Born in 1976, CHO Ui-seok was among the first students to major in film at the Korea National University of Arts, in the late 1990s. After directing several short movies such as <Fanta Tropical> (1999) and <We Can’t Share A Toilet> (1999), he joined the film crew of BONG Joon-ho’s debut feature <Barking Dogs Never Bite> (2000). He made his feature debut in 2002 with the action comedy <Make It Big>. Featuring a quirky cast of characters and a witty ...More

Born in 1976, CHO Ui-seok was among the first students to major in film at the Korea National University of Arts, in the late 1990s. After directing several short movies such as <Fanta Tropical> (1999) and <We Can’t Share A Toilet> (1999), he joined the film crew of BONG Joon-ho’s debut feature <Barking Dogs Never Bite> (2000). He made his feature debut in 2002 with the action comedy <Make It Big>. Featuring a quirky cast of characters and a witty approach to a conventional genre, the film immediately brought CHO into the spotlight, all the more so since he was only 26 years old, making him one of the youngest directors in Korea. After the thriller <The World Of Silence> (2005), he joined hands with his former classmate KIM Byeong-seo to co-direct the crime action film <Cold Eyes> (2013), for which he wrote the screenplay and directed the cast of actors. Not only was the film a commercial success, selling 5.5 million tickets, it was also praised by the critics, with many commending the casting against type of HAN Hyo-joo as a rookie detective. The film went on to receive several nominations for various local awards ceremonies, including the Baeksang Arts Awards for Best Director. CHO came back in 2016 with another crime-action film, <Master> (2016), this time taking aim at the heads of conglomerates getting involved in fraud cases, a major concern among Koreans. Helped by a stellar cast comprised of LEE Byung-hun, GANG Dong-won and KIM Woo-bin, as well as the fact it was released right before Christmas, a high season for Korean movies, the film was a huge hit, with more than 7 million admissions. He also wrote the screenplay for <Golden Slumber> (2017), a Korean remake of the Japanese film of the same name.Less