Kim Ji-woon

Kim Jee-woon (; born July 6, 1964) is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a theater actor and director before debuting with his self-written and directed film, The Quiet Family in 1998. Kim has worked with increasing levels of success in cinema, showing accomplished acting and a detailed stylization in his films. He is currently one of the most recognized screenwriters/directors in the Korean film industry. His films A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) and A Bittersweet Life (2005) were received as critical and commercial successes. He is also known for the films The Foul King (2000), The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008), and I Saw the Devil (2010). Early life Kim Jee-woon was born on July 6, 1964, in Seoul, South Korea and is the youngest of six siblings. He grew up in Samgak-dong, a neighborhood between present day Jongno and Euljiro. His grandfather was a tailor. When he was young, Kim's father frequently took him to the cinema where he was exposed to many classic European films. This exposure inspired him dreaming of becoming film maker. In 1983, Kim entered the Department of theater at Seoul Institute of the Arts. After dropping out of school, Kim stayed in Paris for three months in 1991 and watched about 100 films during Cahiers du Cinéma's 40-year anniversary film festival. Kim built up his career in the field by writing and directing several plays including Hot Sea (1994) and Movie Movie (1995). He also acted onstage in the musical Guys and Dolls (1983) and Anton Chekhov's play The Seagull.