How Did Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-wook Become Directors? 31 Masters Recall “My First Action” and Their Brilliant Debuts

Even the masters who now define Korean cinema had humble, uncertain beginnings. “The Outlaws” (2017) director Kang Yoon-sung’s arduous journey to the director’s chair at the late age of 47 is among the stories collected in the new book “My First Action”, along with the debut tales of 31 top directors, including Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-wook. The book is drawing widespread attention.

The masters unvarnished: Years of hardship endured through struggle and biting criticism

The early years of these globally acclaimed directors were marked by constant tension and mistakes. Bong Joon-ho, director of “Parasite”, recalls being reprimanded as the junior-most member of a set’s directing team when he got so nervous while clapping the slate for the first time that he caught his pinky finger and produced a bizarre sound. Park Chan-wook, who has said there was nothing he knew how to do besides make films, survived in an even more unusual way. He endured his brutal years of obscurity through what might be called the “power of delusion,” unleashing scathing criticism at those who had already succeeded: “That’s all they can make?” and “Even if they gave me just one-tenth of that money ...”

A late debut at 47: The miracle of “The Outlaws,” shaped by 30 rewrites

Kang Yoon-sung’s path is a study in persistence. Twenty-one years after first dreaming of becoming a film director, he went to the United States to study after directing a short film as a 26-year-old college student. But the reality he encountered after returning to Korea at 30 was harsh. He kept his household afloat by working at shoe and clothing stores while suffering the bitter disappointment of having one production after another fall through well into his 40s. Yet he never put down his pen. After spending more than three years rewriting the screenplay 30 times, he finally brought “The Outlaws” to life at 47, making a spectacular debut.

A director’s path without a set course: Records of fierce survival

The routes these directors took to the director’s chair varied widely. Yoon Je-kyoon, director of “Ode to My Father” (2014), wrote his screenplay while on leave during the Asian financial crisis. Kim Han-min, director of “The Admiral: Roaring Currents” (2014), changed direction and entered graduate school after leaving a major corporation. First-day clumsiness was no exception: Yoon once repeatedly shouted “Ready” and “Action” without giving anyone time to breathe, prompting the cinematographer to stop him in an awkward scene.

The road to a debut was grueling. Woo Min-ho, director of “Inside Men” (2015), scraped by until around the age of 40 by receiving 10,000 won a day from his mother. Kim Seong-hoon, director of “Kingdom” (2018), had to rely on his wife’s income for seven years after his first film failed at the box office. It is a vivid illustration of why Lee Cheol-ha, director of “Okay! Madam” (2020), was hardly exaggerating when he joked, “It’s harder than making an idol debut.”

Single-minded devotion to film: 31 directors tell the stories behind their careers

The stories of Im Soon-rye, director of “Forever the Moment” (2008), who watched 1,000 films at a cinematheque while carrying a sack of rice on the subway during her studies in France, and Byun Young-joo, director of “Helpless” (2012), who boldly gave up tennis and new clothes to pursue her goal, testify to their single-minded love of film.

A revised and expanded edition of “My First Action”, originally published in 2014 as “The Moment of Debut,” captures the voices of directors affiliated with the Directors Guild of Korea (DGK). Editor-in-chief Joo Sung-chul and reporters from Cineplay completed the new book through extensive firsthand reporting. For aspiring film directors, it will serve as a guide to the harsh realities of the profession; for movie fans, it offers a powerful collection of vivid stories from behind the screen. Hankyoreh Publishing. Volume 1: 296 pages; Volume 2: 280 pages.