Han Jae-rim

Han Jae-rim was born on July 14, 1975 in Jeju Province. He attended Jeju National University of Education High School and later studied English Literature at Jeju National University before switching to film directing at Seoul Institute of the Arts.^[3] He graduated from Seoul Institute of the Arts in 1998.^[4]

Han started his filmmaking career in 2003 as an assistant director and script editor for Min Byung-chun's film Natural City.^[4] In the same year, he was the runner-up for Best Screenplay at the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) Screenplay Contest with To Do or Not to Do, co-written with Go Yoon-hee. The script was later adapted into his directorial debut, Rules of Dating, in 2005.^[5] Featuring sexually frank dialogue between teacher colleagues played by Park Hae-il and Kang Hye-jung, the film explored controversial gender politics, sexual harassment and moral relativism in a cynical and unsettling take on the romantic comedy.^[6] Rules of Dating drew critical praise and became a sleeper hit with 1.6 million admissions.^[7] Han won Best Screenplay at the Blue Dragon Film Awards, along with Best New Director at the Busan Film Critics Awards and the Grand Bell Awards.^[8][9]

Han, Kim Jee-woon and Yim Pil-sung then signed on to each shoot a short film for the omnibus Doomsday Book in 2006. Han's segment "The Christmas Gift" was supposed to have been a science-fiction musical retelling of O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi, but it was never shot after financing fell through. The film was later released in 2012, but without Han's involvement (Kim and Yim co-directed the third short with a completely new script).^[10]

In 2007, he wrote and directed his second film, The Show Must Go On. Starring Korea's top actor Song Kang-ho as a mid-level gangster dealing with family and work troubles, Han injected off-kilter comedy and pathos into the Korean film noir genre.^{[11][unreliable source?]} The Show Must Go On won Best Film at the 28th Blue Dragon Film Awards and the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards.^[12][13]

Han entered pre-production for his purported third film, Trace in 2009. Based on the webtoon of the same title, it follows a young man who wakes up from a coma with superpowers after an assault that took his father's life.^[14][15] But despite winning the Kodak Award (with a cash prize of US$17,000) at the Busan International Film Festival's Pusan Promotion Plan, Han was unable to secure financing for the US$7.7 million blockbuster, and the project was shelved.^[16]

In 2010, Han established a film production company Wooju Film Co., Ltd.^[17] Six years after his last completed film, Han returned to the big screen in 2013 with the period drama The Face Reader.^[18] The film delved into the philosophical question whether character determines fate or vice versa, through a story about a Joseon fortuneteller skilled in physiognomy who becomes swept up in court intrigues and power struggles.^[19] Again starring Song Kang-ho as the titular character opposite Lee Jung-jae as the ambitious Grand Prince Suyang, The Face Reader scored 9.1 million admissions at the local box office, making it the 13th highest grossing Korean film of all time.^[20] In 2013, It won six trophies at the 50th Grand Bell Awards, including Best Film and Best Director for Han.^[21][22]

Han also produced Roh Deok's films Very Ordinary Couple (2013) and The Exclusive: Beat the Devil's Tattoo (2015).^[23]

According to an interview in Cine21 (2024), Han wrote the scenario of the movie The King (2017) in just one month. He was preparing for a martial arts film that wasn't going well, so he wrote this story and it came out quickly. The previous investor wanted him to do a martial arts film, but Han decided to write a unique story that he thought would be easier to produce with a distinctive cast. He considered actor Zo In-sung for the lead role, despite initial doubts about his willingness to take on a risky role. However, after meeting Zo, who expressed a genuine desire to have fun with the project without any strategic calculations, Han was impressed by his flexibility and commitment on set. Collaborating with Zo helped Han overcome his prejudice towards good-looking actors.^[24]

In 2019, Han changed his company name to Magnum Nine Co., Ltd.,^[17] inspired by the photojournalism group Magnum, founded by Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Capa. Han admired their spirit of documenting the world.^[25] Magnum's first project was co-produced with Showbox, the disaster film Emergency Declaration. Han reunited with Song Kang-ho for the third time and Kim So-jin for the second time, while also working for the first time with Lee Byung-hun, Jeon Do-yeon, Kim Nam-gil, Yim Si-wan, and Park Hae-joon.^[26][27] Filming resumed on September 12, 2020, after being postponed due to a resurgence of COVID-19 in August 2020, and wrapped on October 24, 2020.^[28][29] The film premiered out of competition at the 74th Cannes Film Festival on July 16, 2021 before its theatrical release in South Korea on August 3, 2022. It was screened in various formats, including on 4DX, ScreenX, and IMAX.^[30][31]

Han made his streaming series directorial and scriptwriting debut with Netflix's The 8 Show, a black comedy thriller adapted from Bae Jin-soo [ko]'s Naver webtoons Money Game [ko] and Pie Game.^[32] The series, which had a budget of over ₩24 billion^[33] and was co-produced by Studio N, Magnum Nine, and Lotte Cultureworks,^[32] plunges eight participants into an isolated environment where they must navigate cooperation and antagonism, with the game ending upon a death. For this project, Han reunited with frequent collaborators such as Lee Yul-eum, Ryu Jun-yeol, Bae Seong-woo, and Park Hae-joon,^[34][35] while also working for the first time with Chun Woo-hee, Park Jeong-min, Moon Jeong-hee, and Lee Joo-young.^[36][37] The 8 Show was released on Netflix on May 17, 2024,^[38][39] and received generally positive reviews.^[40]

In June 2021, Showbox announced plans to produce a drama based on Hongjacga's popular Naver webtoon, Delusion.^[41] By September of that year, Han already started working on the series. It is a mystery horror period drama set in 1935 Gyeongseong and 1800s Shanghai, revolving around a mysterious vampire.^[42] The estimated production cost is said to be ₩45 billion.^[43] On May 23, 2025, Disney+ confirmed it would release Portraits of Delusion as an original series in 2026, starring Bae Suzy and Kim Seon-ho.^[44][45]

On August 21, 2023, dating rumors involving actress Lee Yul-eum emerged. A year later, they denied these rumors during a press conference for the drama The 8 Show.^[46]

• List of Korean film directors
• Cinema of Korea