Ryoo Seung-wan

Early life

Ryoo Seung-wan was born in 1973 in Onyang, a small town in South Chungcheong Province. With the choice of domestic films mostly limited to propaganda and hostess films due to extreme government censorship, young Ryoo often opted for the more kinetic and free-spirited action films from the Shaw Brothers canon. Watching Jackie Chan's Drunken Master turned him into a lifelong fan, and Ryoo spent his youth building his knowledge of and love for Hong Kong-style action films. Dreaming of becoming a film director someday, he took taekwondo lessons and saved lunch money for three years during middle school to buy an 8mm camera, with which he shot short films.

Career

Early years

Ryoo became his family's sole breadwinner after he lost his parents while in middle school. He later dropped out of high school in 1992 and worked for six months to raise enough money to cover a year's worth of basic living expenses for his family. After that he joined a private film workshop, and paid his tuition through several part-time jobs: as a construction worker, hotel janitor, vegetable cart driver, and even an instructor at an illegal driving school. Ryoo, a fan of a young unknown director named Park Chan-wook's 1992 debut The Moon Is... the Sun's Dream and his work as a critic, went to meet Park and the two quickly became friends. Those formative years also saw Ryoo's debut as a 'real' director, with the 1996 short Transmutated Head. The 19-minute short's DP was Jang Joon-hwan (then a young film academy student), and it featured many familiar faces in the Korean indie scene, including character actor Heo Jong-soo and Lee Mu-young (future director of The Humanist).

With a few years of experience as assistant director on Whispering Corridors and Park's 1997 film Trio, Ryoo was ready to jumpstart his own career. Ryoo's debut was initially planned as a full-fledged feature film, but various issues forced him to instead shoot separate short films sharing common characters and themes. In 1998 his short film Rumble won him the Best Film at the 1998 Busan Short Film Festival, and a year later he signed a contract to develop a feature film out of Rumble and three following sequels, one of which was his short Modern Man, which was not only the audience's favorite, but also won Best Film at a Short Film Festival in 1999.

From 1996 to 1999, Ryoo shot four low-budget short films starring himself, his younger brother Seung-bum, and several friends. In strikingly diverse styles but with a common narrative, these shorts were re-edited, combined and released in 2000 as Ryoo Seung-wan's feature directorial debut Die Bad. The four shorts, shot on an ultra-low budget of around , became Ryoo's first feature film: Die Bad. In an era when blockbusters like Shiri and Joint Security Area were the rage in Korean cinema, the action dramedy became an instant sensation. Starring in the film himself along with some industry friends and even his little brother Ryoo Seung-bum, Ryoo became an instant cult hit, praised left and right for his masterful debut. Critically acclaimed as powerfully visceral, gut-wrenching, and searingly angry, the film became an instant cult hit, earning attention for the Ryoo brothers. One review described Ryoo Seung-bum's acting debut as "a startling, naturalistic turn," and he won Best New Actor at the Grand Bell Awards. With his directorial debut, Ryoo became known as the "Action Kid."

With the country experiencing tremendous growth in high-speed Internet penetration, a few companies tried to bank on this momentum by producing online short films. In 2000 the now defunct Cine4M website released a short film by Ryoo alongside Jang Jin's A Terrible Day and Kim Jee-woon's Coming Out. Ryoo Seung-wan's follow-up Dachimawa Lee, titled after industry slang ("tachimawari" is a part of Kabuki theater plays that involve spectacular action scenes), the short Dachimawa Lee was a wild and hilarious a 35-minute short film parodying films he grew up with: Korean action films of the 60s and 70s, Bruce Lee and Shaw Brothers flicks, the machismo kitsch Korean melodramas, and of course Jackie Chan. Coupling over-the-top voice dubbing with deliberately mistimed action, Dachimawa Lee was an enormous success online, making lead actor Im Won-hee a minor star and the Ryoo Brothers even bigger names. Director Ryoo younger brother Seung-bum played Washington, a young thug with a heart of gold and a huge afro. The short, streamed on the now-defunct Cine4M website, was enormously popular online.

Big expectations often lead to equally big disappointments, which is what industry insiders and critics felt about Ryoo's first real feature film, the gritty action noir No Blood No Tears. The film mixed big stars like Jeon Do-yeon with talented actors from the theater world like Jung Jae-young. Joining Director Ryoo once again was his younger brother Seung-bum, who was starting to make a name for himself in the industry independent of his brother. Misunderstood as a Guy Ritchie or Quentin Tarantino clone, Ryoo's film was an exhilarating mix of all the elements that made Die Bad one of the best debuts films in Chungmuro's recent history, but it also added a nasty streak of ultra-realism. The latter was contributed by Jung Doo-hong, occasionally an actor, but better known as the best action choreographer in the country, whose extreme realism balanced Ryoo's more fantasy-oriented cinematic sensibilities. With No Blood No Tears a flop at the box office, it was a difficult period for Ryoo, who clearly felt betrayed by the same people who had put impossible expectations on his shoulders.

After that disappointment, Ryoo collaborated again with Jung Doo-hong and brother Seung-bum, along with newcomer Yoon So-yi. The four embarked on Arahan, part modern-day wuxia and part local comedy. Despite its commercial success, critics still weren't pleased, continuing to lament the loss of Chungmuro's enfant prodige.

It took another two years for Ryoo to come back, but 2005's Crying Fist was in many ways proof he had matured beyond easy labels and traditional genre boundaries. Ryoo was more than just an action kid. Starring acclaimed veteran actor Choi Min-sik, the film saw the official birth of a new star, Ryoo Seung-bum. Steadily impressing critics and audiences since his debut in 2000, Ryoo displayed amazing energy and range in the film, such that he often overshadowed his older, more prestigious colleague. But the real star of Crying Fist was none other than Ryoo Seung-wan. Finally stripping himself from genre tropes, he was able to draw an incredible emotional portrayal of two people winning the most important boxing game of their life: the match against their own inner demons. More a story of survival than a simple sports drama, Crying Fist opened on April 1, 2005, against Ryoo's old friend Kim Jee-woon's A Bittersweet Life, offering one of the best double-headers of 2005. The two films garnered excellent reviews, but ended up canceling each other at the box office, selling a little over a million tickets a piece.

In 2005, Ryoo established Filmmaker R&K with his wife Kang Hye-jeong.

After the success of 2003's If You Were Me, South Korea's National Commission on Human Rights commissioned a second omnibus film in 2006, If You Were Me 2. Five directors — Park Kyung-hee, Jang Jin, Jung Ji-woo, Kim Dong-won and Ryoo — contributed short films on a human rights issue of their choosing. Ryoo's short Hey Man! is almost one complete take of a man (Kim Su-yeon) with multiple prejudices that lead him to cast off every one of his "friends" and fellow patrons who are sharing the communal space of a late night restaurant.

In 2006 Seoul Art Cinema organized a special program "Anatomy of Violence: Ryoo Seung-wan's Action School" wherein Ryoo selected 10 films to screen and discuss with participants, including five of his own works. The program aimed to better understand the art of action filmmaking.

Waiting to secure funding for his first zombie film Yacha, Ryoo decided to take his friend Jung Doo-hong for another challenge, making one last salute to the pure action flicks he grew up with and gave him his nickname. The two had some acting experience, Jung mostly in Ryoo's films and Ryoo with Die Bad, a supporting role in Lee Chang-dong's Oasis, and a couple of cameos in Park Chan-wook films. But this was another story: for the first time, Jung and Ryoo would be the stars. Produced under CJ Entertainment, The City of Violence is a low-budget HD action film meant to show the potential of the new technology. As Ryoo described it, The City of Violence is like a Jackie Chan-style pure action film with characters from a Chang Cheh film in a world similar to that of Roman Polanski's Chinatown. The film brings to a final duel the two conflicting philosophies of the longtime partners (the Korean title of the film, Jjakpae, means partner). Fantasy and realism, outlandish technique and brutally raw streetfight-style action, combine to form pure cinematic flow.

In 2009 Ryoo directed four mini-movies for the Korea Tourism Organization targeted at the Chinese market. Each movie tells a story that represents the beauty of Korea's travel locations through four themes: Hallyu (Korean movies and dramas), food, shopping and trendy places to visit like Hongdae or Cheongdam-dong. The tourism commercials starred Gao Yuanyuan and Li Guangjie as a Chinese couple, with cameos by Song Seung-heon, Park Hae-jin and Park Eun-hye.

Then to promote the release of Motorola's new model MOTO Klassic, Ryoo wrote and directed a 22-minute short film starring American-born Japanese martial arts star Kane Kosugi and action choreographer Jung Doo-hong. Titled Timeless and set at Jung's stunt school, the mockumentary-style short eschews the use of CGI in fight scenes and advances the return to old school action.

2010–present

His 2010 film The Unjust, a tale about corruption among policemen and prosecutors, received rave reviews for its seamless storytelling interspersed with action sequences, social commentary and powerhouse performances from Hwang Jung-min and brother Seung-bum. It was successful at the box office with more than 2.7 million tickets sold, landing it on that year's top ten box office list.

Ryoo's next movie The Berlin File was an espionage thriller about a North Korean spy who is betrayed and cut loose when a weapons deal is exposed. While preparing for the film, Ryoo met with several North Korean defectors and shot the documentary Spies for Korean broadcaster MBC as part of a special series that aired in 2011, intending "to make a realistic, fast-paced, Korean-style espionage action film about South Korean agents discovering North Korea's secret accounts and how political dynamics between the two Koreas get involved." Ryoo said he wanted the film to be reminiscent of The Bourne Identity, and on an emotional level, to focus on the solitude and sorrow of those who live as secret agents. It was shot almost 100% on location in Europe, namely in Berlin, Germany, and Riga, Latvia. The film attracted 7.17 million admissions in early 2013 to become the all-time highest-grossing Korean action film. But because of its big budget, it barely broke even commercially. Ryoo later said that the picture failed to fully connect with younger audiences which know little of the Cold War era, and that "after making such an expensive film, (his) take-away was that (he) needed to make a cheaper one."

In 2015, Ryoo wrote and directed Veteran, an action film about an amoral and powerful third-generation business tycoon doggedly pursued by a detective investigating the mysterious injuries of a truck driver.Ryoo said, "Because (the movie) is about the world I know and the story about people I know, it was comfortable for me. [...] But my feeling comfortable doesn't mean that the work is easy. It just means that I'm comfortable (working out the troubles). [...] I didn't want the movie to be based on personal revenge, and I want it to show how a person gets justice through the legal system."Made with a modest budget of , Veteran became a huge blockbuster at the South Korean box office, attracting 13.3 million admissions and earning . It is the biggest hit of Ryoo's career and currently the 5th all-time highest-grossing film in Korean cinema history.

His next project was The Battleship Island, set on Hashima Island, an outlying island abandoned by Japan off the coast of Nagasaki, where countless Koreans were drafted into forced labor during World War II. The film follows a group of American OSS agents and Korean independence fighters on a mission to evacuate a key Korean figure from the island.

In 2021, Ryoo directed Escape from Mogadishu, a film based on real events of the Somali Civil War in the 1990s. It depicted details of perilous escape attempt made by North and South Korean embassy personnel stranded during the conflict. The film made with production cost of 24 billion was entirely shot in Morocco. It was selected as the South Korean entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.

Filmmaking

Ryoo Seung-wan is called Korea's 'action kid' for his unique action and rough life style.

Ryoo frequently collaborated with film editor Nam Na-yeong. She has edited films Arahan, The City of Violence, and Crying Fist.

Ryoo is known for frequently casting the same actors, with his little brother Ryoo Seung-bum Hwang Jeongmin, The excutioner of 베테랑Veteran 14.4 million box office in 2014 being one of his most frequent collaborators.

Personal life

Ryoo met Kang Hye-jung in the Independent Film Council workshop. After graduating from college in February 1993, Kang Hye-jung learned filmmaking at the Independent Film Council workshop for three months starting in May of that year. Ryoo Seung-wan was working as a workshop assistant, and they started dating after collaborating on a movie project. In 1997, Ryoo Seung-wan married Kang Hye-jung after 4 years of dating. They have three children together. As of 2017, their eldest daughter is in the third grade of high school, while their two sons are in the second grade of middle school and the sixth grade of elementary school.

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

Producing credits

Cameos

Music videos

Recurring cast members

Ryoo frequently re-casts actors whom he has worked with on previous films.

Accolades

Awards and nominations

State honors

Listicles

Notes

References

References

1. (7 March 2006). "K-FILM REVIEWS: 다찌마와 리 (Dajjimawa Lee)". [[Twitch Film]].
2. (October 5, 2006). "Ryoo Seung Wan: Korea's Action Kid".
3. (5 October 2006). "Ryoo Seung Wan: Korea's Action Kid". [[YesAsia]].
4. Kim, Kyu Hyun. "Die Bad". Koreanfilm.org.
5. (7 March 2006). "K-FILM REVIEWS: 다찌마와 리 (Dajjimawa Lee)". [[Twitch Film]].
6. Rowland, Sarah. (30 June 2005). "Ring leader". [[Montreal Mirror]].
7. Noh, James. (19 February 2005). "''Crying Fist'' to Premiere in April: Two Ordinary Men on the Brink Fight for Their Lives". The Seoul Times.
8. Kim, Tae-jong. (17 March 2005). "'Crying Fist' Depicts Fight for Hope". [[The Korea Times]] via [[Hancinema]].
9. (22 August 2005). "K-FILM REVIEWS: 주먹이 운다 (Crying Fist)". [[Twitch Film]].
10. Kim, Kyu Hyun. (7 February 2006). "Crying Fist". [[OhmyNews International]].
11. (2023-11-28). link
12. "If You Were Me 2". IndieStory.
13. Hartzell, Adam. "If You Were Me 2". Koreanfilm.org.
14. Park, Soo-mee. (27 April 2006). "Film director teaches art of action genre".
15. Kim, Kyu Hyun. (5 February 2008). "''City of Violence'': Lean and Mean". [[OhmyNews International]].
16. Lee, Joo-hee. (16 September 2009). "Mini promo movies hit China". [[The Korea Herald]] via FilmContact.
17. Kang, Seung-hun. (22 September 2009). "Hallyu star Song to promote Korean tourism".
18. (5 August 2009). "Gao Yuanyuan: Follow Me in South Korea". CriEnglish.
19. (4 November 2009). "Ryu Seung-Wan's Timeless is Online!". [[Twitch Film]].
20. Valentin, Albert. (29 July 2010). "TIMELESS (2009)". The Martial Connection.
21. Lee, Ji-hye. (18 November 2010). "INTERVIEW: Director Ryoo Seung-wan - Part 1".
22. Lee, Ji-hye. (18 November 2010). "INTERVIEW: Director Ryoo Seung-wan - Part 2".
23. Ju, Sung-chul. (9 November 2011). "Four leading Korean directors working on overseas projects". Korea Cinema Today.
24. (5 March 2013). "''The Berlin File'' Becomes Korea's Top Action Movie". [[The Chosun Ilbo]].
25. Frater, Patrick. (2 October 2015). "Busan: Ryoo Seung-wan Lines up Sequels to ''Veteran'' and ''The Berlin File''".
26. Kim, Yeon-ji. (6 August 2015). "Director has hope for film industry".
27. (5 October 2015). "''Veteran'' Keeps Setting New Records".
28. Lim, Jeong-yeo. (30 September 2015). "''Gunhamdo'', director Ryoo's next film, to begin shooting next summer".
29. Kim Ji-hye. (June 14, 2021). "'모가디슈' 기대감 높은 이유…류승완의 연출력X덱스터의 기술력". [[Naver]].
30. Jo Ji-young. (June 14, 2021). "[SC초점] '발신제한'→'블랙 위도우'→'모가디슈'까지 여름 텐트폴 완성, 극장 떠난 관객 돌아올까". [[Naver]].
31. (2021-10-05). "'모가디슈' 아카데미 국제장편영화 韓영화 대표 선정 [공식]".
32. Kang Min-jung. link
33. Kim. Si-kyun. (2017-08-02). link. Maeil Business]]
34. "KMDb - Die Bad (Jukkeona Hogeun Nappeugeona)".
35. "KMDb - No Blood No Tears (Pi-do Noon-mul-do Up-shi)".
36. "KMDb - Arahan (Arahan Jangpung Dae-jakjeon)".
37. "KMDb - Crying Fist (Jumeog-i Unda)".
38. "KMDb - The City of Violence (Jjak-pae)".
39. "KMDb - Dachimawa Lee (Dajjimawa Ri : Aginiyeo Jiokhaeng Geuphaengyeolchareul Tara)".
40. "KMDb - Troubleshooter (Haegyeolsa)".
41. "KMDb - The Unjust (Budanggeorae)".
42. "KMDb - The Berlin File (Be-reul-rin)".
43. "KMDb - Veteran".
44. "KMDb - The Battleship Island (Gun-ham-do)".
45. "KMDb - Escape from Mogadishu (Mo-ga-di-shu)".
46. "KMDb - Smugglers (Milsu)".
47. (2024-04-11). "The films of the Official Selection 2024".
48. Jo Yeon-kyung. (December 23, 2025). link. [[Nate (web portal). Nate]]
49. "KMDb - Transmutated Head (Byeonjil hedeu)".
50. "KMDb - Rumble (Paessaum)".
51. "KMDb - Our Contemporaries (Hyeondaein)".
52. "KMDb - Dachimawa Lee".
53. "KMDb - Hey Man (Namja-nikka Ah-shi-janayo)".
54. "KMDb - A".
55. "KMDb - Time".
56. "KMDb - MAD SAD BAD (sin-chon-jom-bi-man-hwa)".
57. "KMDb - One Summer Night (Insaeng-eun Saeohngjima)".
58. "KMDb - Svaha : The Sixth Finger (Sa-ba-ha)".
59. "KMDb - Exit".
60. "KMDb - Start-Up (Si-dong)".
61. link. Bae Hyo-joo. Newsen. (May 21, 2024)
62. link. Newsen. (22 December 2010)
63. link. Movist. (23 December 2010)
64. Lee, Hyo-won. (15 February 2011). "Rain, Girls Generation win Seoul Art Awards". [[The Korea Times]].
65. Kim, Heidi. (15 February 2011). "Rain, Girls' Generation, Lee Beom-soo to receive arts & culture award". 10Asia.
66. (16 February 2011). "Rain, Jeon Do Yeon, and Lee Bum Soo to Win at Seoul 2011 Art Awards". KBS Global.
67. link
68. (7 October 2011). "Ryu Seung Bum and Jung Yoo Mi Win Best Actor and Actress at 20th Buil Film Awards". [[Soompi]].
69. Hong, Lucia. (17 October 2011). "Several Korean movies score wins at Spain film festival". 10Asia.
70. (15 October 2011). "2011 Awards: Red State, Best motion picture". Sitges News.
71. Lee, Claire. (27 November 2011). "''The Unjust'' Best picture at Blue Dragon Awards". [[The Korea Herald]].
72. Lee, In-kyung. (26 November 2011). "''The Unjust'' Wins Top Honors at Blue Dragon Film Awards". enewsWorld.
73. Hong, Lucia. (28 November 2011). "Korean pic ''The Unjust'' wins big at the 32nd Blue Dragon Awards". 10Asia.
74. (29 November 2011). "The Unjust takes top prize at Blue Dragon Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone.
75. Conran, Pierce. (9 April 2013). "49th PaekSang Arts Awards Nominations Revealed". Korean Film Council.
76. Hicap, Jonathan M.. (5 April 2013). "49th Baeksang Arts Awards nominees revealed". [[Manila Bulletin]].
77. (21 October 2015). "''Veteran'' Wins Award at Sitges Fest in Spain".
78. Park, So-jung. (28 October 2015). "''The Throne'' rakes in three film critics' awards".
79. Conran, Pierce. (2 November 2015). "THE THRONE Tops Korean Association of Film Critics Awards".
80. Kil, Sonia. (26 November 2015). "Korea's Blue Dragon Spreads Awards Heat Between Hit Movies and Indie Titles".
81. link
82. link. (October 27, 2017). TV Report
83. (October 15, 2017). "''The Battleship Island'' wins award in Spain's Sitges Film Festival".
84. (October 30, 2017). "THE FORTRESS Dominates 37th Korean Film Critics Association Awards".
85. link. (May 3, 2018)
86. Jo Young-mi. (August 26, 2021). "모가디슈' ·'자산어보' 13개 부문 중 8개 부문 후보에 올라". [[Naver]].
87. Kim No-eul. (October 7, 2021). "'모가디슈' 작품상 포함 6관왕→유아인·전종서 주연상 쾌거(종합)[2021 부일영화상]". [[Naver]].
88. Jeong Hyung-hwa. (November 1, 2021). "42회 청룡영화상 11월26일 개최..'모가디슈' 최다 후보". [[Naver]].
89. Kim Nara. (November 1, 2021). My Daily. [[Naver]]. link
90. Jina Son. (November 26, 2021). "구교환·송중기·전여빈·임윤아, 인기상 수상 [제42회 청룡영화상]". [[Naver]].
91. Han Hyun-jung. (November 26, 2021). "'모가디슈', '청룡' 작품상 등 5관왕…설경구·문소리 주연상[종합]". [[Naver]].
92. Kim Yu-jin. (November 10, 2021). "설경구·문소리, 제41회 영평상 남녀주연상…'자산어보' 최우수작품상 [종합]". [[Naver]].
93. Lee Jae-Hoon. (December 6, 2021). "'모가디슈', 영화제작가협회상 작품상…고두심·설경구 주연상". [[Naver]].
94. (April 11, 2022). "제 58회 백상예술대상". Baeksang Arts Awards.
95. Ahn Byung-gil. (April 11, 2022). "58회 백상예술대상 후보 공개…영광의 주인공은?". [[Naver]].
96. Park Seo-yeon. (May 6, 2022). "[제58회 백상]'모가디슈' 류승완-'오겜' 대상 영예..이준호X김태리 '2관왕'(종합)". [[Naver]].
97. Oh Bo-ram (translation by Kim Sun Min). (April 13, 2022). "'Escape from Mogadishu' wins Best Orient Express Film award at Fantasporto International Film Festival". K-Odyssey.
98. Oh Bo-ram. (April 13, 2022). "'모가디슈', 판타스포르토 국제영화제 아시아 작품상". [[Naver]].
99. (August 26, 2022). link
100. (October 1, 2022). link. Daum]]
101. (October 1, 2022). link
102. (2023-08-27). link
103. (2023-10-06). link
104. link. Ha-neul Lee. Ten Asia. [[Naver]]. (October 24, 2023)
105. link. JTBC News. Hwang. So-young. (April 8, 2024)
106. Hicap, Jonathan. (October 18, 2018). "BTS, Red Velvet win at Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards". [[Manila Bulletin]].
107. Yeo, Ye-rim. (October 25, 2018). "BTS gets award upon their return home". [[Yonhap News Agency]].
108. Lee, Sang-won. (October 25, 2016). "Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards announces winners". [[The Korea Herald]].
109. link
110. (2015-12-28). link