Following his graduation from Korea University’s Department of Sociology, KANG Yi-kwan got his start in the industry by participating in the production of Three Friends (1996). In 1999, KANG made the short A Boy’s Poem and also served as the assistant director on the classic Korean horror film Memento Mori. However, despite this early start in the industry, it wasn’t until 2005 that KANG was able to complete his feature debut Sakwa, starring MOON So-ri and LEE Sun-kyun. Th... expand
Following his graduation from Korea University’s Department of Sociology, KANG Yi-kwan got his start in the industry by participating in the production of Three Friends (1996). In 1999, KANG made the short A Boy’s Poem and also served as the assistant director on the classic Korean horror film Memento Mori. However, despite this early start in the industry, it wasn’t until 2005 that KANG was able to complete his feature debut Sakwa, starring MOON So-ri and LEE Sun-kyun. The film was popular on the festival circuit, earning awards at the San Sebastian and Toronto International Film Festivals. He followed this up in 2010 with the short Two Teeth and by participating in If You Were Me 5, the long running omnibus series commissioned by the Human Rights Commission of Korea. KANG was hot on the festival circuit in 2012 with the powerful indie drama Juvenile Offender, which screened at dozens of events and earned awards at the Tokyo and Cinemanila International Film Festivals. KANG has made a name for himself with his raw and sensitive dramas, not to mention the strong performances he draws out of his cast. close
<Two Teeth> reflects matter of North Korean defectors on a story of teenagers. There is a prejudiced eyes over defectors even on adolescence. <Two Teeth> is a coming our of age film. Just like adolescence in growing pains, could our social mind grow? Upon call for filmmaking from National Human Rights Commission of Korea, what triggered you to focus on defectors? When I got a call fr...
A pair of popular independent features from South Korea have added new dates to their lengthy festival calendars. The Portland International Film Festival, which will be staging its 37th edition this year, is set to screen KANG Yi-kwan’s Juvenile Offender and HONG Sangsoo’s Nobody’s Daughter Haewon. Juvenile Offender premiered all the way back at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2012 an...
Korean cinema is getting an early start on the 2014 international festival circuit as a trio of local films have been selected for the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Han Gong-ju, Juvenile Offender and Montage were invited to the event, which takes place in a town on the outskirt of Los Angeles in California. The well-received indie Han Gong-ju, which premiered at the Busan Internationa...
LEE Choon-yunalso Honored at Asia Pacific Screen Awards Juvenile Offender and Masquerade picked up prizes during the 2013 Asia Pacific Screen Awards, which were held last night in Brisbane, Australia. LEE Choon-yun, one of the industry’s top producers, was also handed a lifetime achievement award. In total, 39 films from 22 countries competed in various categories. KANG Yi-kwan’s Juvenile Offend...
KANG Yi-kwan’s Drama Beats Out 8 Other Competitors KANG Yi-kwan’s Juvenile Offender has been selected as the Korean film to be submitted to the 86th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film in February of next year. Korean Film Council (KOFIC) announced on August 29th that through a preliminary evaluation held in the U.S. and final selection in Korea, the film was designate...
Box office, November 15-28 Local box office hit A Werewolf Boy continued to perform well during its third and fourth weeks on release, earning almost exactly as much as Hollywood film The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 did in its first and second weeks. With another 2,142,392 tickets added to its tally (compared to 2,126,503 for Breaking Dawn), A Werewolf Boy has now passed the 6.2 millio...
