Kang Yun-seong (director)

When Kang was young, he developed a fondness for movies because his mother had a strong passion for them. They would often watch Weekend Movies together. As a high school senior, Kang's interest in filmmaking grew when he saw actor Yoon Seok-hwa on a TV talk show, fueling his dream of becoming a director. Despite majoring in physics at Kyung Hee University, Kang found himself more engrossed in film club activities than his studies. It was during a vacation after his military enlistment that he watched Quentin Tarantino's film Reservoir Dogs which solidified his decision to pursue a career in film directing.^[1]

After completing his military service, Kang made his first short film called Charlie Brown in 1996. Shot on 16mm film and edited using the Premier video editing program, the film was invited and screened at a university short film festival. Drawing from his filmmaking experience, Kang wrote a book titled "Computer Image Work." Using his work during this period as a portfolio, he decided to further his studies at the American Academy of Arts in San Francisco, after graduating from college.^[1]

During his time at the American Academy of Arts, Kang directed a short thriller called "Negative Image," which showcased a story of a man stalking a woman. The film was screened at the Indie Forum and the Busan International Short Film Festival in Korea. Following this, Kang worked on his first feature-length screenplay, "Foucault's Short Film," but unfortunately, the project failed to secure investment.^[1]

Kang then returned to Korea and attempted to develop his novel, "Moebius," but faced another setback when his investment company went bankrupt. These failures led Kang to temporarily step away from filmmaking and start his own production company, focusing on producing music videos and other visual works.^[1]

In 2003, Kang made a comeback to the film industry by joining the directing department in director Kim Seong-su's film Please Teach Me English. However, he faced yet another downturn and had to take on other jobs to support himself. In 2006, he directed the documentary "Shin Jung-hyun's Last Concert," which revolved around retired singer Shin Jung-hyun. The film was invited to the 3rd Jecheon International Film Festival.^[1]

Through a mutual acquaintance, Kang Yun-seong established a close relationship with actor Ma Dong-seok, who had just finished working on Army of Heaven. In 2012, the two collaborated on the feature film The Outlaws, which was based on real events. The Outlaws was released in 2017 and received tremendous success. By December 1, the film had garnered 6.87 million admissions and grossed US$51.8 million, making it the 3rd highest-grossing domestic film of the year in South Korea and the third best-selling R-rated Korean film of all time.^[2][3]

Kang then ventured to OTT dramas with series Big Bet. It is highly anticipated because it marks Choi Min-shik first drama series appearance in 26 years since Love and Separation in 1997.^[4] The series was released on Disney+ as an original series with two seasons comprising eight episodes each. First season was released on December 21, 2022. Second season was released in February 2023.^[5][6] Seventy percent of the filming was conducted in the Philippines.^[7]