Yoon Jong-bin (; born December 20, 1979) is a South Korean film director. He is best known for directing the feature films Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time (2012), Kundo: Age of the Rampant (2014), and The Spy Gone North (2018). Yoon also expanded into television, directing the series Narco-Saints (2022) and Nine Puzzles (2025).
Career Yoon Jong-bin's Chung-Ang University graduation thesis film was The Unforgiven, which portrayed masculine codes in the Korean military with honesty and sensitivity. And despite its rough edges due to technical limitations and a low budget, the film was a smash hit at the 2005 Busan International Film Festival and won several awards, including the NETPAC. It went on to travel to a number of festivals, winning awards and international critical acclaim.
His sophomore effort Beastie Boys (also known as The Moonlight of Seoul) showed another side of men -- male hosts who serve female clients in discreet salons tucked into the affluent fashion districts of southern Seoul.
In his third film Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time, Yoon tackled corruption among prosecutors and customs officers and their collusion with the mob in 1980–1990s Busan. Unlike his first two films, Yoon's gangster saga was popular at the box office and became one of the biggest domestic hits of 2012.
Yoon further explored the themes of injustice and violence in his fourth film Kundo: Age of the Rampant, a tale of 19th-century Joseon bandits who waged war against the nobility and corrupt government officials. When asked where he drew his inspiration from, Yoon answered, "I tapped into movies that I used to love as a child. Rather than making an intellectual film, I wanted to get hearts racing." By not giving the protagonist "hero-like characteristics," Yoon said he wanted to say through the film that "it is not the special or talented people, but very ordinary people who can change the world, especially when gathered en masse."
Yoon has worked with close friend and fellow Chung-Ang University alumnus Ha Jung-woo in all four of his features.
Filmography Film +YearTitleCredited as Director Writer Producer 2004 Identification of a Man 2005 The Unforgiven 2008 Beastie Boys 2012 Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time 2014 Kundo: Age of the Rampant 2015 A Violent Prosecutor 2018 The Spy Gone North 2019 Money 2020 The Closet 2022 Remember 2025 The Match
Acting performances Year Title Role Notes 2005 The Unforgiven Heo Ji-hoon 2008 Nowhere to Turn Cameo 2012 Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time Photographer Cameo 2013 The Berlin File South Korean field analyst Cameo 2016 A Quiet Dream Jong-bin
Television YearTitleCredited as Director Writer Producer 2022 Narco-Saints 2025 Karma Nine Puzzles
Awards and nominations + Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result Asian Academy Creative Awards 2023 Best Direction – Fiction (National Winners – Korea) Narco-Saints Baeksang Arts Awards 2018 Best FilmThe Spy Gone North Best Director – Film Best Screenplay – Film Blue Dragon Film Awards 2018 Best Film Best DirectorBest Screenplay Buil Film Awards2018 Best Film Best DirectorBest Screenplay Director's Cut Awards 2023 Best Director in Television Narco-Saints Best Screenplay Grand Bell Awards 2018 Best FilmThe Spy Gone North Best DirectorBest ScreenplayBest Planning Korean Association of Film Critics Awards2018Top 11 FilmsBest DirectorKorea Culture and Entertainment Awards2018 Best Film Best DirectorKorea Top Star Awards 2018 Director Award KOFRA Film Awards2018 Best Film The Seoul Awards2018Best Film
Notes
References
External links at Cyworld
Yoon Jong-bin at Korean Film Biz Zone