One of Korea’s most venerated filmmakers, YU Hyun-mok was born in 1925 and made his feature film debut with <Crossroads> in 1956. Though he consistently made films though the late 1950s and into the 60s, his work reached a higher plain when he made <Aimless Bullet> in 1961. A gritty, almost neo-realist social drama, <Aimless Bullet> is widely considered to be one of the greatest Korean films of all time, frequently occupying top spots on all-time best of ...More

One of Korea’s most venerated filmmakers, YU Hyun-mok was born in 1925 and made his feature film debut with <Crossroads> in 1956. Though he consistently made films though the late 1950s and into the 60s, his work reached a higher plain when he made <Aimless Bullet> in 1961. A gritty, almost neo-realist social drama, <Aimless Bullet> is widely considered to be one of the greatest Korean films of all time, frequently occupying top spots on all-time best of Korean cinema lists. Yet YU was no one trick pony, as he would go on to direct many more classic Korean films throughout his life, including <Daughters of Pharmacist Kim> (1963), <Guests Who Arrived on the Last Train> (1967), <Flame> (1975) and <Rainy Days> (1977). Beyond his early comparisons to Italian neo-realism, YU has also been acclaimed for his highly intellectual and modernist approach to filmmaking. Throughout his career he was consistently recognised by his peers, picking up the Blue Dragon award for Best Director no less than four times, for <To Give Freely> (1962), <Martyr> (1965), <Bun-Rye’s Story> (1971) and <Flame>. Beyond his own films, YU also contributed to Korea’s animation industry by producing the feature <Robot Taekwon V> (1976) and was a film professor for many years. In 1999, the Busan International Film Festival held a retrospective of his work. YU passed away of a stroke on June 28th, 2009.Less