Ha Myeong-joong will never forget the last phone conversation he had with his older brother in early 1979. "You should be a director, not an actor", thundered his sibling, who, at 4 a.m. was obviously under the influence of alcohol.
That older brother was Ha Gil-jong, a star director known for making films that were critical of the military regimes.
"Okay, I will keep that in mind", answered Ha, who was then a well-regarded actor whose fame had spread to Hong Kong and Japan.
Ha said that there was something in his brother's voice that he could not resist.
Shortly after the phone conversation, Ha Gil-jong had a stroke and died three days later, at the age of 38.
At the funeral Ha hugged his brother's coffin and, with tears in his eyes, swore that he would honor his deceased brother's wishes. He made his directorial debut soon after, in 1983.
Ha soon felt his older brother's premonition had been accurate.
His 1984 film, "Blazing Sun", became the first Korean film selected f...
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