Kwon-taek Im

Im Kwon-taek's ninety-fifth film tells the story of renowned nineteenth-century painter Jang Seung-up (Choi Min-Sik), an artist whose revolutionary work - and persona - has forever changed the face of Korean art. (Kino International)

Mongryong marries the beautiful Chunhyang without telling his father, the Governor of Namwon. When his father is transferred to Seoul, Mongryong has to leave Chunhyang and finish his exams. Chunhyang, being the daughter of a courtesan, is also legally a courtesan. She is beaten and imprisoned when she refuses to obey the new Governor Byun, as she wishes to be faithful to her husband. After three years, Mongryong passes his exam and becomes an emissary to the King... (imdb)

A father, son and daughter who make a living as traveling pansori (Korean folk-singing) entertainers suffer loss, heartache and estrangement before their art offers a bittersweet reunion.

Shin, a young heir, is given a surrogate wife to bear his child. However, Ok-nyo becomes more than this for him, and the couple soon become passionate lovers. The woman may have the social status of a servant, but the relationship changes both of them -- at least for a time. (imdb)

A drama centered on brother-and-sister musicians trained to perform the epic Korean poems known as pansori. (imdb)

A travelling monk, Pobun, meets a young man dressed as a monk, who had a mysterious air about him. Their paths cross a few days later, and Sissan, the young man, confides in Pobun that he had been banished from the monkhood because he was suspected of raping a girl who had subsequently committed suicide. Pobun decides to seek the truth. (MUBI)

Low-ranking civil servant Pil Yong has things hard looking after his disabled wife. He takes charge of a hanji project in hopes it will bring him a promotion. His wife comes from a family of hanji masters. One of his tasks include working with quarrelsome filmmaker Ji Won, who is shooting a documentary about hanji. Though he knows little about the subject to begin with, the more he learns about hanji, the more it takes on a new significance for him and the world around him. (imdb)

Sun Nyog struggles after joining a Buddhist temple as a nun for lack of discipline. She saves an alcoholic from suicide but he later rapes her and she is forced out of the temple. Still, she grows fond of him. Another nun, Jin Song, is a grim ascetic who does well at the temple. She goes to the mountains to do a long retreat in a cave, but a brutal old monk who is there rapes her. Meanwhile, Sun Nyog returns to the nunnery to attend to the dying abbess and shows her spiritual superiority. (imdb)

Lee Joonsup is a famous writer in his 40s. One day, he is informed that his mother who has been ill for more than 5 yea rs has died. Before he goes to his mother's house in the countryside to assist with the funeral, he is busy cancelling a ll his appointments and telling everyone about his mother's death. A journalist, Jang Haerim, comes to the funeral to write an article about Joonsup's literary world. (kmdb)

This film depicts the story of a village people who suffered form the turmoil of fighting between the left wing and the right wing about the time of the Korean Conflict (1948-1953) The village people may represent all the Korean people who suffered during the Korean Conflict However, the main theme of this film is not the fight of ideologies, but humanism itself, which Director Im considers one of the most important things in human beings. (kmdb)

Kim Doo-han lost his mom at the age of eight and he survives on the streets as a singing beggar. His natural born fighting skills places him on the mean streets of Jongro. He is soon recognized for his incredible strength and ability. He finds out that he is the son of General Kim Jwa-jin who fought against the Japanese army. When the head of Woomigwan, Kim Gi-hwan is arrested, Doo-han becomes the leader of the Jongro gang. (Han Cinema)

In 1983 KBS launched a campaign to reunite families torn apart in the Korean War three decades earlier. In an expert dissection of the social and familial rifts in modern Korea, director Im Kwon-taek integrates footage from the campaign into the story of Hwa-yeong, who leaves her middle-class life in Busan to search for the son she lost in Gilsotteum during the war.

The sometimes brutal life of the Korean tabang girls. (Wikipedia)

The movie presents through flashbacks the three decades spent in flight and pursuit by Chakko, a guerilla soldier who escapes from custody during transportation, and Song Ki-yol, who lets him slip through his fingers and is ruined as a result. (recruit.koreafilm.or.kr)

A young woman is tricked into prostitution, thinking she's going to sell beverages at a village store. She soon learns about the dark world of Korea's red-light districts, where a prostitute is exploited by johns, their pimps and society. She befriends one of her johns, a country bumpkin, who keeps in touch with her over the years. The film is a look at Korea's prostitution from the 1970s to the 1990s told through her story. (imdb)

Su-ok (Jeong Yun-hee) is sent down from Seoul to teach at an elementary school in a remote mountain village. She sees a shabbily-dressed man named Kae-chul (Ahn Sung-ki) at a bus stop near the entrance to the village, and gets a sinister feeling about him. (koreafilm.org)

A historical drama about the life of Yeonsangun of Joseon. (imdb)

Based on a true story. When the heir to the throne is starved to death in a locked rice chest, his wife flees with her son to raise him in safety. (imdb)

A chivalrous thief robs from smugglers and gives to the needy. (imdb)

A concubine plots drive the queen into exile and she usurps her place on the throne while nobles, loyal to the old queen, try to convince the king of the new queen's cruel actions and ambitions. (imdb)

Trainer Meng Doo-ho spots Young-chul in a bar fight and decides to turn him into a boxing champion. (themoviedb)

Baishan's transfer of military supplies for the Independence Army was captured by Zhou Hao, a Chinese luxury family. Baishan disciples such as Bai Guang, Riping, Yanxi, and Dashan made emergency mobilizations and arrived from all directions to plan for the rescue master. Under the guidance of Rose, the crowd launched a surprise attack on Zhou Baihao's family and unfortunately defeated and withdrawn. Rose was hijacked by Zhou Baihao.... (baike.baidu.com)

After 14 years of self-imposed exile, a man returns to his hometown and discovers it has been dramatically industrialized. He searches for his ex-girlfriend but learns that she is already married to someone else. (imdb)

In the 20th year of Shinji, the Japanese mobilized 200,000 soldiers to occupy Pyongyang. Pyongyang names, Ji Yuexiang, and Chuang Lan both faced danger. Choi Lan was unfortunately raped by the Japanese and was later murdered. Ji Yuexiang had no choice but to commit himself to occupying the commander at that time. However, Ji Yuexiang's ear responded to the words of lover Jin Qingrui from time to time, and he was determined to kill the occupying division... (movie.mtime)

Part two of the General's Son trilogy, about a man's rise from gangster to politician during the Japanese occupation of Korea. (imdb)

The final chapter of the General's Son trilogy tells the story of Kim Du-han, (Sang-min Park) a gangster turned politician during the Japanese occupation of Korea. (imdb)

Two Korean college graduates arouse the suspicions of Japanese authorities after modernizing a rural community with a school and a youth hall. (imdb)

A bitter, conflicted former-shaman is begged by villagers to resume her religious practices in order to save their village from famine. (imdb)

AKA The Family Pedigree; In Japanese occupied Korea, a morally conflicted Japanese officer is sent to the house of a Korean man who refuses to change his family name to a Japanese name. (imdb)

College students leave their homes in Korea to join in the struggle against the Japanese in Manchuria, China (imdb)

A platoon of South Korean soldiers find themselves cut off from their squad without communication. They are aided by an old man in a nearby village who did not evacuate his home. (imdb)

Two men who wish to become actors encounter sexual discrimination, so they disguise themselves as women and join a musical troupe. (imdb)

One of the few surviving members of the royal family joins the army to fight Chinese invaders while his wife and child try to evade the Mandarin in Seoul. (imdb)

Korean historic drama by director Kwon-taek Im

Korean historical drama from prolific director Kwon-taek Im.

AKA The Waking Woman; Spies murder a wealthy industrialist and his daughter in order to claim their estate, only to be haunted into confessing their crime by the daughter's vengeful ghost.

AKA King and the Servant Boy

A war drama from director Kwon-taek Im

A Korean historical drama by director Kwon-taek Im

An action film directed by Kwon-taek Im

Gaya's wife, Gabriel Gadow's wife, was taken away by Baekje's opponent. After Kao Dao, he fled to Silla, where he became a general and sent his troops to Baekje to eradicate his wife. However, after seeing his wife who was thinking about his dreams, Gao Wudao could not help but be frustrated - his wife had already given birth to a woman of hatred. In order to fulfill the happiness of his wife, Gao Wudao will no longer pursue it... (movie.mtime)

The nickname "Qingyun", which was born in Dongbai Village, is one of the worst young people in the town. However, under the good advice of the pastor of the town church, he became a solid Christian. The hometown of Dongbai Village was frequently harassed by the Communists. "Qingyun" cooperated with the police of the Communist Party of China to sweep the Communists out of the village and rebuilt Dongbai Village. (movie.mtime.com)

AKA Best Friends and Their Wives

AKA Full Moon Night; Film directed by Kwon-taek Im

Korean action film from director Kwon-taek Im

A member of the Independence Army visits his family in Korea. But the family has been massacred by the Japanese Army. He discovers a photo of a Japanese officer on the scene of the massacre. So he begins a search for the man who killed his family. (mubi)

An omnibus of three stories all taking place in the Myeongdong district of Seoul. (imdb)

AKA Moonlight Sword; In the middle of North Korea, the incompetent kings of the imperial court divided into two factions and squeezed each other in order to manipulate the country according to their own will. This is a martial arts film that reflects the circumstances in which the two factions continue to send swordsmen to kill. (movie.mtime.com)

Suk-jin, a naive Young woman lives on her own in Seoul. When her brother dies following a car accident, she finds out he had been having an affair with the wife of a businessman. (themoviedb)

AKA A Bout in 30 Years; Best friends Dae-gyu and Dal-su fight over Ok-hi. When Ok-hui marries and goes to Seoul the fight ends. After many years, Ok-hi is widowed and brings her daughter Ji-hyang to her home village, and the fight between Dae-gyu and Dal-su begins again. Ok-hui borrows some money from Dal-su when she is short of money while building a reservoir for the village. (themoviedb)

Action film from Kwon-taek Im

After the death of his boss, Donglie wiped out his gang's enemies and began cleaning up the factions. In the process of dealing with each other, Dong Ren and Wang Dalong sent Wu Rentai to sympathy and could not help but be convinced by the heroism of each other. The two parties merged into one and they were unanimously foreign. Later, Wu Rentai died unfortunately. Donglie felt very sad. Dong Lie... (movie.mtime.com)

Lieutenant Jang has plans for the weekend with his girl, but masses fighter planes from North Korea suddenly fill the skies of Seoul. It's June 25, 1950; the start of the Korean War. Despite the South's defense, the North Korean army bests them with high tech weaponry. We go from the invasion, all the way through the brutal battles to reclaim territory. The tragedy of war all told through personal experience. (imdb)

A newlywed wife moves to her husband's village in a rural area called Sambatgol where it is customary to have glossy charades, incompetence is prolific, and thus poverty is endemic. She starts to endeavor to break down all these vices. (imdb)

Hye-seon grew up in an orphanage with Myeong-gu. They marry when they get older but strain on there relationship tears them apart. Pregnant and alone, Hye-aeon wonders where to turn. (imdb)

AKA The Longest Summer Blitzkrieg; Commando on the Nakdong River

First film of a two part historical drama.

Second film of a two part historical drama.

A reporter finds himself torn between differing political beliefs after the Korean liberation from Japan. (imdb)

This hard-to-find movie tells about pollution and raising awareness of it. (imdb)

Adada tells the story of a deaf-mute woman who lives in a small town in South Korea during the 1920s. (imdb)

AKA Tears of the Idol

AKA Abengo Airborne Corps; Abengo Corps is under the direct control of headquarters of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. In order to conceal the Inchon Landing Operation, Abengo makes it look like to execute the Wonsan Landing Operation. With the operation soon at hand, the members of this operation go on a special vacation to Busan. Among them is Il Gyu. He meets with Bae Soo Na, a refugee, and they spend a passionate, touching night of lovetogether.

Korean drama directed by Kwon-taek Im

Throughout the day because of the increase in income and expenditure and her husband's mouth, Ms. Han suddenly made a fortune. She not only applied for permission to stay in a high-rise apartment and earned five million yuan, henceforth "blessed" self-proclaimed. Ms. Han, who has always been interested in real estate investment, collaborates with land fraud gangs and has earned over 100 million yuan of property and started to squander pleasure. (en.linkeddb.com)

A man from a shamanistic upbringing, tries to come to terms with the spirit of his mother who visits him in dreams. (imdb)

A middle-aged man who has recently lost his wife to cancer indulges in fantasies about a young woman at his work. (imdb)

A documentary covering the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. (imdb)

The story of Choe Si-hyeong, a leader of the Donghak Peasant Revolution during the late 19th-century Korea. (imdb)

A Heroic, yet a tragic life of a fearless man begins! School days filled with fist fights It is at the end of President RHEE Seung-man's Liberal Party regime, and the streets are filled with demonstration parades. And there is Tae-woong in his disheveled school uniform, ignorant to all the chaos that surrounds him. The only concern on his mind is to find the bully from Hongik High who beat up his friend and to take his revenge upon him. (imdb)

A patriot Park No-Hun is dispatched by the Shanghai Provisional Government for Independence to assassinate members of the House of Council. In this situation Young-Kuk, the brother of Hyeon-Ju who is a kisaeng of Myeong Wol Kwan, is jailed and Choi Chil-Yong, an inspector of the Japanese Higher Police Department, is in agony of difficulties between Korea and Japan. Shin Yun-Il, a member of the council falls in love with a kisaeng whose name is Jeong-Mi.