Im Kwon-taek (born May 2, 1936) is one of South Korea’s most renowned film directors. In an active and prolific career, his films have won many domestic and international film festival awards as well as considerable box-office success, and helped bring international attention to the Korean film industry. As of spring 2015, he has directed 102 films.
Im Kwon-taek
Im Kwon-taek is a South Korean director born in Jangseong, South Jeolla, one of the most prolific and historically significant figures in Korean cinema, directing more than a hundred films across seven decades. Mandala, an early landmark examining Buddhist monastic life and spiritual doubt, helped establish his reputation for serious, culturally rooted filmmaking beyond his earlier commercial genre work. Sopyonje, following traveling pansori singers preserving traditional Korean folk music amid modernization, became a landmark box-office and critical success that renewed national interest in traditional Korean art forms, while Chunhyang adapted a classic Korean folk tale using pansori narration. Chihwaseon, a biographical drama on a rebellious nineteenth-century Korean painter, won him the Best Director award at Cannes. Im's sustained, decades-long commitment to depicting traditional Korean culture and history has made him one of the most significant figures in the development of Korean national cinema.
Im Kwon-taek
100 Directed
Im Kwon-taek is a South Korean director born in Jangseong, South Jeolla, one of the most prolific and historically significant figures in Korean cinema, directing more than a hundred films across seven decades. Mandala, an early landmark examining Buddhist monastic life and spiritual doubt, helped establish his reputation for serious, culturally rooted filmmaking beyond his earlier commercial genre work. Sopyonje, following traveling pansori singers preserving traditional Korean folk music amid modernization, became a landmark box-office and critical success that renewed national interest in traditional Korean art forms, while Chunhyang adapted a classic Korean folk tale using pansori narration. Chihwaseon, a biographical drama on a rebellious nineteenth-century Korean painter, won him the Best Director award at Cannes. Im's sustained, decades-long commitment to depicting traditional Korean culture and history has made him one of the most significant figures in the development of Korean national cinema.
Movies
Director
The Surrogate Womb
1987
Director
The Diary of King Yonsan
1988
Director
Commando on the Nakdong River
1976
Director
Chihwaseon
2002
Director
Downfall
1997
Director
Chunhyang
2000
Director
Revivre
2014
Director
Low Life
2004
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Mandala
1981
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The Taebaek Mountains
1994
Director
General's Son
1990
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Sopyonje
1993
Director
Gilsodom
1986
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General's Son 3
1992
Director
General's Son 2
1991
Director
Fly High, Run Far
1991
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Farewell to the Duman River
1962
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Hanji
2011
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Beyond the Years
2007
Director
Come, Come, Come Upward
1989
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Jagko
1983
Director
Adada
1987
Director
The Village of Mist
1983
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Ticket
1986
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Festival
1996
Director
The Testimony
1974
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Wives on Parade
1974
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My Hometown
1976
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Weeds
1973
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Genealogy
1979
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I Am a King
1966
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Im Kwon-taek and where are they from?
Im Kwon-taek is 90 years old, born on May 2, 1936 in Jangseong, South Jeolla, South Korea.
What are the most famous roles of Im Kwon-taek?
Im Kwon-taek is best known for directing Chihwaseon, Chunhyang, Sopyonje.
How many movies has Im Kwon-taek directed?
Over a 64-year career (since 1962), Im Kwon-taek has directed or written 100 films and worked on 0 TV shows.
What was Im Kwon-taek's first movie?
The career of Im Kwon-taek began with Farewell to the Duman River (1962).
What is Im Kwon-taek's most recent movie or series?
Im Kwon-taek's most recent release is Bhiksuni, which premiered on April 28, 2017.
Im Kwon-taek
1936-05-02 · Jangseong, South Jeolla, South Korea
Im Kwon-taek (born May 2, 1936) is one of South Korea's most renowned film directors. In an active and prolific career, his films have won many domestic and international film festival awards as well as considerable box-office success, and helped bring international attention to the Korean film industry. As of spring 2015, he has directed 102 films.