- Born
- Kim Ji-woon was born in Seoul, South Korea. He began his career as an actor before becoming a stage director with productions such as "Hot Sea" in 1994 and "Movie, Movie" in 1995. He then began scripting for films, his first work, 97's "Wonderful Seasons" won Best Screenplay award at Korea's Premier Scenario contest, whilst his follow up The Quiet Family (1998) became not only his directorial debut, but also the source material for Takashi Miike's remake The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) in 2001.
With an official selection at the Berlin International Film Festival and Best Film award at the Fantasport Film Festival for "A Quiet Family", his next film, 2000's The Foul King (2000), was an instant domestic hit, maintaining the #1 spot for over 6 months, with over 2 million admissions, it was also a worldwide festival crowd-pleaser. The short Coming Out (2000) and his contribution to Three (2002) (alongside segments from Peter Ho-Sun Chan and Nonzee Nimibutr) followed and then he made the 2003 horror A Tale of Two Sisters (2003).
He is a fan of film-noir and claims that many of his films contain elements of noir, often mixed with black comedy. His movie A Bittersweet Life (2005) his full on film-noir gangster thriller masterwork.
- IMDb mini biography by: Dredderick_Tatum
- ParentsKim Ok-sung
- RelativesKim Ji-won(Sibling)Ji-suk Kim(Sibling)
- Switching light on and off
- Trunk Shot
- Films often feature an anti-hero, a cold villain and a goofy yet smart sidekick
- From Stage to Screen: He initially began his career in the entertainment industry as a stage actor and theater director before transitioning into filmmaking.
- Winning Debut: His feature directorial debut, the pitch-black comedy The Quiet Family (1998), earned him the Best Screenplay award at a major Korean scenario contest. The film was later adapted into a Japanese musical-comedy titled The Happiness of the Katakuris.
- Hollywood Venture: In 2013, he made his U.S. feature directorial debut with The Last Stand, an action film that served as Arnold Schwarzenegger's first major leading role after his tenure as Governor of California.
- Historical Oscar Bid: His period espionage thriller The Age of Shadows (2016) was selected as South Korea's submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards, ultimately beating out other major contenders for the spot.
- Recurring Collaborators: He frequently works with some of the biggest names in South Korean cinema. Notable examples include A-listers Song Kang-ho, Choi Min-sik, and Lee Byung-hun, who have all starred in multiple projects of his.
- Korea has respected a director's style and uniqueness more than any other country. Consequently, Korea was able to produce many strong films by directors. Where youthful energy has met film has developed aesthetically and industrially. The films which can appeal to young audiences have always been innovatively expressive, powerful and uniquely styled. Korea especially has shown a strong aspect of having many diverse styles of genres.
- I never make films thinking 'This is my film. This right here is undoubtedly Kim Jee-Woon style.' I am not even sure what 'Kim Jee-Woon style' is. When I make films, I never allow myself to make hard-set decisions ahead of time.
- Actors are the flowers of the film, of the set, and of the director. The term 'Flowers of the Screen' holds a deep meaning.
- I want to work with a wide range of genres because it gives each film a different cinematic energy.
- My directing style is more sensual than cerebral.
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