Park Hoon-jung

Hoon-jung Park • 박훈정 • Park Hun-jeong • パク・フンジョン

Park Hoon-jung (Korean: 박훈정; born in 1975) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Park first gained recognition in the Korean film industry for his screenwriting, having written the screenplays for directors Kim Jee-woon's I Saw the Devil (2010) and Ryoo Seung-wan's The Unjust (2010). In 2011, he made his directorial debut with the period film The Showdown, and his second film, the g...

Park Hoon-jung (Korean: 박훈정; born in 1975) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Park first gained recognition in the Korean film industry for his screenwriting, having written the screenplays for directors Kim Jee-woon's I Saw the Devil (2010) and Ryoo Seung-wan's The Unjust (2010). In 2011, he made his directorial debut with the period film The Showdown, and his second film, the gangster epic New World (2013), was a critical and commercial success. Early life Born in 1975, Park's early interest in storytelling developed during childhood, attributed to his love of reading. Around ages six or seven, he had read fairy tales from Northern Europe and South America. By fourth grade, he had shifted to literature and martial arts novels. He later said that this transition had left him disillusioned after he realized that the happy endings portrayed in fairy tales did not reflect reality, which had contributed to his growing interest in film. His interest in cinema deepened in 1991 during his second year of high school, after watching a science fiction movie at a local double-feature theater. While he can't remember the exact title, the film's plot, involving a scientist turned cyborg seeking revenge for stolen weapon blueprints, left a lasting impression. Park then systematically explored his neighborhood video rental store's collection, focusing on noir, gangster, and thriller genres. During a period of restricted cultural imports, he frequented Myeongdong's underground markets and traveled to cities like Busan and Daegu to acquire pirated Japanese animation and rare videotapes. Park was influenced by his highschool teacher's skepticism regarding the value of higher education. Based on his academic performance, he enrolled in a natural science major and dropped out after completing his freshman year twice. Following his university departure, he applied to become a non-commissioned officer and served for five years, eventually receiving an honorable discharge with the rank of Sergeant. Career Early career in game industry, comic, and transition to film screenwriting Near the end of his military service, he won a game scenario contest organized by the Venture Association, which led to his recruitment by a gaming firm. When that company shifted its business model, he co-founded a game development venture with colleagues, though the enterprise was short-lived. Having lacked formal training for screenwriting, he taught himself the craft by transcribing screenplays from other films. He spent time at Kino, a film library in Daehakro, and at a specialized film bookstore Dongsung-dong, Seoul. There, he studied the Complete Collection of Korean Film Screenplays, published by the Korean Film Council, until he had memorized it word for word. He also read works on Eastern philosophy, becoming especially taken with Zhuangzi's On the Equality of Things. He then began writing his own scripts, later spending approximately a decade working as an uncredited screenwriter and adapting numerous scripts starting in 2000. To support himself, he wrote for comic books, citing more reliable payment schedules than those in the film industry. His career advanced after he won a 2006 synopsis contest hosted by Sidus HQ, a prominent film production company. Breakthrough as a film screenwriter His professional breakthrough occurred in 2010 when he wrote the screenplays for Kim Jee-woon's film I Saw the Devil (2010) and Ryoo Seung-wan's film The Unjust (2010). The critical and commercial success of these films established him as a prominent figure in Chungmuro. Notably, I Saw the Devil was the first time Kim Jee-woon directed a film written by another screenwriter. Actor Choi Min-sik, who was seeking a new project following changes to the South Korean screen quota system, introduced Kim to the script. After its South Korean premiere on August 12, 2010, the film garnered international acclaim at several major festivals, including the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, the Fantasporto Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Sitges Film Festival, San Sebastian Film Festival and the London Korean Film Festival. The film also received favorable review from international movie critics. It received numerous accolades, including Best Director and Best Film at Fantasporto, Special Jury Prize, Audience Award, Critics Award at the Gerardmer Film Festival, Best Lighting at the Grand Bell Awards, Best Foreign Language film from the Austin Film Critics Association and Best Editing from the 2011 Asian Film Awards. Similarly, The Unjust was the first film directed by Ryoo Seung-wan based on a screenplay he did not write himself. A dark critique of corruption within the Korean justice system, the film reunited lead actors Hwang Jung-min and Ryoo Seung-bum, who had previously worked together in Bloody Tie (2006). The Unjust enjoyed a prolific festival run, screening at the Panorama section of the 61st Berlin International Film Festival, the Hong Kong International Film Festival, the Shanghai International Film Festival, the New York Asian Film Festival, the Fantasia Festival, the Hawaii International Film Festival, the Vladivostok International Film Festival - Pacific Meridian, the Sitges Film Festival, the London Korean Film Festival, and the Far East Film Festival. The film was both a critical and commercial success, recording 2.7 million admissions and earning Park multiple awards for his screenplay. Directorial debut and following breakthrough projects Park made his directorial debut in 2011 with The Showdown. He had originally written the script in 2006 and offered it to various production companies, but found that prospective directors and studios sought to alter the narrative significantly. Feeling these changes compromised his vision, Park decided to helm the project himself. Produced on a modest budget of approximately 1.99 billion won, the film ultimately failed to find commercial success. Following the failure of his debut, Park faced significant hurdles in securing backing for his next project, the neo-noir New World. Potential investors requested either a change in director or a genre shift, arguing that noir was not a commercially viable investment. Despite the initial challenges, New World became a major success, attracting 4.68 million viewers and receiving praise for pioneering a modern iteration of Korean-style noir. Starring Lee Jung-jae, Choi Min-sik, Hwang Jung-min, Park Sung-woong, and Song Ji-Hyo, the film follows an undercover officer Lee Ja-sung (Lee Jung-jae), struggling to maintain his dual identity within a massive crime syndicate. The New York Times lauded the film as "both less bloody and more thoughtful than most of its genre, the shifting-alliances plot becoming more engrossing as it progresses." In 2013, Park was honored with the Jury Award at the 5th Beaune International Thriller Film Festival for his work on the film. In 2015, Park reunited with Choi Min-sik for the historical drama The Tiger. Set in 1925 during the Japanese colonial period, the film depicts the parallel fates of a legendary hunter and the last tiger of Joseon. Park had sold the screenplay in 2009 while still an unknown writer and initially had no intention of directing it. However, five years later, the distributor, NEW and star Choi Min-sik urged him to lead the production, arguing that his intimate knowledge of the script made him the ideal director. The Tiger was a massive technical undertaking, costing 14 billion won. The production team faced the challenge of creating a realistic CGI tiger with only a fraction of the digital effects budget used for similar Hollywood projects like Life of Pi. While the film’s box office performance did not meet expectations, it received critical acclaim for its high production values and its vivid animation of the Joseon tiger. Park received several nominations for his direction and screenplay, while the film's technical team was recognized with multiple awards for their visual effects work. Establishment of Goldmoon and collaboration with Warner Bros. In 2016, Park founded the film production company Geumwol, taking its name from the Chinese characters for the "Goldmoon" criminal organization featured in New World. Park established the independent venture to secure greater creative freedom and to insulate himself from the professional guilt associated with a major studio's potential financial losses. He noted that while many projects gain recognition, few achieve genuine commercial success, prompting him to pursue a more self-reliant production model. Following the company's inception, Park collaborated with Warner Bros. to produce the 2017 crime thriller V.I.P.. The film featured an ensemble cast including Jang Dong-gun, Kim Myung-min, Park Hee-soon and Lee Jong-suk, centering on a multi-national manhunt for a suspected serial killer involving South Korea, North Korea, and Interpol officials. Despite its high-profile cast and international distribution, the film underperformed at the box office. Furthermore, it became a subject of significant controversy and was heavily criticized for its graphic and excessive portrayal of violence against women. In 2018, Park reunited with Park Hee-soon for their third collaboration in the science fiction action-horror film The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion. Starring veteran actress Jo Min-soo and actor Choi Woo-shik, the film follows Ja-yoon (played by Kim Da-mi), a high school student with amnesia who escaped from a mysterious facility as a child. Kim, a rookie actress at the time, was selected for the lead role after an audition process with 1,500-to-1 odds, a breakout performance that launched her career. Although Park had written the screenplay prior to The Tiger (2015), he delayed the project due to industry skepticism. Major Korean distributors were initially hesitant to back a female-led action film featuring a newcomer with a 6 billion won budget. However, Warner Bros. Korea proved more amenable to the casting of a rookie lead and the film's high-budget requirements. The studio's headquarters responded favorably to the project, expressing interest in developing it into a multi-film franchise. Despite the success of the first installment, which drew 3.18 million viewers, the future of the series became uncertain in September 2020 when Warner Bros. Korea withdrew from the domestic film market following several underperforming productions. This exit stalled development on the anticipated sequel, The Witch: Part 2. The Other One, leaving the status of the burgeoning franchise in doubt. Collaboration with NEW In 2020, Park collaborated with Next Entertainment World (NEW) to write and direct the crime drama Night in Paradise. The film stars Uhm Tae-goo as a gang member who flees to Jeju Island after carrying out a retaliatory strike against a rival syndicate. While in hiding, he forms a bond with a terminally ill woman (Jeon Yeo-been) while being hunted by a relentless rival executive (Cha Seung-won) and facing betrayal from his own boss (Park Ho-san). Principal photography took place primarily on Jeju Island over the course of three months. Night in Paradise premiered on September 3, 2020, at the 77th Venice International Film Festival, where it was screened as part of the "Out of Competition" category. Although a theatrical release was originally intended, NEW opted for a direct-to-streaming debut due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was released globally on Netflix on April 9, 2021, and subsequently reached the number one position on the platform's "Top 10" most popular content. Following this collaboration, Park solidified his partnership with the distributor. In November 2020, his production company, Geumwol, signed an equity investment contract with Studio&NEW, a content production affiliate of the NEW media group. The production of The Witch: Part 2. The Other One was complicated by the withdrawal of Warner