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Yang Woo-suk

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In this Korean name, the family name is Yang.

Yang Woo-suk
Born (1969-10-24) October 24, 1969 (age 55)
Seoul, South Korea
Alma materKorea University
Occupations
Korean name
Hangul
양우석
Hanja
楊宇碩
Revised RomanizationYang Useok
McCune–ReischauerYang Usŏk

Yang Woo-suk (born October 24, 1969) is a South Korean film scriptwriter, director, producer, and manhwaga. His first film was the critical and commercial hit The Attorney (2013).

Career

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Born in Seoul in 1969, Yang Woo-suk graduated from Korea University with degrees in English Literature and Philosophy.[1] He became a cartoonist, writing webtoons such as If Thou Must Love Me (2008–2009) and Steel Rain (2011–2012).[2]

Yang also began working in the film industry mainly as a producer for the companies MBC Productions, SK Independence, and All That Story, doing such tasks as production planning, investment supervision and recruiting new directors.[3] He became interested in film technology and taught himself about HD and CGI; he produced the HD film Desire in 2004 and became the creative planning director at computer graphics company Locus.[1][4]

Yang's debut as a filmmaker came relatively late in life in his mid-forties, when he co-wrote and directed courtroom drama The Attorney, a fictionalized account of former South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun's early years as a human rights lawyer in 1980s Busan.[4] It was loosely based on the "Burim" case of 1981, when the Chun Doo-hwan regime arrested without warrants 22 students and teachers who belonged to a book-reading club on charges that they were North Korea sympathizers.[5][6] Yang said, "I am interested in films that tell stories of people who struggle hard to stick to their beliefs when they come into conflict with outside environments. [...] I wanted to grasp the very moment when a man dramatically and radically changed."[4] At first Yang had difficulty getting funding for a film with real-life historical figures given the sensitive political climate, but those pre-production budgetary woes eased when top actor Song Kang-ho was cast as the protagonist.[1] Released in late 2013, The Attorney became an unexpected box office sensation, drawing 11,375,954 admissions as it reminded older viewers of the country's politically charged past and provided younger viewers with a window into that era. It became the ninth film in Korean cinema history to reach 10 million admissions, and became (at the time) the 8th highest grossing Korean film of all time.[7][8] The Attorney received multiple awards and nominations domestically, particularly for Song who received rave reviews for his performance.[7] Notably, it won four awards at the 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards, including Best Film, Best Actor for Song, Best Supporting Actress for Kim Young-ae, and Popular Star Award for Im Si-wan.[9][10] Yang also won several Best New Director prizes, from the 19th Chunsa Film Art Awards, the 50th Baeksang Arts Awards (where Song won the Grand Prize and The Attorney won Best Film), the 14th Director's Cut Awards, the 34th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards, and the 51st Grand Bell Awards (where Yang also won Best Screenplay).[11][12][13][14]

Filmography

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Film credits
Year Title Credited as Notes
English Korean Director Writer Producer
2004 Desire No No Yes [4]
2013 The Attorney 변호인 Yes Yes Yes [4]
2017 Steel Rain 강철비 Yes Yes Yes [15]
2020 Steel Rain 2: Summit 강철비2: 정상회담 Yes Yes Yes [16]
TBA Big Family 대가족 Yes Yes Yes

Webtoons

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Film credits
Year Title Credited as Notes
English Korean Writer Artist
2008–2009 If Thou Must Love Me 당신이 날 사랑해야 한다면 Yes Yes [17]
2009 Robot Taekwondo V 로보트 태권 V Yes Yes [18]
2011–2012 Steel Rain 스틸레인 Yes Yes [19]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Recipient Result
2014 16th Udine Far East Film Festival Black Dragon Audience Award The Attorney Won [20]
First Runner-up, Golden Mulberry Award Won
2014 19th Chunsa Film Art Awards Best New Director Won [21]
2014 50th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Film Won [22]
Best New Director Won
Best Screenplay[a] Nominated
2014 14th Director's Cut Awards Best New Director Won
2014 23rd Buil Film Awards Best Film Nominated [23]
Best Director Nominated
Best New Director Nominated
Best Screenplay[a] Nominated
Buil Reader's Jury Award Won
2014 34th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards Best New Director Won [24]
Critics' Top 10 Won
2014 51st Grand Bell Awards Best Film Nominated [25][26]
Best New Director Won
Best Screenplay[a] Won
2014 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Film Won [27][28][29][30]
Best New Director Nominated
Best Screenplay[a] Nominated
2017 54th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Director Steel Rain Nominated [31]
2017 38th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards Top 11 Films Won [32]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d with Yoon Hyeon-ho

References

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  1. ^ a b c Jeong, Ji-won (January 20, 2014). "A most unlikely hit-maker". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  2. ^ Nam, Eun-joo (December 2, 2014). "South Korean webtoons taking aim at US market with Huffington Post as partner". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  3. ^ "YANG Woo-suk". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e Lee, Yong-cheol (February 10, 2014). "YANG Woo-suk, Director of THE ATTORNEY: "This Film is about the collision of individuals' different beliefs."". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  5. ^ Lee, Claire (January 19, 2014). "Roh nostalgia shakes up box office". The Korea Herald. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  6. ^ Jung, Hyun-mok (January 21, 2015). "Smash-hit films criticized for political leanings". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Conran, Pierce (January 21, 2014). "THE ATTORNEY Crosses 10 Million Viewers in 33 Days". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  8. ^ Conran, Pierce (February 6, 2014). "THE ATTORNEY Climbs to 8th on All Time Chart". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  9. ^ "The Attorney Sweeps Blue Dragon Film Awards". The Chosun Ilbo. December 18, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  10. ^ Ma, Kevin (December 18, 2014). "Attorney wins four at Blue Dragon Awards". Film Business Asia. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  11. ^ Kwon, Ji-youn (March 20, 2014). "Actor Song Kang-ho wins Chunsa award". The Korea Times. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  12. ^ Conran, Pierce (May 29, 2014). "SONG Kang-ho Picks Up Grand Prize at PaekSang Arts Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  13. ^ Conran, Pierce (November 4, 2014). "Top Honors for HILL OF FREEDOM at 34th Korean Film Critics Association Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  14. ^ Conran, Pierce (November 24, 2014). "ROARING CURRENTS Tops 51st Daejong Film Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  15. ^ "Steel Rain". Daum Webtoon (in Korean). Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  16. ^ "[HanCinema's News] Jung Woo-sung Talks About "Steel Rain 2: Summit"". HanCinema. Retrieved August 6, 2020. Jung Woo-sung described "Steel Rain 2: Summit" as being an action thriller rather than a moral lecture.
  17. ^ 당신이 날 사랑해야 한다면 [If Thou Must Love Me]. Daum (in Korean). Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  18. ^ 로보트태권 브이 전5권세트 단 [Robot Taekwon V 5-volume set]. Daum (in Korean). Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  19. ^ 스틸레인 [Steel Rain]. Daum (in Korean). Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  20. ^ Pierce Conran (May 9, 2014). "THE ATTORNEY Takes Black Dragon Award in Udine". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  21. ^ Kwon Ji-youn (March 20, 2014). "Actor Song Kang-ho wins Chunsa award". The Korea Times. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  22. ^ Pierce Conran (May 29, 2014). "SONG Kang-ho Picks Up Grand Prize at PaekSang Arts Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  23. ^ June Kim (October 6, 2014). "SHIM Eun-kyung, SONG Kang-ho, HONG Sangsoo and ROARING CURRENTS Win at 23rd Buil Film Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  24. ^ Pierce Conran (November 4, 2014). "Top Honors for HILL OF FREEDOM at 34th Korean Film Critics Association Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  25. ^ June Kim (November 12, 2014). "The 51st Daejong Film Awards Nominations Announced". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  26. ^ Conran, Pierce (November 24, 2014). "ROARING CURRENTS Tops 51st Daejong Film Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  27. ^ "The Attorney Sweeps Blue Dragon Film Awards". The Chosun Ilbo. December 18, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  28. ^ June Kim (December 18, 2014). "35th Blue Dragon Awards Names THE ATTORNEY Best Film". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  29. ^ Kevin Ma (December 18, 2014). "Attorney wins four at Blue Dragon Awards". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  30. ^ Nemo Kim (December 17, 2014). "The Attorney Takes 4 Trophies at Korea's Blue Dragon Awards". Variety. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  31. ^ 제54회 백상예술대상, TV·영화 각 부문별 수상 후보자 공개. JTBC (in Korean). April 6, 2018.
  32. ^ [공식]이성민·한지민 '영평상' 남녀주연상…'1987' 작품상. Sports Chosun (in Korean). October 22, 2018.
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