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Male - 1936/05/02
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Biography
IM Kwon-taek was born on May 2, 1936, in Jangseong, Jeollanam-do(South Jeolla Province). He grew up in the southern city of Gwangju, where he completed high school. During the Korean War his family suffered considerable hardships and losses in the fighting, and he moved to Busan in search of work. From Busan he moved to Seoul in 1955, and met the film director CHUNG Chang-hwa. From this time IM started to work as a production assistant on CHUNG’s film < The Story of Jangha & Hongryun > (1956). After five years IM was recommended by CHUNG for the position of film director, and he completed his first feature ("Dumanganga Jal Ikkora") in 1962. He went on to become a prolific director of films in various popular genres until the late 1970s. While Korean cinema was experiencing a sharp decline during the 1970s, after undergoing two decades of rapid growth, IM Kwon-taek’s career blossomed with the success of his first serious-themed feature films. Beginning with his 1978 film < The Genealogy > ("Jokbo") and continuing with < The Hidden Hero > ("Gitbal-eomneun Gisu", 1979), ("Jagko", 1980) and < Mandala >("Mandala", 1981), his films became the talk of the film industry among both domestic and international critics alike. IM gained worldwide fame at international film festivals with < Surrogate Woman > ("Sibaji", 1986), < Come Come Come Upward >("Aje Aje Bara Aje", 1989) and < Sopyonje > ("Seopyeonje", 1993), becoming the most recognizable Korean film director of his era. In 2000, < Chunhyang > ("Chunhyang-jeon") became the first Korean film ever to enter the competition section at Cannes. IM Kwon-taek has won numerous international awards, including the Best Director Award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival for< Chihwaseon >. He was also awarded an honorary Golden Bear award for his lifetime achievements at the Berlin Film Festival in 2005.Source Open the link
Festival(s) & award(s)
Cannes Festival (2002) Best director
 Beyond the Years (천년학 - 2007) |  Low Life (하류인생 - 2004) |  Strokes of fire (취화선 - 2002) |  Chunhyang (춘향뎐 - 2000) |
 The General's Son (장군의 아들 - 1990) |
Low Life (하류인생 - 2004) | Strokes of fire (취화선 - 2002) |
The 2009 Cannes Film Festival closed its curtains on May 24th.
A total of 10 Korean films were invited to screen at Cannes. Director Bong Joon-ho's "Mother - 2009" was invited to compete for the "Un Certain Regard" prize, receiving great praise in the process. Park Chan-wook's "Thirst" took home the Jury Prize. And once again, Cannes provided an opportunity to show the world what Korean films are all about. Recently, Korean films have been showing their best side at the world's top film festivals including Cannes, Berlin and Venice. Behind their success is what some might call "cinema diplomacy". Since the launch of the Pusan Film Festival in 1996, a host of international festivals are introducing Korean films to viewers around the world every year. This led to "Strokes of Fire", by Im Kwon-taek winning Best Director in 2002, and Park Chan-wook winning the Grand Prix at Cannes two years later with "Old Boy". The same year "3-Iron" was awarded Best Director at Venice. Why can'...| More | |||||||||||||||||
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The 12th edition of the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) is underway June 13 -21 with Korean presence strong throughout including 2 films in competition, and a retrospective on veteran director IM Kwon-taek who will also preside over the 5-member Asian New Talent international jury.
Korean film "Rough Cut" by debut director JANG Hoon competes alongside 15 features in the main international award section for various Jin Jue awards. Jin Jue jury president this year is Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle. Korean producer OH Jungwan will also serve on this year's jury. In the Asian New Talent competition section is hit Korean comedy "Scandal Makers" ("Speedy Scandal"), the directing debut by KANG Hyeong-cheol. The international jury, led by IM, will select the best feature and best director for awards worth RMB 150,000 each. A special retrospective on the master director will include some of IM's most highly regarded works. From his 80s period is Venice-w...| More | |||||||||||||||||
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 By Lee Hyo-wonStaff Reporter Actor Choi Min-sik has returned to local screens to take the audience on a faraway journey to "Himalaya, Where the Wind Dwells", which opens in theaters June 11. The actor is virtually synonymous with contemporary Korean cinema, with the so-called "first" domestic blockbuster "Shiri" (Swiri) (1998) to Im Kwon-taek's award-winning "Chihwaseon" ("Strokes of Fire", 2002) and Park Chan-wook's international breakthrough "Old Boy" (2003). He was also accused of upping guarantees for high-profile actors, though Kang Woo-suk later rescinded the statement and apologized. The 47-year-old may have been absent from the silver screen for four years, but his presence remained strong ― in 2007, he showed off his theatrical streak in the play "Pillow Man" while last year the 14th Lyon Asian Film Festival held a retrospective on Choi. "Expression (acting) itself is important, but the process of absorbing things before taking part in a project is vital. ...| More | |||||||||||||||||
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Seven top actors, including Kim Hye-soo and Ahn Seong-gi, have donated the entire amount of fees that they had received for giving lectures to students to scholarships for young actors. The seven actors were invited to teach the "master class" at Im Kwon-taek Film and Art College of Dongseo University this year, receiving 10 million won in fees. They donated the entire amount to scholarships for nurturing young actors.
The donation ceremony was held May 27 at Dongseo University. It was attended by Dongseo University Professor Im Kwon-taek, film director Kim Hong-jun and actor Lee Deok-hwa, who was the last to teach the master class this semester. The seven actors who taught the class in the first semester are Jo Jae-hyeon, Choi Soo-jong, Seol Kyeong-gu, Kim Hye-soo, Ahn Seong-gi, Park Joong-hoon and Lee Deok-hwa. In the second semester the class will be taught by experts in lighting, filming and music effects. Last year, the instructors included actress Kang Soo-yeon, directors S...| More | |||||||||||||||||
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 Director Park Chan-wook's latest film "Thirst" has won the Jury Prize at the Cannes International Film Festival. The award is his second honor at Cannes, following the Grand Prix in 2004 for his cult classic "Old Boy". At its Cannes presentation the powerful and enigmatic story of a priest-turned-vampire received mixed reviews. Some have rated it the best film of the year, while some were skeptical about the overly complex symbolism of the film. Nonetheless, all members of the jury agreed that the film left a very powerful and lasting impression on the audience."Thirst" is one of four Korean movies that won awards in the festival's competitive section. The first one was venerable director Im Kwon-taek's "Strokes of Fire", which garnered the Best Director Prize in 2002. Two years later director Park Chan-wook won the Grand Prix for "Old Boy", followed by actress Jeon Do-yeon's Best Actress Award in 2007 for her impressive performance in "Secret Sunshine". Meanwhile, the Palme d'O...| More | |||||||||||||||||
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