drama develops towards the middle and later sections of the film, as we draw closer to the characters and become concerned for their welfare. The ending finally brings everything together in an ambitious crescendo, leaving the audience satisfied but also, perhaps, a bit exhausted.

The cast is almost uniformly good, so that each viewer may have a different favorite couple. Veteran actor Joo Hyun (A Family) and Oh Mi-hye (making her film debut) are a particular treat as a gruff theater owner and a woman who rents a coffee shop from him. Despite playing opposite multiple attractive young actresses, Ms. Oh is clearly the most beautiful woman in the film.

Uhm Jung-hwa (Princess Aurora) and Hwang Jeong-min (You Are My Sunshine) are a jolt of comic energy in their indignant bickering and awkward attempts to reconcile. Im Chang-jung (Sex is Zero) and Seo Young-hee (Jealousy is My Middle Name) provide some of the film's most dramatic moments as a newlywed couple crushed by debt and desperate for work. Yoon Jin-seo (Oldboy)'s role as a young woman about to be ordained as a nun may seem a bit far-fetched, but she acts with such charm that this is easy to overlook. Finally Cheon Ho-jin, a long-time supporting actor finally beginning to attract some notice, gives a rock-solid performance as a tightly-wound, divorced father struggling to raise his son.

It's true perhaps that All For Love (the Korean title, by the way, means "The Most Beautiful Week in My Life") fails to hit the brakes at some key moments. I would probably consider the TV basketball match re-enactment scene with Kim Soo-ro to be absolutely ludicrous, if I hadn't seen similar displays of emotional kitsch on Korean TV before. The When Harry Met Sally reference also felt awkward and forced. But on the whole, this film is a winner, for its narrative strength and its large cast of memorable characters. (Darcy Paquet)

For lots of clips and pics from the movie, check out -

All For Love

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=6224

Thanks to virgo_star for the movie caps ^^

[rubie]

04.27.2006: Past review on Bloody Tie by The Korea Times (By Kim Tae-jong, Staff Reporter)

'Tie' Bloody Well Worth Watching

Many conventional crime thrillers feature a conflict between good and bad guys. And this dichotomized distinction often ends up with a fairly predictable conclusion _ the good side finally beats off the bad in the name of justice.

Hwang Jung-min, left, and Ryu Seung-bum put a finesse on "Bloody Tie."

But director Choi Ho put some twists in the formula to look at the darker and more cruel aspects of human nature through crime and the relationship between people involved in his new crime thriller "Bloody Tie (Sasaeng Kyoldan)."

The film depicts a confrontation between evil characters, each with different pursuits in life that are easily justified as a means to their survival.

As the story evolves, the question the film ultimately poses is not who is right but rather who is the worst. Charismatic actors Hwang Jung-min and Ryu Seung-bum, who play a ruthless detective and a drug trader, make the question even trickier.

The film begins with news reports and footage on drug trafficking in the southern port city of Pusan. When the serious financial crisis hit the nation in 1997, trafficking in drugs was at its peak and a war on drug smugglers began.

Do Jin-gwang (played by Hwang) is a cruel veteran detective whose one and only goal is to arrest the boss of a drug trafficking gang. Lee Sang-ho is a tough drug dealer who got into the business when he was young because of his uncle, whose drug business killed his mother. Typically, Lee is out for cash.

These two seemingly perfect enemies, however, decide to help each other to achieve their own goals.

What Do needs most is inside information about the gang. Lee is the perfect informant as he is willing to betray his gang members for his own sake.

Do promises Lee that he will not pose any threat to his drug dealing business in return for his cooperation.

Given Choi's two previous melodramas, "Bye June" (1998) and "Who Are You" (2002), the film can be seen as a drastic shift for the director. But his adventure in this new genre seems to have been well researched.

Details on drug trafficking and the characteristics of drug gangs are realistically presented. As a result, some moviegoers may find the film too violent, brutal and obscene. (It is reportedly said that the director collected detailed information about drug trafficking for the film over almost four years.)

But the acting skills of the two main characters, which helps add a more realistic touch to the film, is good enough reason alone to make moviegoers want to see the film.

e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr

Source: http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/culture/20...15484110970.htm

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October 6, 2005: Past article on All For Love from The Dong-A Ilbo

Korean Version of Hit "Love Actually" Features Six Couples In Love

"Let's make a Korean version of 'Love Actually'. What sort of love stories should we bring together? Wouldn't it be fun to have a man and a woman who are mutual enemies end up falling in love? Since the economy is so bad these days, a story about a couple keeping their love alive in the face of poverty would appeal to many. Let's balance out the generations by including a romance between middle-aged lovers. But romantic love isn't the only kind of love there is. Right, let's portray inter-generational love between an unwed mother and her daughter. Well... That's all good, but it seems a little ordinary so far. Isn't there something provocative to really spice up the movie? How about the love of a nun? That would invite too much criticism. Not if we make her a novice preparing for the life of a nun. We need some homosexual romance as well. But nothing that goes too far—we're not trying to spark controversy here. We should make it sweet and touching, like 'Love Actually' was. We should make the audience laugh in the beginning, then wring their tears at the end. If it wraps up too nice and happy, it would be too bland for Korean sensibilities. Sounds good! We'll give them sugar, and then salt. Laughter, then tears!"

This is the sort of brainstorming session that might have given birth to "The Most Beautiful Week of My Life," which opens nationwide on October 6. The film is a designed product that genetically alters "Love Actually" to suit Korean palates.

A Gift of Love that Weaves Together Six Different Colors—

The film weaves together six different love stories over a one-week period. A love-hate relationship between hapless old bachelor Detective Nah (Hwang Jeong-min) and divorced psychiatrist Yu-jeong (Eom Jeong-hwa); a love that perseveres through poverty between Chang-hu (Im Chang-jeong) and Seon-ae (Seo Yeong-hi); an inter-generational love between immature bachelor Seong-won (Kim Su-ro) and a precocious six-year-old (Kim Yu-jeong); a precarious romance between nun-in-training Su-gyeong (Yun Jin-seo) and singer Jeong-hun (Jeong Gyeong-ho); a December romance between middle-aged theater owner Gwak (Ju Heon) and chronically vain Oh (Oh Mi-hi); and the forbidden love between lonely divorcé Jo (Cheon Ho-jin) and his male housekeeper (Kim Tae-hyeon). These are the romantic pieces that come together to complete the film's larger mosaic of love.

Hwang Jeong-min's Laugh-Out-Loud Dialect and Eom Jeong-hwa's All-Out Acting—

This movie will succeed in drawing a response from the audience thanks to the diversity of its ensemble cast alone, but there's something missing, and that prevents it from being the perfect gift box of love.

What makes a great mixed gift basket? The candies, cookies, and pastries that compose it must each have their unique identities and flavors. But in "The Best Week of My Life," candies, cookies, and pastries alike seem fixated on being everything at once. In other words, rather than crafting each episode to retain its distinctive flavor, the film opts for bringing into clear relief a set number of definitive emotional through-lines. The diversity of its subject matter does not translate to a corresponding diversity of emotions; instead, everything falls into the category of happy or sad. But this is not a mistake. It is a deliberate choice that the film makes. Because of all the care poured into molding episodes that carry strong emotional through-lines, many of them (like the inter-generational and homosexual romances) come across as under-explained, as if too many of the details in their stories ended up on the cutting room floor.

Hwang Jeong-min is now at the peak of his craft. His Gyeongsang provincial dialect in this film will have you clutching your stomach in laughter. And the audience always appreciates Eom Jeong-hwa's selfless immersion in her roles. Yun Jin-seo, whose character drools all over her lover's cheek, is a master at portraying "mad love." But Im Chang-jeong’s tearjerker storyline of “love and hope in the face of poverty” is becoming a bit stale.

"The Best Week of My Life" is the second full-length feature by director Min Gyu-dong, who helmed "Horror at a Girls' School II." For audiences ages 15 and up.

Source: http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?...d=2005100638418

[Guest torrent]

a pretty underrated actor here on soompi.

can anyone tell me who he plays in A Good Lawyer's Wife? was he the lawyer?

[rubie]

a pretty underrated actor here on soompi.

can anyone tell me who he plays in A Good Lawyer's Wife? was he the lawyer?

Hi torrent! Welcome to the thread!

Yup, pretty much the underrated actor around here but his acting credibilities will speak otherwise. Yeah... *wiping forehead*... he was the lawyer in A Good Laywer's Wife. Unbelievably daring, huh! But that's what sets him apart from many of the other actors who tried daring/controversial roles, this man can act! And totally awesome when he played the piano.

Here's a review of the movie, hope to see you at the thread more.

Courting Controversy

Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5

Reviewed by: Joel Quenby

The provocative poster for A Good Lawyer’s Wife, featuring the lead actress posing seductively, hints at the film’s explicit material without forewarning of the movie’s disturbing nature. This hard-hitting and painfully honest suburban-dysfunction yarn is not for the squeamish, depicting as it does frank scenes of illness, death and sex in unflinching and sometimes gruesome detail. Not only does it push the boundaries of permissible Korean film but most Western viewers will also raise an eyebrow. However, this is not exploitation cinema: the movie’s scandalous outer layer can be peeled back to reveal a serious, nuanced core that defies easy interpretation.

Until a generation ago South Korea was a repressive dictatorship sealed off from the West. But since its division from the North (officially declared in 1950), the South has developed into one of Asia's most affluent countries. Likewise, the local film industry has undergone a remarkable transformation, with a new generation of moviemakers revitalizing the industry and making it a significant cog in the emergent pan-Asian movie scene. Writer and director Im Sang-soo has already demonstrated a predilection for forthright sexuality and nonconformist protagonists in his two previous films, Girls' Night Out (1998) and Tears (2001). This, his third effort, drew comparisons to American Beauty, won a handful of awards on the international festival circuit, and was included in the prestigious main competition section at the Venice International Film Festival.

A Good Lawyer’s Wife takes aim at South Korea’s nouveau riche, confirming Im Sang-soo as a brave and direct filmmaker, unafraid to expose the rotting skeletons in the national closet. Or, in the case of the movie’s opening scene, unmarked mass graves: the remains of people who unaccountably went missing during the Korean War, and a discovery that many would rather remain buried. The movie similarly opens up other taboo subjects for scrutiny via the well-to-do family of respected counselor Joo (Hwang Jeong-min). As a well-regarded lawyer he's completely professional, while his attractive wife, Hojung (Moon Soo-ri), holds dance classes and raises their precocious adopted seven-year-old son, Sooin (Jang Jun-young). But beneath their veneer of respectability both Joo and Hojung are having unfulfilling affairs and taking their privileged lives for granted; only when a random tragedy strikes do they realize how disconnected they truly are.

Im Sang-soo never explains why his players are so unsatisfied with their ostensibly cozy bourgeois existence, preferring instead to plunge us knee-deep into their unraveling lives. Perhaps the director is illustrating that old maxim “Money can’t buy you happiness”; or maybe he’s expressing a budding existentialism evolving alongside South Korea’s shotgun exposure to capitalism and the global economy. There’s certainly a hint of the left bank in the way this movie ambles along without judgment, observing its complex characters’ flaws with a detached gaze and a world-weary shrug, rarely passing comment. Joo’s alcoholic father (Kim In-moon), for example, is dying yet remains stubbornly unrepentant of a boozy lifestyle that has damaged both himself and his family. His slow and painful passing is not afforded clichéd cinematic devices designed to tug at the heartstrings; in fact, his caustic widow seizes his death as an opportunity to get laid before boasting about it to her family.

Though this movie admirably swerves moralizing, we can pin down some recurrent themes. Although effective in the short term, inebriation doesn’t eliminate pain and guilt -- it often compounds it. Female sexuality, as presented here, is an expression of power: Hojung retaliates against her wayward husband by seducing a much younger man whom she can control; in contrast, Joo, who enjoys professional but not personal power, eventually loses control of his mistress. And life, like this film, is a crazy, horrific, beautiful, inexplicable thing, open to different readings.

This is not a movie about the flaunting of social conventions, despite the frankly depicted extra-curricular sex. The main characters' unconventional tactics instead play like a survival mechanism from the family, traditionally thought of as a protective base which shields its members from pain. However, the family seems to be the root cause of much of the unhappiness here, and few films ultimately deliver such a sober-eyed and aggressive questioning of the institution, especially in Asia, where this film rings with amplified resonance.

There are still problems: the characters are unlikable, aside from the little boy, Sooin, who’s not in a central role. Though there's admirable screenwriting bravery inherent in such even-handed storytelling as this, the characters’ lack of bitterness, even as their worlds collapse around them, makes it difficult to connect with anyone onscreen. Also, the director so emphatically separates the halves of the dissolving marriage, you almost forget they were ever a couple at all. Meanwhile, it should go without saying: although sporadically punctuated with grim black humor, A Good Lawyer’s Wife is hardly a barrel of laughs.

In a lesser director's hands, this domestic drama could easily have descended into melodrama hell, but Im's handling of the sensitive subject nature is skillful and precise. While a successful ensemble piece, much of the film’s chilly power comes from the performance of Moon So-ri as the titular heroine: her compelling portrayal of a willful, empowered woman drips with skill, wit, and class, particularly in a region still struggling to shake itself free of the reins of patriarchy. Ironically, the production company, Myung Films, sued the actress originally hired after she pulled out of the project at the last minute; in hindsight, they should have sent her a sizeable bonus for her no-show. A Good Lawyer’s Wife Moon So-ri certainly isn't, but she has produced a most mesmerizing piece of acting.

Credit: http://www.movieseer.com/ReviewsBil.asp?mo...4&Channel=2