Yu Hyun-mok

Directing·Jul 2, 1925·Sariwon, Hwanghae Province, North Korea

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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.

Film	Credit
Mom, the Star, and the Sea Anemone1995 · Director	Director
Son of a Man1980 · Director	Director
Rainy Days1979 · Director	Director
Once Upon a Time1978 · Director	Director
The Door1978 · Director	Director
Flame1975 · Director	Director
Bun-rye's Story1971 · Director	Director
I Want to Be Human1969 · Director	Director
School Excursion1969 · Director	Director
Woman1968 · Director	Director
I'll Give You Everything1968 · Director	Director
Descendants of Cain1968 · Director	Director
GGrudge1968 · Director	Director
Guests Who Arrived by the Last Train1967 · Director	Director
A Regret1967 · Director	Director
The Three Hen-pecked Generations1967 · Director	Director
Hand1966 · Director	Director
An Empty Dream1965 · Director	Director
The Martyrs1965 · Director	Director
Wife's Confession1964 · Director	Director
The Extra Mortals1964 · Director	Director
The Daughters of Kim's Pharmacy1963 · Director	Director
Only for You1962 · Director	Director
Lim Kkeok-jeong1961 · Director	Director
Aimless Bullet1961 · Director	Director
Even the Clouds Are Drifting1959 · Director	Director
The Seizure of Life1958 · Director	Director
Forever with You1958 · Director	Director
The Lost Youth1957 · Director	Director