About

Known credits:
33
Birthday:
1925-07-02
Place of birth:
Sariwon, Hwanghae Province, North Korea
Website:
N/A

Yu Hyun-mok

Overview

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 Flower Blooms Even on a Windy Day Actor N/A
N/A
1948 홍차기의 일생 Actor N/A
N/A

Directing
1995 Mom, the Star, and the Sea Anemone Directing Director N/A
N/A
1980 Son of a Man Directing Director N/A
N/A
1979 Rainy Days Directing Director 59
Average
1978 Once Upon a Time Directing Director N/A
N/A
1975 Flame Directing Director N/A
N/A
1971 Bun-rye's Story Directing Director 58
Average
1969 I Want to Be Human Directing Director N/A
N/A
1969 School Excursion Directing Director N/A
N/A
1968 Woman Directing Director N/A
N/A
1968 몽땅 드릴까요 Directing Director N/A
N/A
1968 Descendants of Cain Directing Director 58
Average
1968 Grudge Directing Director N/A
N/A
1967 Guests Who Arrived by the Last Train Directing Director 59
Average
1967 A Regret Directing Director N/A
N/A
1967 The Three Hen-pecked Generations Directing Director N/A
N/A
1966 Hand Directing Director N/A
N/A
1965 An Empty Dream Directing Director 59
Average
1965 The Martyrs Directing Director N/A
N/A
1964 Wife's Confession Directing Director N/A
N/A
1964 The Extra Mortals Directing Director N/A
N/A
1963 The Daughters of Kim's Pharmacy Directing Director 59
Average
1962 Only for You Directing Director N/A
N/A
1961 Aimless Bullet Directing Director 59
Average
1959 Even the Clouds Are Drifting Directing Director 59
Average
1958 The Seizure of Life Directing Director N/A
N/A
1958 Forever with You Directing Director 58
Average
1957 The Lost Youth Directing Director N/A
N/A

Production
1978 Kongjwi and Patjwi Production Producer N/A
N/A
1965 The Martyrs Production Executive Producer N/A
N/A

Editing
1963 The Daughters of Kim's Pharmacy Editing Editor 59
Average
1958 Forever with You Editing Editor 58
Average