Kim Hyun-seok on Joint Security Area, YMCA Baseball Team, and His Career

<jats:p>South Korean screenwriter and newbie director Kim Hyun-seok first grabbed the attention of an international audience as co-scripter of Joint Security Area , a powerful drama that humanizes the politics between North and South Korea. In 1999, this movie not only became the biggest box office draw in Korean history, but it also indicated that the Korean New Wave is no fluke. Mature writing, strong acting, powerful editing, and gorgeous cinematography made this film also well-recognized on the international filmfest scene. Kim next served as assistant director on Kim Ki-duk’s The Isle . Kim Ki-duk, one of the bad boys of new Korean cinema, with his dubious representations of women and unexpected bursts of gut-twisting violence amid the everyday, served as a stepping stone for Hyun-seok’s directorial debut in an altogether different style film, YMCA Baseball Team , in 2002, which Hyun-seok also wrote.</jats:p>