Choi Dong-hoon

Choi Dong-hoon
Choi Dong-hoon
Born	February 24, 1971 (age 53); Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, South Korea
Education	Sogang University - B.A. in Korean Language and Literature ; Korean Academy of Film Arts - Filmmaking
Occupation(s)	Film director, screenwriter
Years active	1998–present
Spouse	Ahn Soo-hyun (film producer)
Korean name
Hangul	최동훈
Revised Romanization	Choe Donghun
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'oe Tonghun

Choi Dong-hoon (Korean: 최동훈; born February 24, 1971) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He ranks as one of the most consistently successful directors working in contemporary Korean cinema, with all first five of his films becoming commercial hits -- The Big Swindle attracted 2.12 million viewers, Tazza: The High Rollers at 6.84 million, Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard at 6.13 million, The Thieves at 12.9 million, and Assassination at 12.7 million.^[1]

Career

After graduating from the prestigious Korean Academy of Film Arts, Choi Dong-hoon first worked as an assistant director on Im Sang-soo's Tears (he subsequently appeared in acting cameos in several of Im's films).^[2]

After working on the screenplay for two years, Choi made his feature film directorial debut in 2004 with The Big Swindle and single-handedly re-imagined the heist and crime thriller genre into something uniquely Korean. His follow-up Tazza: The High Rollers, a gambling flick adapted from Huh Young-man and Kim Se-yeong's manhwa, was the second highest grossing Korean film of 2006, and producer/Sidus FNH CEO Cha Seung-jae praised Choi as "a genius storyteller for his spectacular ability to develop elaborate stories." 2009's Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard was lauded as the first Korean fantasy/superhero blockbuster movie, earning Choi a reputation as an artistically innovative and commercially successful writer-director.^[3]

He returned to the heist genre in 2012 with the star-studded crime caper The Thieves,^[4] which attracted almost 13 million viewers in 70 days to become the second all-time highest grossing movie in Korean film history.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8] Tazza and Thieves leading lady Kim Hye-soo described him as "a genius who also works extremely hard. I think he knows who he is, the exact kind of films that he wants to make, and how to make them."^[2]

Choi made his first period film with 2015's Assassination, about freedom fighters during Japan's colonial rule, and it was once again a box office hit, crossing the 10 million admissions milestone on the 70th anniversary of South Korean independence.^[9]^[10]

In 2017, Choi began production on his next film Wiretap, a remake of the 2009 Hong Kong film Overheard.^[11] However, production was halted so Kim Woo Bin could undergo treatment for cancer.^[12] At the end of 2019, the director was then reported to be working on a two-part science fiction film.^[13] The first part titled Alienoid which depicts a story unfolding as the door of time open between late Goryeo and the present day, when aliens appear, was released in July 2022.^[14]

Filmography

As director

A Short Trip (short film, director; 2000)
The Big Swindle (director, screenwriter; 2004)
Tazza: The High Rollers (director, screenwriter; 2006)
Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard (director, screenwriter; 2009)
The Thieves (director, screenwriter; 2012)
Assassination (director, screenwriter, producer; 2015)
Alienoid (director, screenwriter, producer; 2022)
Alienoid: Return to the Future (director, screenwriter, producer; 2024)
Wiretap (director, screenwriter; TBA)

Other

Tears (assistant director, cameo; 2000)
A Good Lawyer's Wife (cameo; 2003)
Boy Goes to Heaven (screenwriter; 2005)
The President's Last Bang (cameo; 2005)
The Restless (screenwriter; 2006)

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Recipients	Result
2004	3rd Korean Film Awards	Best New Director	The Big Swindle	Won
2004	3rd Korean Film Awards	Best Screenplay		Won
2004	25th Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best New Director		Won
2004	25th Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best Screenplay		Won
2004	7th Director's Cut Awards	Best New Director		Won
2004	24th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards	Best New Director		Won
2004	41st Grand Bell Awards	Best New Director		Won
2004	41st Grand Bell Awards	Best Screenplay		Won
2005	2005 SBS Gayo Daejeon	Music Video of the Year	MV	Won
2006	14th Chunsa Film Art Awards	Best Film	Tazza: The High Rollers	Nominated
2006	14th Chunsa Film Art Awards	Best Director		Nominated
2006	27th Blue Dragon Film Awards^[15]	Best Film		Nominated
2006	27th Blue Dragon Film Awards^[15]	Best Director		Nominated
2007	43rd Baeksang Arts Awards	Grand Prize (Daesang)		Won
		Best Film		Nominated
		Best Director		Won
2007	8th Newport Beach Film Festival^[16]	Best Feature		Won
2007	8th Newport Beach Film Festival^[16]	Best Director		Won
2007	44th Grand Bell Awards	Best Director		Nominated
2007	8th Busan Film Critics Awards	Best Screenplay		Won
2007	6th Korean Film Awards	Best Film		Nominated
		Best Director		Nominated
		Best Screenplay		Won
2012	21st Buil Film Awards	Best Director	The Thieves	Nominated
2012	21st Buil Film Awards	Buil Readers' Jury Award		Won
2012	49th Grand Bell Awards^[17]	Best Director		Nominated
2012	33rd Blue Dragon Film Awards^[18]	Best Film		Nominated
		Best Director		Nominated
		Best Screenplay^[a]		Nominated
		Audience Choice Award for Most Popular Film		Won
2012	20th Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards^[19]	Best Film		Won
2013	49th Baeksang Arts Awards^[20]	Best Director		Nominated
2015	24th Buil Film Awards	Best Film	Assassination	Nominated
2015	24th Buil Film Awards	Best Director		Nominated
2015	35th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards^[21]	Best Film		Nominated
		Best Director		Nominated
		Top 10 Films of the Year		Won
2015	52nd Grand Bell Awards	Best Film		Nominated
		Best Director		Nominated
		Best Screenplay^[a]		Nominated
2015	36th Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best Film		Won
		Best Director		Nominated
		Best Screenplay^[a]		Nominated
2016	52nd Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Film		Won
		Best Director		Nominated
		Best Screenplay^[a]		Nominated
2015	21st Chunsa Film Art Awards	Best Director		Won
2015	21st Chunsa Film Art Awards	Best Screenplay^[a]		Nominated
2015	11th Max Movie Awards	Best Film		Nominated
		Best Director		Nominated
		Best Poster		Nominated

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Lee Ki-cheol

References

^ Park Hyung-ki; Won Ho-jung (August 16, 2015). "Film auteur Choi sets milestones with well-crafted plots, dialogues". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on 2015-08-23. Retrieved 2015-08-23.
^ ^a ^b Lee, Claire (21 August 2012). "Newsmaker: Director Choi Dong-hun steals show with The Thieves". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on 2023-01-18. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
^ "CHOI Dong-hoon". Korean Film Biz Zone. Archived from the original on 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
^ "The Caper Film King Is Back with The Thieves - CHOI DONG-HOON". Korean Cinema Today. 10 May 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-06-28. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
^ "The Thieves Takes Box Office by Storm with Nearly 10 Million Viewers". The Chosun Ilbo. 14 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-11-23. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
^ Kwaak, Je-yup (23 July 2012). "'Actor and director are like husband and wife'". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 27 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
^ Cho, Jae-eun (12 June 2012). "The Thieves all-star cast set to steal show". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on June 17, 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
^ "The Thieves now 2nd top-selling Korean film". The Korea Herald. 31 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2023-01-18. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
^ Baek, Byung-yeul (23 June 2015). "Thieves director returns with thriller". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 2015-08-02. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
^ Lee, Hyo-won (18 August 2015). "South Korea Box Office: Local Action Movie Assassination On Top, Becomes Biggest Film of 2015". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2015-08-21. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
^ "Kim Woo-bin considers joining Wiretap's cast full of Thieves and Assassins". dramabeans.com. 4 April 2017. Archived from the original on 2019-01-24. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
^ "Kim Woo Bin puts all his projects on hold to concentrate completely on treatment". International Business Times. 6 July 2017. Archived from the original on 2019-01-24. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
^ "Blockbuster Director Choi Dong-hoon to Return with a 2-Part Sci-Fi Film". Asian Movie Pulse. 19 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2021-01-30. Retrieved 2011-01-25.
^ "Choi Dong-hoon's 'Alienoid Part 1' to hit theaters on July 20". Korea JoongAng Daily. 2022-06-13. Archived from the original on 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2022-06-23 – via Naver.
^ "The War of Flower - Awards". Cinemasie.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
^ "Newport Beach Film Festival Newport Beach, USA 2007 Awards". IMDb. Archived from the original on 2023-09-24. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
^ Lee, Claire (30 October 2012). "Gwanghae sweeps Daejong Film Awards". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
^ Ji, Yong-jin (4 December 2012). "PIETA Wins Best Picture at Blue Dragon Awards". Korean Film Council. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
^ "Winners - Film category". 20th KCEA Awards. Archived from the original on 2013-12-27. Retrieved 2013-04-02.
^ Hicap, Jonathan M. (5 April 2013). "49th Baeksang Arts Awards nominees revealed". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2013-06-16. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
^ Conran, Pierce (2 November 2015). "THE THRONE Tops Korean Association of Film Critics Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2015.

External links

Choi Dong-hoon at IMDb
Choi Dong-hoon at the Korean Movie Database
Choi Dong-hoon at HanCinema

[a-19] Lee Ki-cheol

[1] Park Hyung-ki; Won Ho-jung (August 16, 2015). "Film auteur Choi sets milestones with well-crafted plots, dialogues". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on 2015-08-23. Retrieved 2015-08-23.

[newsmaker-2] Lee, Claire (21 August 2012). "Newsmaker: Director Choi Dong-hun steals show with The Thieves". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on 2023-01-18. Retrieved 2012-11-21.

[3] "CHOI Dong-hoon". Korean Film Biz Zone. Archived from the original on 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2012-06-27.

[4] "The Caper Film King Is Back with The Thieves - CHOI DONG-HOON". Korean Cinema Today. 10 May 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-06-28. Retrieved 2012-11-21.

[5] "The Thieves Takes Box Office by Storm with Nearly 10 Million Viewers". The Chosun Ilbo. 14 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-11-23. Retrieved 2012-11-21.

[6] Kwaak, Je-yup (23 July 2012). "'Actor and director are like husband and wife'". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 27 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-21.

[7] Cho, Jae-eun (12 June 2012). "The Thieves all-star cast set to steal show". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on June 17, 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-21.

[8] "The Thieves now 2nd top-selling Korean film". The Korea Herald. 31 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2023-01-18. Retrieved 2012-11-21.

[9] Baek, Byung-yeul (23 June 2015). "Thieves director returns with thriller". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 2015-08-02. Retrieved 2015-08-28.

[10] Lee, Hyo-won (18 August 2015). "South Korea Box Office: Local Action Movie Assassination On Top, Becomes Biggest Film of 2015". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2015-08-21. Retrieved 2015-08-16.

[11] "Kim Woo-bin considers joining Wiretap's cast full of Thieves and Assassins". dramabeans.com. 4 April 2017. Archived from the original on 2019-01-24. Retrieved 2019-01-23.

[12] "Kim Woo Bin puts all his projects on hold to concentrate completely on treatment". International Business Times. 6 July 2017. Archived from the original on 2019-01-24. Retrieved 2019-01-23.

[13] "Blockbuster Director Choi Dong-hoon to Return with a 2-Part Sci-Fi Film". Asian Movie Pulse. 19 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2021-01-30. Retrieved 2011-01-25.

[14] "Choi Dong-hoon's 'Alienoid Part 1' to hit theaters on July 20". Korea JoongAng Daily. 2022-06-13. Archived from the original on 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2022-06-23 – via Naver.

[15] "The War of Flower - Awards". Cinemasie.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2012-10-02.

[16] "Newport Beach Film Festival Newport Beach, USA 2007 Awards". IMDb. Archived from the original on 2023-09-24. Retrieved 2023-05-12.

[17] Lee, Claire (30 October 2012). "Gwanghae sweeps Daejong Film Awards". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2012-11-19.

[18] Ji, Yong-jin (4 December 2012). "PIETA Wins Best Picture at Blue Dragon Awards". Korean Film Council. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2012-12-04.

[20] "Winners - Film category". 20th KCEA Awards. Archived from the original on 2013-12-27. Retrieved 2013-04-02.

[21] Hicap, Jonathan M. (5 April 2013). "49th Baeksang Arts Awards nominees revealed". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2013-06-16. Retrieved 2013-04-11.

[22] Conran, Pierce (2 November 2015). "THE THRONE Tops Korean Association of Film Critics Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2015.

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v t e Choi Dong-hoon
Films written and directed	The Big Swindle (2004) Tazza: The High Rollers (2006) Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard (2009) The Thieves (2012) Assassination (2015) Alienoid (2022) Alienoid: Return to the Future (2024)
Films written	Boy Goes to Heaven (2005) The Restless (2006)

v t e Blue Dragon Film Award for Best New Director
1960s	Jeong Seung-mun (1965) n/a (1966) n/a (1967) Jeong So-yeong (1969)
1970s	n/a (1970) Byun Jang-ho (1971) n/a (1972) Lee Won-se (1973)
1990s	n/a (1990) Lee Myung-se (1991) Kim Young-bin (1992) Lee Hyun-seung (1993) Kim Hong-joon (1994) Lee Min-yong (1995) Kang Je-gyu and Hong Sang-soo (1996) Song Neung-han (1997) Im Sang-soo and Hur Jin-ho (1998) Lee Young-jae (1999)
2000s	Ryoo Seung-wan (2000) Kim Dae-seung (2001) Kim In-sik (2002) Jang Joon-hwan (2003) Choi Dong-hoon (2004) Jeong Yoon-cheol (2005) Lee Hae-young and Lee Hae-jun (2006) Kim Han-min (2007) Lee Kyoung-mi (2008) Kang Hyeong-cheol (2009)
2010s	Kim Kwang-sik (2010) Yoon Sung-hyun (2011) Kim Hong-sun (2012) Kim Byung-woo (2013) Lee Su-jin (2014) Kim Tae-yong (2015) Yoon Ga-eun (2016) Lee Hyun-ju (2017) Jeon Go-woon (2018) Lee Sang-geun (2019)
2020s	Hong Eui-jeong (2020) Park Ji-wan (2021) Lee Jung-jae (2022) Ahn Tae-jin (2023)

v t e Chunsa Film Art Awards for Best Director
1990s	Chung Ji-young (1990) Im Kwon-taek (1991) Chung Ji-young (1992) Im Kwon-taek (1993) Uhm Jong-sun (1994) Park Kwang-su (1995) Park Chul-soo (1999)
2000s	Park Chan-wook (2000) Kwak Kyung-taek (2001) Lee Chang-dong (2002) Bong Joon-ho (2003) Yun In-ho (2004) Kim Dae-seung (2005) Kang Woo-suk (2006) Joh Keun-shik (2007) Kim Tae-kyun and Ha Jung-woo (2008) Park Chan-wook (2009)
2010s	Kang Woo-suk (2010) NA (2014) Kim Seong-hun (2015) Choi Dong-hoon (2016) Na Hong-jin (2017) Hwang Dong-hyuk (2018) Bong Joon-ho (2019)
2020s	Won Shin-yun (2020) Jo Sung-hee (2021) Park Chan-wook (2022) Kim Jee-woon (2023)

v t e Grand Bell Awards for Best New Director
1999-2000	Hur Jin-ho Lee Jeong-hyang (1999) Min Byung-chun (2000)
2001–2010	Im Sang-soo (2001) Lee Si-myung (2002) Jang Joon-hwan (2003) Choi Dong-hoon (2004) Jeong Yoon-cheol (2005) Han Jae-rim (2006) Kwon Hyung-jin (2007) Oh Jeom-kyun (2008) Lee Ho-jae (2009) Jang Cheol-soo (2010)
2011–2020	Yoon Sung-hyun (2011) Choi Jong-tae (2012) Jung Byung-gil (2013) Yang Woo-suk (2014) Baik (2015) Cho Jung-rae (2016) Um Tae-hwa (2017) Jeon Go-woon (2018) Kim Bora (2019) N/A (2020)
2021–present	N/A (2021) Park Yi-woong (2022) Ahn Tae-jin (2023)

v t e Baeksang Arts Award for Best Director – Film
1960s	Shin Sang-ok (1965) Kim Soo-yong (1966) Lee Man-hee (1967) Lee Man-hee (1968) Lee Seong-gu (1969)
1970s	Lee Seong-gu (1970) Jeong So-young (1971) Shin Sang-ok (1972) Kim Ki-young (1973) Lee Won-se (1974) Byun Jang-ho (1975) Im Kwon-taek (1976) Im Kwon-taek (1977) Kim Ho-sun (1978) Kim Soo-yong (1979)
1980s	Lee Won-se (1980) Lee Doo-yong (1981) Lee Won-se (1982) Im Kwon-taek (1983) Byun Jang-ho (1984) Bae Chang-ho (1985) Lee Doo-yong (1986) Byun Jang-ho (1987) Park Chul-soo (1988) Kim Ho-sun (1989)
1990s	Lee Doo-yong (1990) Jang Kil-soo (1991) Bae Chang-ho (1992) Park Jong-won (1993) Kang Woo-suk (1994) Chung Ji-young (1995) Park Chul-soo (1996) Im Kwon-taek (1997) Chung Ji-young (1998) Kang Je-gyu (1999)
2000s	Im Kwon-taek (2000) Park Chan-wook (2001) Hur Jin-ho (2002) Lee Chang-dong (2003) Park Chan-wook (2004) Park Heung-sik (2005) Lee Myung-se (2006) Choi Dong-hoon (2007) Lee Chang-dong (2008) Lee Yoon-ki (2009)
2010s	Jang Hoon (2010) Lee Chang-dong (2011) Byun Young-joo (2012) Choo Chang-min (2013) Bong Joon-ho (2014) Kim Seong-hun (2015) Ryoo Seung-wan (2016) Kim Jee-woon (2017) Kim Yong-hwa (2018) Kang Hyeong-cheol (2019)
2020s	Kim Bora (2020) Hong Eui-jeong (2021) Byun Sung-hyun (2022) Park Chan-wook (2023)