‘Roaring Currents’ Director Kim Han-min, Whose Film Holds South Korea’s All-Time Box Office Record, to Marry Pansori Singer Lee So-young

Director Kim Han-min, whose upcoming film is the blockbuster action period drama ‘The Sword: Sword of Godumakhan,’ will marry master pansori singer Lee So-young on November 15.

Kim drew 17.61 million moviegoers with his 2014 film ‘Roaring Currents,’ which has held South Korea’s all-time box office record for 12 years. His awards include the Grand Prize at the 51st Baeksang Arts Awards, Best Director at the 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards and Best Picture at the 51st Grand Bell Awards. Since his debut with ‘Paradise Murdered,’ Kim has directed ‘War of the Arrows’ and the Yi Sun-sin trilogy, including ‘Roaring Currents,’ showcasing action on an epic scale. He is one of South Korea’s leading film directors and producers, with his films drawing a cumulative audience of nearly 40 million.

Lee So-young, the master pansori singer marrying Kim, won the Presidential Award at the 51st Chunhyang Gugak Grand Competition in 2024 and took home the same award again at the 2026 Namdo Folk Song Contest. She is one of South Korea’s leading traditional musicians, having won the Presidential Award in both pansori and Namdo folk songs. Lee also helps carry on Jindo Ssitgimgut, a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, preserving the spirit and artistic traditions of South Jeolla’s traditional music beyond pansori and Namdo folk songs. In recent years, she has expanded her work internationally, taking part in a sound theater production invited by Moldova’s National Theater in 2026 and presenting a new performance form that combines pansori and theater.

Meanwhile, Kim’s new film, ‘The Sword: Sword of Godumakhan,’ is an action period drama about a man who loses his memory and is enslaved just after Goguryeo’s fall, then enters a gladiatorial tournament where the legendary sword is at stake. The film is drawing interest for Kim’s tightly choreographed action and its international cast, including Park Bo-gum, Joo Won, Jung Jae-young, Lee Sun-bin and Tran Thanh. Set in Liaodong Fortress, on the former territory of Goguryeo, the film will use cinematic imagination and an epic scale to depict how the legendary northern sword becomes a symbol of new hope. ‘The Sword: Sword of Godumakhan’ is in post-production, targeting a summer 2027 release, and is set to reach audiences in South Korea and around the world.