
Yu Hyun-mok
Personal Info
Known for
Directing
Gender
Male
Birthday
1925-07-02
Day of Death
2009-06-28 (83 years old)
Place of Birth
Sariwon, Hwanghae Province, North Korea
Yu Hyun-mok
Biography
Yu Hyun-mok (July 2, 1925 – June 28, 2009) was a South Korean film director. Born in Sariwon, Hwanghae, Korea (North Korea today), he made his film debut in 1956 with Gyocharo (Crossroads). According to the website koreanfilm.org, his 1961 film Obaltan "has repeatedly been voted the best Korean film of all time in local critics' polls." Yu attended the San Francisco International Film Festival in 1963, where Variety called Obaltan a "remarkable film", and praised Yu's "[b]rilliantly detailed camera" and the film's "probing sympathy and rich characterizations."
His dedication to the intellectual side of film and interest in using film to deal with social and political issues led him to have difficulties both with box-office-oriented producers, and with Korea's military government during the 1960s and 1970s. Korean critics have said his directing style is "in the tradition of the Italian Neorealists," yet "the terms 'modernist' or 'expressionistic' [are] just as applicable to his works."
Besides his directing activities, he has taught film, and made a significant contribution to Korean animation by producing Kim Cheong-gi's 1976 animated film, Robot Taekwon V. A retrospective of Yu's career was held at the 4th Pusan International Film Festival in 1999.
Yu died from a stroke on June 28, 2009.
Known For
Acting
(1987)
(1948)
Crew
(1995)
(1980)
Son of a Man
Director
(1979)
Rainy Days
Director
(1978)
Once Upon a Time
Director
(1978)
Kongjwi and Patjwi
Producer
(1978)
The Door
Director
(1975)
Flame
Director
(1971)
Bun-rye's Story
Director
(1969)
School Excursion
Director
(1969)
I Want to Be Human
Director
(1968)
Grudge
Director
(1968)
Descendants of Cain
Director
(1968)
Woman
Director
(1968)
I'll Give You Everything
Director
(1967)
A Regret
Director
(1967)
(1967)
The Three Hen-pecked Generations
Director
(1966)
Hand
Director
(1965)
The Martyrs
Executive Producer, Director
(1965)
An Empty Dream
Director
(1964)
Wife's Confession
Director
(1964)
The Extra Mortals
Director
(1963)
The Daughters of Kim's Pharmacy
Director, Editor
(1962)
Only for You
Director
(1961)
Aimless Bullet
Director
(1959)
Even the Clouds Are Drifting
Director
(1958)
Forever with You
Editor, Director
(1958)
The Seizure of Life
Director
(1957)
The Lost Youth
Director