Jang Jin (born February 24, 1971) is a South Korean film director, theatre director, playwright, screenwriter, film producer, actor, and TV personality.
Early life and education Jang Jin was born February 24, 1971 in Seoul, South Korea. Although Jang initially focused on becoming a musician in middle school, after seeing his first theater play in his freshman year of high school he changed his focus and acted in more than 40 plays, receiving good reviews and awards. This experience prompted him to major in theater studies at Seoul Institute of the Arts in 1989.
Career After finishing his degree he joined the writing team for the SBS variety show Good Friends in the mid-1990s. Through this show he created Hollywood Message, which he wrote and edited by himself, where he would take famous scenes from some of the most popular Hollywood films showing in theaters, and make parodies, add silly popups, mix scenes from different films together to form a bizarre, unique collage of images. Because of his contribution, ratings for the show surged to unexpected heights.
In January 1995, Jang entered The Chosun Ilbo's annual literary contest with Cheonho-dong Crossroad, his first full-fledged script. Using three characters which would feature in most of his theater plays and early films (Hwa-yi, Dal-soo and Deok-bae), his new and creative brand of storytelling won over the judges, who awarded him the top prize. He wrote his first stage play Heotang ("labor in vain") at the age of 21 while serving his military duty, and his followup Clumsy People, not only granted him praise, but was also a success that resulted in actress Song Chae-hwan winning the Best Actress Award at the Seoul Theater Festival. At the same time, he was helping to adapt Song Jae-hee's original into what became A Hot Roof, a feminist comedy where a group of women from all walks of life protest their position in society from the roof of a building, while their husbands and the rest of the city try to cope with all that in the midst of one of the hottest summers Korea had ever seen.
It would take another few years before Jang could start working full-time in Chungmuro, but during that time, he built a reputation as one of the most brilliant theater directors in the country, with unique scripts and characters who came across as real even in the most surreal of situations. His 1997 play Taxi Driver was a huge success, displaying his wit and talent for snappy dialogue. The original starred Choi Min-sik as Deok-bae, a taxi driver from the countryside who decides to come to the city, buys a private taxi after his mother sold some land, and hopes to finally make a change in his miserable life.
The success of his theater plays raised his profile in the industry. Veteran TV drama director Kim Jong-hak commissioned Jang for a script, but the project was delayed. Jang decided to shop around his script, which led to his debut feature 1998 comedy The Happenings (though only half of what he shot ended up in the final cut).
In 1999 Jang founded the theater troupe Suda, and among his regulars were Jung Gyu-soo, Shin Ha-kyun, Jung Jae-young and Jang Young-nam. After working on the play Magic Time, he then shot his second film The Spy, a comedy starring Yoo Oh-sung as a North Korean spy trying to steal the magic formula of the South's "super pig" to combat the famine.
The rest of Jang's career brought him to the top of Korea's A-list directors, with the same brand of "Jang Jin style" crowd pleasers, such as Guns & Talks, a black comedy about four talkative assassins. In 2000 Jang established his own film production outfit Film It Suda, hiring his "family" of fellow writers, producers and directors. Their first production was the three-part omnibus No Comment in 2002.
With his theater and film successes, Jang was finally able to move on to producing and his real passion, writing. But the huge flop of the 2003 melodrama A Man Who Went to Mars (also known as A Letter from Mars, which Jang wrote) brought the company's future to a serious crossroad: either focus on hot items or risk losing everything. Though the aftermath of the film's failure was felt even in 2004, romantic comedy Someone Special had a decent box office performance despite the film's low budget, as well as glowing reviews for its stars Lee Na-young and Jung Jae-young. Jang then focused on adapting his successful 2000 theater play Leave When They're Applauding into the big screen. The result was 2005's Murder, Take One, about a homicide case being broadcast live for 48 hours, a whodunit with a campy take on the ratings-obsessed media and the viewers' craze for reality TV.
But it would be another of the company's films that became one of the biggest critical and commercial successes of 2005. Adapted by Jang from his same-titled 2002 play, Welcome to Dongmakgol is the story of a remote mountain village where North and South Korean soldiers as well as an American soldier are stranded during the Korean War. The fantasy dramedy was the debut feature of Park Kwang-hyun, one of several of Jang's colleagues from his theater days who joined Film It Suda.
In August 2005 Jang served as theatre director for the first time on a play he didn't write himself. He directed his fellow Seoul Institute of the Arts alumni in a staging of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. The play commemorated the 43rd anniversary for Dongnang Arts Center affiliated to the institute and the 100th birthday of the late Yu Chi-jin, founder of the institute and the nation's first amphitheater.
After his doing his takes on the gangster genre (2006's Righteous Ties) and the melodrama genre (2007's father-centered My Son), Jang wrote the witty script for Ra Hee-chan's Going by the Book, about a mock bank robbery drill that turns embarrassingly real. He also injected an enhanced comic effect into the screenplay of Public Enemy Returns, the third installment in Kang Woo-suk's series on tough detective Kang Cheol-jung (played by Sul Kyung-gu).
His feel-good political satire Good Morning President was the opening film of the 2009 Busan International Film Festival. At the MBC Drama Awards that year, Jang won a Special Award for his 2008 radio show segment Radio Book Club on MBC Standard FM.
His next films, 2010 ensemble comedy The Quiz Show Scandal and 2011 melodrama Romantic Heaven, though well-reviewed, were less successful at the box office.
Besides being the CEO of Film It Suda, he is also co-founder of the film production company KnJ Entertainment Inc. alongside friend Kang Woo-suk.
Jang was a judge on the first and second seasons of Korea's Got Talent. He wrote and directed the first three seasons of sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live Korea and anchored SNL Korea's version of Weekend Update. Jang says he believes satirical comedies can change society for the better.
Filmmaking Considered one of the most distinctive voices to emerge from the 1990s Korean cinema renaissance, Jang's filmmaking style mixes unconventional storylines, quirky characters, dry and subversive humor, comic twists, sharp puns, stagy presentation, a keen observation of society, and humanism. He has formed a fan base that appreciates his style.
Jang has built up an informal "repertory company" of actors who have appeared in many roles in his films. Most notable of these is Jung Jae-young, who has appeared in ten films directed or written by Jang and whom Jang has described as his "muse" . Other frequent collaborators include Shin Ha-kyun, who has been featured in eleven films. Other actors who have appeared in several films by Jang include Ryu Seung-ryong, Jang Young-nam, Im Won-hee, and Cha Seung-won.
Jang usually has a quick cameo in his films.
Personal life Military service Jang was back from his military enlistment in Winter 1993.
Marriage and family In May 2007, he married then-grad student Cha Young-eun. They have two sons, Jang Cha-in and Jang Cha-yoon.
Filmography Short film +Short films work of Jang Year TitleCredited as Notes/EnglishKoreanDirectorWriterProducer2000 A Terrible Day 극단적 하루 2002 No Comment Without My Father아버지 몰래 2004Has the Shower Ended?소나기는 그쳤나요? Short film from 1.3.6 2005Someone Grateful고마운 사람 Short film from If You Were Me 2(다섯 개의 시선) 2008U-Turn유턴 Short film for SsangYong Actyon (OCN) 2016 If Tomorrow is the Future 내일도 미래라면 Short film for Sister's Slam Dunk
Film + Feature films works of Jang Year Title Credited as Notes/EnglishKoreanDirectorWriterProducer 1995 A Hot Roof Cameo 1996 Do You Believe in Jazz 1997 Trio 삼인조 1998 The Happenings 1999 The Spy 2000 Ditto 2001 Guns & Talks Cameo 2002 No Comment 묻지마 패밀리 2003 A Man Who Went to Mars 2004 Someone Special Cameo2005 Murder, Take One Welcome to Dongmakgol 2006 Righteous Ties Cameo2007 My Son 아들 Going by the Book 바르게 살자 2008 Public Enemy Returns 2009 Good Morning, President 2010 The Quiz Show Scandal 퀴즈 왕 Cameo The Recipe 된장 2011 Romantic Heaven 로맨틱 헤븐 2014 Man on High Heels 하이힐 We Are Brothers 우리는 형제입니다 2015 The Sea I Wished for 바라던 바다
Television + Television works of Jang Year TitleCredited as Notes/EnglishKoreanScript EditorWriterDirectorProducer 1994 Good Friends — Hollywood Message 좋은 친구들 — 헐리웃통신 2011–2012 Saturday Night Live Korea tvN Sketch comedy show (season 1–3)
+ Television appearances of JangYear Title Role Notes/EnglishKorean 1998 Soonpoong Clinic 순풍산부인과 Actor SBS Sitcom 2003 Nursery Story 한뼘드라마 Actor MBC One-episode drama 2006 The Golden Fishery Kneeling Guru 황금어장무릎팍도사 63회Featured MBC Variety Show (Episode 63)2011–2012 Korea's Got Talent Judge tvNReality talent show (season 1–2) 2015–2017 Crime Scene 크라임씬 Cast member JTBC Crime investigation show (season 2–3) 2016 Dream player 드림 플레이어 Cast member 2017 Maltul club 말술클럽 Cast member 2021 While You're Having a Hard Time Storyteller SBS Crime Thriller Crime Documentary 2022–2023 Black 블랙 Cast member Channel A Crime Thriller Crime Documentary (Season 1–2)
Stage
Theater + Theater works of Jang Year Title Credited as Restage EnglishKoreanDirectorPlaywright 1995 Heotang 허탕 1999, 2012 Clumsy People 서툰 사람들 2004, 2007, 2008,2009, 2010, 20122022–2023 1997 Taxi Driver 택시드리벌 2000, 2004, 2015 1999Magic Time매직타임 2007 2000 Leave When They're Applauding 박수칠 때 떠나라 Adapted into 2005 filmMurder, Take One 2002 Welcome to Dongmakgol 웰컴 투 동막골 Adapted into 2005 filmWelcome to Dongmakgol 2004 Return to Hamlet 리턴 투 햄릿 2011, 2012 2005 Death of a Salesman 세일즈맨의 죽음 2012 2011 Romeo Landing on Earth 로미오 지구 착륙기 2016 Flower of Secret 꽃의 비밀 2019 Ice 얼음 2021
Musical +Musical play(s) creditsYear Title Credited as Restage EnglishKoreanDirectorPlaywright1999Beautiful autographs - delightful chatter of women who committed suicide!아름다운 사인(死因) - 자살한 여인들의 유쾌한 수다! 2013 December: Unfinished Song 디셈버: 끝나지 않은 노래 2014
Scriptbook +Published scriptbookYearTitleAuthorPublisherPublished DateISBNEnglishKorean2008 Jangjin's collection of plays Jang JinYeoeumsa 2008.01.15 Jangjin Scenario Book 2008.07.10 2012Welcome to DongmakgolJang JinCommunication Books 2012.12.21 Knowledgable Woman2012.12.31
Recurring cast members Jang frequently re-casts actors whom he has worked with on previous films. +Recurring cast members in Jang Jin's works TheaterTaxi Driver Welcome to Dongmakgol Clumsy People Leave When They're Applauding Short filmNo Comment Film The Happening The Spy Guns & Talks A Man Who Went to Mars Someone Special Murder, Take One Welcome to Dongmakgol Righteous Ties My Son Going by the Book Public Enemy Returns Good Morning, President The Quiz Show Scandal The Recipe Romantic Heaven Man on High Heels
Other activities
2012 17th Incheon Asian Games Opening Ceremony General Director 2013 Incheon Indoor Martial Arts Asian Games General Director 2012 Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee Advisor 2010 Public Relations Ambassador for the 29th International Contemporary Dance Festival CEO of Digital Suda (Film Has Suda)
Accolades Awards and nominations