Biography: Park Jong-won

Born on 20 October 1960, Park is a screenwriter and director from South Korea. Park Jong-won is well-known for his ability to adapt famous literary works to film from his career. (1989), based on Lee Moon-novel youl’s of the same name, was an exposé of many laborers’ dismal working circumstances in the 1980s. However, due to government censorship, the film was released in a mutilated form, much to the dismay of many. Our Twisted Hero (1992), PARK’s third film, was a Lee Moon-youl novel adaptation. PARK takes a more figurative approach to communicate the novel’s message this time. One of the film’s key characters, a child with near-total power at a rural school, served as a metaphor for the many dictators who have ruled Korea in recent years. Rather than utilizing any particular aesthetic style, PARK likes to keep his films’ messages simple. He was a professor at Korea National University of Arts’ School of Film, T.V., and Multimedia and is now the school’s chancellor. He had won the Best narrative award for Urideului ilgeuleojin yeongung (1992) at Hawaii International Film Festival. His film Yeongwonhan jegug (1995) Best film award at the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards. In addition, his film Song-o(1999) won Best Asian Feature Film at the Singapore International Film Festival. Also, Song-o won the special jury prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Furthermore, his film Urideului ilgeuleojin yeongung (1992) won Don Quixote Award at Fribourg International Film Festival. Hoon Jung is a screenwriter and director from South Korea. Park rose to prominence in Korea’s film business after penning screenplays for Kim Jee- Woon’s I Saw the Devil (2010) and Ryoo Seung-The wan’s Unjust (2010). He debuted in 2011 with The Showdown, a period film that was largely overlooked by Korean audiences upon its release. His second picture, the gangster epic New World (2013), was a critical and commercial success. In an interview, he said, “There’s a Korean proverb that says if you don’t know much, you’re brave and bold. That remark strikes a chord with me. I didn’t know much because I had never attended film school, so I could keep trying and ‘going at it’ till I succeeded. I suppose not understanding much about the process was a good thing in the end.” As a director, he gave The Tiger: An Old Hunter’s Tale in 2015, V.I.P. in 2017, The Witch: Part 1 in 2018, and Night in Paradise in 2020. He is a producer, and the movies “The Witch: Part 1” and “Night in Paradise” were produced.

He had won the Best Director award for The Tiger: An Old Hunter’s Tale in 2016 at 36th Korea Gold Awards Festival and Golden Cinematography Awards. In addition, He won the best director-Thriller features for V.I.P. at Fantastic fest. Furthermore, he won Best film orient express at the 39th Fantasporto Film Festival and the Syfy jury prize at the 26th Gérardmer International Fantastic Film Festival for “The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion” in 2019. He won Best screenplay for “The Unjust” at the 32nd blue dragon film awards and the 15th Fantasia International Film Festival in 2011.  For his latest project, he had approached actor Kim Seon-ho. In director Park Hoon Jung’s latest film, “Sad Tropics,” actor Kim Seon-ho may soon make his silver screen debut.