Shin Sang-Ok Passes Away

Finding what to say in cases like this is always harder than it seems.

As I woke up this morning finding about the death of legendary Korean director Shin Sang-Ok, a rush of images from his films flashed through my mind. Certainly one of the most influential directors of the 60s, when Korea enjoyed an incredible wave of popularity, a so called Golden Age. Born in the 20s in what's now part of North Korea, Shin studied in Japan, after which he came back in 1945, enlisting in the 고려영화사 (Goryeo Film Company), where he started working for master Choi In-Gyu as assistant director. After establishing his own production company (Shin Sang-Ok Productions) in 1950, Shin started a very prolific, controversial and acclaimed career. Shin was one of those rare cases of directors mixing popular and critical acclaim, as his first huge success 성춘향 (Sung Chunhyang) in 1961 and many others proved.

Of course he's probably more famous to western eyes for what happened to him in 1978, when Great Leader Kim Jong-Il kidnapped him and his superstar wife Choi Eun-Hee to North Korea, to revitalize the film industry there, producing 'gems' like 불가사리 (Pulgasari). He even had a career in Hollywood, producing a few films as 'Simon Sheen', enjoying his cult status away from home. Shin was supposed to come back to Chungmuro with his 2002 film 겨울 이야기 (Winter Story), but it never materialized in theaters.

It's a shame none of his films have been presented in the West, as there's plenty to choose, from the wonderful 빨간마후라 (The Red Muffler) to the original 천년호 (Thousand Year Old Fox) -- which is a classic, in contrast with the recent 'remake' with Jung Joon-Ho and Kim Hyo-Jin -- and many others. Shin underwent a liver surgery and was receiving treatment, but his condition worsened in the last two weeks. He is survived by his wife Choi Eun-Hee, two sons and two daughters. May this legendary figure, who helped the post-war rebirth of Korean Cinema, rest in peace.

[Source: Maxmovie]