Kang Woo-suk

Kang Woo-suk has consistently performed the background role of a man of power in Korean film for the last ten years. He has made only 16 films since his debut as a director in 1988, but for the more than ten years since 1997 he has been in charge of investment, planning or production for no fewer than 120 films. In spite of this, Kang’s name remains an unfamiliar one to the overseas film world. But his films have succeeded in capturing the rapidly changing Korean social and political situation of the last 20 years in a distinctive style; to be specific, a style of popular speech through satire and humor. Looking at Kang’s films in sequence, one can grasp the twists and turns of the history of Korean capitalism. This book is a record of Kang’s cinematic career over the past 20 years, and at the same time a document that demonstrates how Korean cinema possesses a fountain of diverse films and how considerable the potential commercial film is.

• Oh Dong-jin, Author