Filmmaker R&K () is a film production company based in Seoul, South Korea. Established in 2005, by Kang Hye-jung and Ryoo Seung-wan. Its notable works mostly directed by Ryoo Seung-wan such as Veteran (2015), The Battleship Island (2017), Escape from Mogadishu (2021) and Smugglers (2023). They also have other projects from other directors such as Exit (2019), Hostage: Missing Celebrity (2021).
History
Establishment Director Ryoo Seung-wan and Kang Hye-jeong coined the name Filmmaker R&K () since they made their first short film together in 1996. The company was named after both of their surnames. Its Chinese characters have a meaning of being soft on the outside and strong on the inside, but it also represents Ryoo Seung-wan on the outside and Kang Hye-jung on the inside.
Filmmaker R&K formally established on May 4, 2005. Director Ryoo Seung-wan and Kang Hye-jeong used the bonus that Ryoo received for film Arahan as capital for the company's establishment. Kang has been the CEO since the company's establishment. Director Ryoo Seung-wan focused on directing films, Kang took charge of the overall production aspects.
Film production Filmmaker R&K first film production after its establishment was The City of Violence (2006), a South Korean action thriller film co-written and directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, who stars in the film opposite action director and longtime collaborator Jung Doo-hong. Their second film, Dachimawa Lee, was released in South Korea on August 13, 2008. The movie was based on an internet version of "Tachima and Lee" that had gained 1.2 million views in 2000. Despite the popularity of the internet version, the theatrical release in 2008 failed to attract audiences and performed poorly at the box office. By September 2008, the film had only garnered a total of 629,591 admissions and grossed US$3,715,997."South Korea Box Office September 12–14, 2008" . Box_Office_Mojo. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
The company return to success with The Unjust. It was critical acclaim for its gripping narrative, action scenes, social commentary, and stellar performances by Hwang Jung-min and Ryoo Seung-beom. It was a box office hit, selling over 2.7 millions tickets and ranking in the top ten for year.
Furthermore, it was followed by The Berlin File, This espionage thriller follows a North Korean spy betrayed during a weapons deal. To prepare for the film, Ryoo Seung-wan met with North Korean defectors and filmed the documentary Spies for Korean broadcaster MBC. The film, shot in Europe, focuses on South Korean agents uncovering North Korea's secrets and explores the emotional toll of espionage. Despite becoming the highest-grossing Korean action film, attracting 13.41 million viewers, it barely broke even due to its high budget of 5.9 billion won. This experience led them to recognize the need to target younger audiences and make more cost-effective films in the future.
In 2015, they released the action film Veteran. The film tells the story of a ruthless third-generation business tycoon pursued by a detective investigating a truck driver's mysterious injuries. Despite its modest budget of ₩6 billion, Veteran became a huge success in the South Korean box office, with 13.3 million admissions and earning US$89.7 million. It stands as the biggest hit of Kang's career and ranks as the 5th all-time highest-grossing film in Korean cinema history. The film brought Kang significant success and established her reputation as one of the leading female film producers in her 40s.
Their next project was The Battleship Island, set on Hashima Island, an outlying island abandoned by Japan off the coast of Nagasaki, where countless Koreans were drafted into forced labor during World War II. The film follows a group of American OSS agents and Korean independence fighters on a mission to evacuate a key Korean figure from the island. The film's total production cost was 25 billion won.
Initially, Filmmaker R&K primarily focused on producing director Ryoo Seung-wan's films. However, over time, the company has expanded its efforts to discover new directors. In 2017, Filmmaker R&K established a joint production system with Film K starting with The Battleship Island. Followed by On Your Wedding Day and Svaha: The Sixth Finger. Due to commercial success of Svaha: The Sixth Finger and Exit, CEO Kang won the 'Female Filmmaker of the Year' award at The 2019 Women's Film Festival, hosted by the Women Filmmakers Association.
Also in 2019, filmmaker R&K released the action comedy film Exit, written and directed by Lee Sang-geun as his first feature film debut, and starring Jo Jong-suk and Im Yoon-ah. Exit also marks Im Yoon-ah's first leading role in a film and is also the second film in her acting career after appearing as a supporting role in Confidential Assignment in 2017. The story follows a man trying to reconnect with an old crush, but they end up fleeing from a mysterious gas threatening Seoul district. Exit first premiered in South Korea on July 31, 2019. It was South Korea's third most-watched domestic film of the year, as it sold more than 9.4 a million admissions domestically. It was also a worldwide box office success, earning over US$69.5 a million.
In 2021, director Ryoo Seung-wan's Escape from Mogadishu and Hwang Jung-min's Hostage, which were released in July and August, were released one after another at three-week intervals as works produced by Filmmaker R&K. Kang produced Escape from Mogadishu, a film based on real events of the Somali Civil War in the 1990s. It depicted details of perilous escape attempt made by North and South Korean embassy personnel stranded during the conflict. The film made with production cost of 24 a billion was entirely shot in Morocco. It was selected as the South Korean entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.
Filmography Short film + Short film credits Year Title Director English Korean 1996 Sutda 섰다 - 디지털 단편 옴니버스 프로젝트 이공(異共) Kim Eui-suk 1996 Transmutated Head 변질헤드 Ryoo Seung-wan 1999 Rumble 패싸움 1999 Our Contemporaries 현대인 2000 Dachimawa Lee 다찌마와 LEE 2006 Hey Man 남자니까 아시잖아요? 2009 Come Visit Korea 한국 놀러오세요 Timeless 타임리스 2011 Time 타임 2014 인생은 새옹지마 Kim Tae-yong
Feature film + Filmmaking credits Year Title Director English Korean 2000 Die Bad 죽거나 혹은 나쁘거나 Ryoo Seung-wan 2002 No Blood No Tears 피도 눈물도 없이 2004 Arahan 아라한 장풍대작전 2005 Crying Fist 주먹이 운다 2006 The City of Violence 짝패 2008 Dachimawa Lee 다찌마와 리: 악인이여 지옥행 급행열차를 타라! 2010 Troubleshooter 해결사 Kwon Hyuk-jae The Unjust 부당거래 Ryoo Seung-wan 2013 The Berlin File 베를린 2014 신촌좀비만화 2015 Veteran 베테랑 Ryoo Seung-wan 2016 Misbehavior 여교사 Kim Tae-yong 2017 The Battleship Island 군함도 Ryoo Seung-wan 2017 On Your Wedding Day 너의 결혼식 Lee Seok-geun 2019 Svaha: The Sixth Finger 사바하 Jang Jae-hyun Exit 엑시트 Lee Sang Geun Start-Up 시동 Choi Jeong-yeol 2021 Escape from Mogadishu 모가디슈 Ryoo Seung-wan Hostage: Missing Celebrity 인질 Pil Kam-sung 2023 Smugglers 밀수 Ryoo Seung-wan 2024 Dr. Cheon and Lost Talisman 천박사 퇴마 연구소: 설경의 비밀 Kim Seong-sik 2024 I, the Executioner 베테랑 2 Ryoo Seung-wan 2026 Humint 휴민트
Accolades + Awards and nominations Award Year Category Recipient(s) Result 10th Asian Film Awards 2016 Best Film Veteran 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards 2016 Best Film Veteran 56th Baeksang Arts Awards 2020 Best Film Exit 58th Baeksang Arts Awards 2022 Grand Prize – Film Escape from Mogadishu Best Film 36th Blue Dragon Film Awards 2015 Best Film Veteran 40th Blue Dragon Film Awards 2019 Best Film Exit 42nd Blue Dragon Film Awards 2021 Best Film Escape from Mogadishu Audience Choice Award for Most Popular Film Best Film Hostage: Missing Celebrity 44th Blue Dragon Film Awards 2023 Best Film Smugglers 25th Buil Film Awards 2016 Best Film Veteran 30th Buil Film Awards 2021 Best Film Escape from Mogadishu 32nd Buil Film Awards 2023 Best Film Smugglers Fantasporto 2021 Best Orient Express Film Escape from Mogadishu 22nd Far East Film Festival 2020 White Mulberry Award as Best First Film Exit 52nd Grand Bell Awards 2015 Best Film Veteran 59th Grand Bell Awards 2023 Best Film Smugglers 35th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards 2015 Critics' Top 10 Films of the Year Veteran Best Film Veteran 37th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards 2017 Critics' Top 10 Films of the Year The Battleship Island 39th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards 2019 Critics' Top 10 Films of the Year Exit 8th Korean Film Writers Association Awards 2021 Best Film Escape from Mogadishu 11th Max Movie Awards 2016 Best Film Veteran 1st The Seoul Awards 2017 Best Film The Battleship Island 48th Sitges Film Festival 2015 Casa Asia Award(Asia Focus - Best Film) Veteran 50th Sitges Film Festival 2017 Best Feature-length Film The Battleship Island
See also Ryoo Seung-wan
References
External links