loading

PEOPLE

menu prev share search

search-close

Film Search

   
  Search

People Search

  Search

Companies Search

  Search

social-close

BYUN Young-joo  
BYUN Young-joo
Director, Actress, Director of Photography, Camera Operator, Screenwriter

Add to My FavoritesAdd to My Favorites

Gender : Female

Nationality : South Korea

Byun Youngjoo, born in 1966, may have completed a Bachelor’s degree in Law at the prestigious Ehwa Womans University, but it was in film, at Chung-Ang University, that she decided to continue her studies. As one of the founding members of the feminist film collective Bariteo (in 1989), she was in charge of the cinematography for the <Every Little Grass Has Its Own Name> (1990) and <Children of Ours> (1990), which documented the sexual harassment in the workplaces that white-collar women were experiencing. Byun’s directing debut came when she joined director Kim Dongwon’s documentary studio PURN Production and made <Living as a Woman in Asia> (1993), a documentary that presents itself as some sort of report on prostitution in Asia, with a special focus on sex tourism in Jeju Island, Korea. This first film prompted her to dedicate her next documentary feature, <The Murmuring> (1995), to the residents of a nursing home for women who were forced to sex slavery for the Japanese Army during WW2. Financed with the help of citizens, who were invited to each purchase 100 feet of the 16mm film reels, the film was the first independent documentary to be shown in regular theaters in Korea and resonated even in Japan, where it took the Shinsuke Ogawa Award for Best New Asian Director at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. Byun continued to film comfort women and released two follow-ups to that film in 1997 and 1999, thus forming a trilogy of works on that topic spanning five years. Her first fiction film <Ardor> (2002) portrayed the suppressed emotions of a woman caught in an extramarital affair. She then moved to youth drama fare with the <Flying Boys> in 2004. In 2008, she returned to documentary filmmaking by taking part in <My Love, Korean Cinema>, commissioned by the Korean Film Archives, as well as with <Wise and Sensible Ways to Remember the 20th Century>, which looks back at the changing landscapes of Seoul in the second half of the 20th century through her interview with renowned novelist Park Wansuh. Byun made a strong impression once again when she released the mystery film <Helpless> (2011), starring Kim Minhee and Lee Sunkyun. The film, which touches on some of the issues the director explored in her documentaries, received much acclaim and won her the Baeksang Art Award for Best Director (in the Film category), and she was later named Woman in Film of the Year by the Women in Film Korea association.
Any copying, republication or redistribution of KOFIC's content is prohibited without prior consent of KOFIC.

Related Photo

Filmography

Filmography  
Helpless (2012)
Director, Staff
Filmography  
Wise and Sensible Ways to Remember the 20th Century (2008)
Director
Filmography  
Flying Boys (2004)
Director
Filmography  
Repatriation (2004)
Staff
Filmography  
Ardor (2002)
Director, Staff
Filmography  
My Own Breathing (2000)
Director
Filmography  
Habitual Sadness 2 (1997)
Director
Filmography  
The Murmuring (1995)
Director

Related News

  1. ·  Actors Byun Yohan & Lee Sanghee, Appointed as the Jurors of ‘ACTORS PROJECT’ at the 2022 Seoul Independent Film Festival
    Oct 31, 2022
  2. ·  The London Korean Film Festival Proves Successful Again
    Dec 08, 2020
  3. ·  PARK Hae-joon Joins CHA Seung-won for CHEER UP MYSTERY
    Jun 19, 2018

Related Reports

  1. ·  Korean box office analysis: First quarter, 2012
    Apr 26, 2012
  2. ·  Box office analysis, Feb. 15 - 28
    Mar 05, 2012

Awards and Invitation

  1. · <The Murmuring> Seoul Independent Film Festival : SIFF (2024) - INDEPENDENT FILM ARCHIVE
  2. · <Helpless> Women's Film Festival in Gwangju (2022)
  3. · <My Own Breathing> London Korean Film Festival (2020) - Documentary
  4. · <The Murmuring> Seoul International Women’s Film Festival : SIWFF (2019) - Korean Film 100 Years: Women's Faces in Korean Cinema
  5. · <Habitual Sadness 2> Seoul Independent Film Festival : SIFF (2018) - Archive
  6. · <My Own Breathing> Seoul Independent Film Festival : SIFF (2018) - Archive
  7. · <Helpless> Seoul International Women’s Film Festival : SIWFF (2018) - 20th Anniversary Retrospective - Korean Cinema
  8. · <Flying Boys> CheonAn Dance Film Festival : CADFF (2017)
  9. · <Helpless> London Korean Film Festival (2016) - Special Focus: Women Directors
  10. · <My Own Breathing> Seoul International Women’s Film Festival : SIWFF (2014) - Special Screening
  11. · <Habitual Sadness 2> Seoul International Women’s Film Festival : SIWFF (2014) - Special Screening
  12. · <The Murmuring> Seoul International Women’s Film Festival : SIWFF (2014) - Special Screening
  13. · <Helpless> Dublin International Film Festval (2013) - Spectrum
  14. · <Helpless> Korean Film Festival DC (2013) - New Korean Cinema
  15. · <Helpless> Florence Korea Film Fest (2013)
  16. · <Helpless> Paeksang Arts Awards (2012) - Film Awards - Best Director
  17. · <Helpless> Women in Film Korea Festival (2012) - Woman in Film of the Year
  18. · <Helpless> Women's Film Festival in Gwangju (2012)
  19. · <Helpless> Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (2012)
  20. · <Helpless> Paris Korean Film Festival (2012) - Paysage
  21. · <Helpless> Buil Film Awards (2012)
  22. · <Helpless> Busan International Film Festival : BIFF (2012) - Korean Cinema Today-Panorama
  23. · <Helpless> Women’s Film Festival in Incheon : WFFII (2012)
  24. · <Helpless> Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (2012)
  25. · <Wise and Sensible Ways to Remember the 20th Century> Chungmuro International Film Festival in Seoul ()
  26. · <Wise and Sensible Ways to Remember the 20th Century> SEOUL International Women’s Film Festival (2008)
  27. · <Flying Boys> Tokyo International Women’s Film Festival ()
  28. · <Flying Boys> Udine Far East Film Festival (2005) - Main Program
  29. · <Flying Boys> Paeksang Arts Awards (2005) - Film Awards - Best New Actor
  30. · <Flying Boys> Tokyo International Women’s Film Festival (2005)
  31. · <Flying Boys> Aichi International Women's Film Festival (2005)
  32. · <Ardor> Viennale - Vienna International Film Festival (2003)
  33. · <Ardor> Cairo International Film Festival (2003)
  34. · <Ardor> Film Fest Gent (2003)
  35. · <Ardor> (2003) -
  36. · <Ardor> Melbourne International Film Festival (2003) -
  37. · <Ardor> Osian's - Cinefan, Festival of Asian & Arab Cinema (2003)
  38. · <Ardor> Women Make Waves International Film Festival (2003)
  39. · <Ardor> Berlin International Film Festival (2003)
  40. · <Ardor> Verona Film Festival(Schermi d'Amore) (2003)
  41. · <Ardor> Hong Kong International Film Festival (2003)
  42. · <Ardor> Women in Film Korea Festival (2002) - Best Producer
  43. · <Ardor> The Blue Dragon Awards (2002) - Best Actress
  44. · <Ardor> Director's Cut Awards (2002)
  45. · <The Murmuring> Berlin International Film Festival (1998) - Forum
  46. · <Habitual Sadness 2> Berlin International Film Festival (1998) - Forum
top button