Hong Sang-soo explained

Hong Sang-soo
Birth Date:1960 10, df=y
Birth Place:Seoul, South Korea
Years Active:1996–present
Spouse:[1] [2]
Partner:Kim Min-hee (2015–present)[3]
Children:1
Module:
Child:yes
Headercolor:transparent
Hangul:홍상수
Hanja:[4]
Rr:Hong Sang-su
Mr:Hong Sangsu
Koreanipa:pronounced as /ko/

Hong Sang-soo (Korean: 홍상수; born 25 October 1960) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. An acclaimed and prolific filmmaker, Hong is known for his slow-paced films about love affairs and everyday dilemmas in contemporary South Korea.

Early life

Hong's parents owned the film production company Cinetel Soul.[5] Hong took the entrance exam and entered the theater department at Chung-Ang University. He then studied in the United States, where he received his bachelor's degree from the California College of Arts and Crafts and his master's at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.[6] [7]

Career

Hong made his directorial debut in 1996 with The Day a Pig Fell into the Well. Woman is the Future of Man (2004) was his first film to screen in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Hong's films have also screened in the main competition of the Berlin International Film Festival, the Venice Film Festival, and the Locarno Film Festival.[8] They are also regularly screened in non-competitive festivals, such as the New York Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.

Hong received the Prix Un Certain Regard at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival for Hahaha. In 2013, he won the Silver Leopard Award for Best Director for Our Sunhi, and, in 2015, the Golden Leopard for Right Now, Wrong Then, both at the Locarno Film Festival. Most recently, his 2020 film The Woman Who Ran won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival,[9] Introduction won the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay,[10] and The Novelist's Film (2022) won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival.[11]

In June 2018, Hong was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[12]

Film style

Hong's films often treat themes of domestic realism, with many of the scenes set on residential streets, cafes, hotels, schools, and in the stairwells of apartment buildings. Characters in the film are seen walking around the city, drinking soju, and having sex. The main characters are often movie directors or actors, and scenes typically consist of a single shot, often beginning and ending with a camera zoom. The budgets for his movies average about $100,000.

Hong is often spontaneous when shooting, delivering the day's scene on the morning of the shoot and changing the story on set. He rarely prepares scripts in advance. Hong instead begins with a basic guideline and writes his scenes on the morning of the filming day, making changes throughout the day. He starts the filming day at 4 a.m. when he begins to write the dialogue for that day's shoot.[13] Hong also develops close relationships with the actors over alcohol and cigarettes and sometimes shoots scenes while the actors are intoxicated.[14]

Hong's style has been compared to Eric Rohmer's, with some arguing that some of his films deliberately allude to Rohmer's.[15]

Personal life

In 2016, Hong was reported to be having an extramarital affair with actress Kim Min-hee, who appeared in his 2015 film Right Now, Wrong Then.[16] Hong admitted to the affair in March 2017, at the Seoul premiere of On the Beach at Night Alone. He filed for divorce from his wife in December 2016, but the court rejected his request in June 2019, insisting that only the injured party, Hong's wife, could initiate a legal separation.[17] [18]

Filmography

Feature films

YearEnglish TitleOriginal TitleCredited asNotes
DirectorWriterProducerComposerEditorCinematographer
1996The Day a Pig Fell into the Well돼지가 우물에 빠진 날
1998The Power of Kangwon Province강원도의 힘
2000Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors 오! 수정
2002On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate생활의 발견
2004Woman Is the Future of Man 여자는 남자의 미래다
2005Tale of Cinema 극장전
2006Woman on the Beach 해변의 여인
2008Night and Day 밤과 낮
2009Like You Know It All 잘 알지도 못하면서
2010Hahaha 하하하
Oki's Movie옥희의 영화
2011The Day He Arrives북촌 방향
2012In Another Country다른 나라에서
2013Nobody's Daughter Haewon누구의 딸도 아닌 해원
Our Sunhi 우리 선희
2014Hill of Freedom자유의 언덕
2015Right Now, Wrong Then 지금은 맞고 그때는 틀리다
2016Yourself and Yours 당신자신과 당신의]
2017On the Beach at Night Alone 밤의 해변에서 혼자
Claire's CameraLa caméra de Claire
The Day After그 후
2018Grass풀잎들World premiere at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival
Hotel by the River강변 호텔World premiere at the 2018 Locarno Film Festival
2020The Woman Who Ran도망친 여자World premiere at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival
2021Introduction인트로덕션World premiere at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival
In Front of Your Face당신 얼굴 앞에서World premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival
2022The Novelist's Film소설가의 영화World premiere at the 2022 Berlin International Film Festival
Walk Up탑World premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival
2023In Water물안에서World premiere at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival
In Our Day우리의 하루World premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival[19]
2024A Traveler's Needs여행자의 필요여행자의 필요World premiere at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival
By the Stream수유천World premiere at the 77th Locarno Film Festival[20]

Short films

YearEnglish TitleCredited as
DirectorWriterProducerCinematographerEditor
2009Lost in the Mountains (Jeonju Digital Project: Visitors)
2011List
201350:50 (Venice 70: Future Reloaded)
2021Hong Sangsoo — Winner of the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay
Letter to the New York Film Festival
2022Small Flower
2023Another Letter to New York Film Festival

Awards

Korean Awards

International Awards

State Honors

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Director Files for Divorce Over May–September Romance . Shin Su-ji . 18 November 2016 . . 16 April 2022.
  2. Web site: Director Hong Sang-soo fails to settle divorce, going to court . 20 December 2016 . . 16 April 2022.
  3. Web site: Hyun-kyung . Kang . Actress wearing 'invisible' scarlet letter . . 23 February 2017 . 28 November 2023.
  4. Web site: 칸영화제 초청받은 洪常秀감독. 20 April 1998. ko. Yonhap News Agency.
  5. Carew. Anthony. 2015. Expectedly unexpected: Repetition and understatement in the films of Hong Sang-Soo. Metro Magazine: Media & Education Magazine. en. 186. 82–87. 0312-2654. 7128543000.
  6. Web site: Alum's Film Wins Top Prize at Jerusalem Film Festival. 21 March 2020. School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 22 March 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200322154213/https://www.saic.edu/news/alums-film-wins-top-prize-jerusalem-film-festival. dead.
  7. Web site: "Hill of Freedom". SFFILM. 6 March 2020.
  8. News: Films of Hong Sang-soo Capture Pleasures and Pratfalls of Attraction. Nicolas. Rapold. The New York Times. 17 May 2017. 19 November 2019.
  9. 'There Is No Evil' Wins Golden Bear at Berlin Film Festival. Variety. Meza. Ed. 29 February 2020. 3 March 2020.
  10. Berlin Film Festival Winners 2021: 'Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn' Takes Golden Bear . IndieWire. Sharf . Zack. 5 March 2021. 21 January 2023.
  11. Berlin Film Festival 2022 Awards: 'Alcarràs' Wins Golden Bear, Claire Denis, Hong Sang-soo Take Top Prizes . IndieWire. Lattanzio . Ryan. 16 February 2022. 18 February 2022.
  12. Web site: 2018-06-25 . ACADEMY INVITES 928 TO MEMBERSHIP . 2024-05-21 . . en.
  13. The Discreet Charm of Hong Sang-soo. Phillip. Lopate. The New York Review of Books. 7 December 2017. 19 November 2019.
  14. Web site: The Films of Sangsoo Hong. https://web.archive.org/web/20131021104229/http://quarterlyconversation.com/the-films-of-sangsoo-hong. dead. 21 October 2013. Colin. Marshall. Quarterly Conversation. 11 June 2013. 19 November 2019.
  15. Marco Grosoli, "Moral Tales from Korea: Hong Sang-Soo and Eric Rohmer", Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Film and Media Studies 3 (2010), 95–108.
  16. News: Kim. Kristen Yoonsoo. In the Maze of Love: Hong Sang-soo and Kim Min-hee's Intricate Tales of Romance. The Nation. 26 April 2019. 11 February 2020. en-US. 0027-8378.
  17. News: Court dismisses filmmaker Hong Sang-soo's divorce suit. 14 June 2019. 11 February 2020. The Korea Times.
  18. Web site: Film Director Cannot Divorce Wife Over Affair, Rules Court. Agent France Press. 14 June 2019. NDTV.com. 11 February 2020.
  19. Web site: Hong Sang-soo's Directors Fortnight Closing Film 'In Our Day' Picked up by Finecut (EXCLUSIVE). Patrick. Frater. Variety. April 18, 2023. April 19, 2023.
  20. News: Frater . Patrick . Hong Sang-soo’s ‘By the Stream’ Picked Up by Korea’s Finecut Ahead of Locarno Premiere . 10 July 2024 . Variety.
  21. Web site: 제23회 부산영화평론가협회상 대상에 '당신얼굴 앞에서. Lee Jung-min. 'In front of your face' at the 23rd Busan Film Critics Association Awards. Yonhap News Agency. Naver. November 29, 2022. November 29, 2022. ko.
  22. Web site: 부산영화평론가협회상 대상에 '절해고도' 선정. ‘Jeolhae Godo’ selected as the grand prize winner of the Busan Film Critics Association Award. Lee Jong-min. Yonhap News. November 24, 2023 . March 16, 2024 . ko . March 16, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240316041113/https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20231124037500051. live .
  23. Web site: Korean director Hong Sang-soo wins best screenplay for 'Introduction' at Berlin film fest. 5 March 2021 . The Korea Times. 7 March 2021.
  24. News: 홍상수, 베를린영화제 4번째 은곰상…김민희 "감동적"(종합) . Hong Sang-soo, the 4th Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival... Kim Min-hee "Inspiring" (Comprehensive) . Lee Jae-hoon . Newsis. Naver. 17 February 2022. 17 February 2022. ko.
  25. Web site: http://www.kocca.kr/cop/bbs/list/awardwinner/2011/.do?menuNo=201001. ko:대중문화예술상 2011년. Korea Creative Content Agency. ko. 2011 Popular Culture and Arts Awards. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200712005429/http://www.kocca.kr/cop/bbs/list/awardwinner/2011/.do?menuNo=201001. 12 July 2020. 31 May 2021.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Hong Sang-soo".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.