Yang Ik-june

This is a Korean name; the family name is Yang.
Yang Ik-june
Born October 1975 (age 39)
Seoul, South Korea
Other names Yang Ik-joon
Occupation Actor, Film director
Agent Prain TPC
Korean name
Hangul 양익준
Revised Romanization Yang Ik-jun
McCune–Reischauer Yang Ik-chun

Yang Ik-june (born October 19, 1975) is a South Korean actor and film director. He is best known for the 2009 film Breathless, which he wrote, directed, edited, and starred in.

Career

Born in Seoul in 1975, Yang graduated from the Department of Entertainment & Acting at the Kongju Communication Arts College. After discharge from his military service, Yang studied theatre and trained at the Actor's 21 Academy before delving into the film industry. In the next six years he starred in 30 short films, and won the Best Actor award at the Mise-en-Scene Short Film Festival for the 2005 short film Ooh, You Make Me Sick. In 2005 he directed his first short film, Always Behind You, which earned him the Audience Award at the Seoul Independent Short Film Festival.[1] He also played minor roles in more than ten mainstream films such as Les Formidables, Maundy Thursday, and Viva! Love.[2]

But it was Breathless, his semi-autobiographical feature directorial debut in which he also played the lead role, that catapulted Yang into star director status.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Breathless was selected for the Asian Cinema Fund which provided post-production support, and the low-budget film had its world premiere at the 2008 Busan International Film Festival. It proceeded to receive much critical acclaim, winning 23 prizes in the international film festival circuit including a Tiger Award at Rotterdam.[10][11][12] Upon its theater release in Korea, the film performed better than expected at the box office with 130,000 admissions, a rare accomplishment for an independent film.[13]

Yang then starred in a supporting role in the 2010 comedy/road movie Looking for My Wife (also known as Runaway from Home).[14][15][16][17] In 2011, he was a voice actor for The King of Pigs, an adult animated film on violence and bullying.[18] He also directed the short films Departure and Immature that same year. Immature was funded by the Jeonju International Film Festival and released as part of the omnibus A Time to Love.[19] Another short film Shibata & Nagao, a comedy inspired by actor's workshops and co-produced with Japan, won the Best Korean Short Film Award at the Asiana International Short Film Festival in 2012.[20] Yang made his television acting debut in the melodrama The Innocent Man, imbuing his supporting role as a small-time thug with an air of menace. In 2013 he was among four celebrities who directed a short film using smartphone Samsung Galaxy S4 with the theme "Meet a Life Companion"; his short Dance Together focused on a Japanese woman who encounters someone new through a cell phone after experiencing the pain of a parting.[21]

Filmography

Year Film Credited as
Director Writer Editor DP Sound mixer Actor Role
2002 Conduct Zero No No No No No Yes sesaem trio
2003 Happy Ero Christmas No No No No No Yes henchman 2
2004 What Are You Doing, Chul-soo No No No No No Yes Chul-soo
2004 Ain't No Maid (short film) No No No No No Yes 택배기사
2004 Arahan No No No No No Yes drain pipe worker 2
2005 Ooh, You Make Me Sick (short film) No No No No No Yes Yong-hee
2005 Always Behind You (short film) Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Jun-ho
2005 Noryangjin Totoro (short film) No No No No No Yes Kim Young-min
2005 Slowly (short film) No No No No No Yes Man
2006 Monologue #1 (short film) No No No No No Yes
2006 The Wind Stirs (short film) No No No No No Yes Ki-suk
2006 Screwdriver (short film) No No No No No Yes
2006 Just Leave Me Alone (short film) Yes No Yes Yes No No
2006 Les Formidables No No No No No Yes Yang Jin-soon
2006 Maundy Thursday No No No No No Yes Hwan-kyu
2006 No Regret No No No No No Yes
2007 Picnic (short film) No No No No No Yes
2007 Lost (short film) No No No No No Yes
2007 Thirsty, Thirsty (short film) No No No No No Yes
2007 Speechless (short film) Yes Yes Yes No Yes No
2007 The Worst Guy Ever No No No No No Yes advertising company employee
2008 Viva! Love No No No No No Yes student boarder 1
2008 Love is Protein (animated short) No No No No No Yes Jae-ho
2008 Lovers (omnibus, includes Slowly,
Screwdriver, Monologue #1, Lost)
No No No No No Yes
2009 One Step More to the Sea (short film) No No No No No Yes cafe guest
2009 Breathless Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Sang-hoon
2010 Looking for My Wife No No No No No Yes Dong-min
2010 Magic and Loss No No No No No Yes
2011 Departure (short film) Yes Yes Yes No No Yes He
2011 Immature (from omnibus A Time to Love) Yes Yes Yes No No No
2011 The King of Pigs (animated) No No No No No Yes Jung Jong-suk (voice)
2012 Shibata & Nagao (short film) Yes Yes No No No No
2012 Our Homeland No No No No No Yes Mr. Yang
2012 The Innocent Man (TV) No No No No No Yes Han Jae-shik
2013 Jury (short film) No No No No No Yes
2013 Chuugakusei Maruyama No No No No No Yes Korean star
2013 Dance Together (short film) Yes No No No No No
2013 Let Me Out No No No No No Yes himself
2013 The Fake (animated) No No No No No Yes Min-chul (voice)
2014 Inspiring Generation (TV) No No No No No Yes Hwang Bong-shik
2014 It's Okay, That's Love (TV) No No No No No Yes Jang Jae-beom
2014 Set Me Free No No No No No Yes Beom-tae's father
2015 My Friendly Villains No No No No No Yes Eumbuki

Awards

Year Award Category Nominated work
2005 Mise-en-Scene Short Film Festival Best Actor
Ooh, You Make Me Sick
31st Seoul Independent Film Festival Audience Award
Always Behind You
2009 38th International Film Festival Rotterdam VPRO Tiger Award
Breathless
10th Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival Best Actor
11th Deauville Asian Film Festival Best Film
International Critics' Prize
13th Fantasia Festival Best Feature Film
Best Male Performance
Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema Audience Award (International)
3rd Asia Pacific Screen Awards High Commendation
Fantastic Fest New Wave Award - Best Director
Tokyo FILMeX Festival Grand Prize
Special Jury Prize
17th Chunsa Film Art Awards Special Jury Prize
18th Buil Film Awards Best New Director
10th Busan Film Critics Awards Best Director
30th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best New Actor
12th Director's Cut Awards Best Independent Film Director
2010 1st KOFRA (Korea Film Reporters Association) Awards Discovery Award
10th Asiana International Short Film Festival Best Korean Short Film
Shibata & Nagao

References

  1. "Always behind You". IndieStory. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  2. "Nominees & Winners Archive: Yang Ik-june for Ddongpari (Breathless)". Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actor. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  3. "Yang Ik-june's Intense Life Makes for an Intense Film". The Chosun Ilbo. 10 April 2009. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  4. Lee, Hyo-won (12 April 2009). "Director Yang Shares Life Story in Breathless". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  5. Park, Sun-young (17 April 2009). "Reality bites, leaving this filmmaker Breathless". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  6. Kraan, Steven (28 January 2009). "IFFR 2009: Interview with Yang Ik-June, director of Breathless". Movie Scene. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  7. Vijn, Ard (4 March 2009). "IFFR 2009: Interview with "Breathless" writer / actor / director / producer YANG IK-JUNE". Twitch Film. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  8. Li-Goyette, Matthieu (3 August 2009). "Interview with Yang Ik-june". Panorama. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  9. Heskins, Andrew (18 January 2010). "Exclusive interview: Yang Ik-June". Eastern Kicks. Retrieved 2013-02-19.
  10. Lee, Hyo-won (16 March 2009). "Korean Indie Film Wins at European Film Fests". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  11. "Indie Film Wonder Boy Yang Ik-june Wins 2 More Awards". The Chosun Ilbo. 17 March 2009. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  12. Lee, Hyo-won (10 July 2009). "Breathless Reaps 13th Award in New York". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  13. Ki, Sun-min; Park, Sun-young (24 April 2009). "‘Breathless’ soars as audiences go indie". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  14. Lee, Ji-hye (4 April 2010). "Press conference for film Looking for My Wife". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-05-04.
  15. Wee, Geun-woo (9 April 2010). "INTERVIEW: Director-actor Yang Ik-joon - Part 1". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-05-04.
  16. Wee, Geun-woo (9 April 2010). "INTERVIEW: Director-actor Yang Ik-joon - Part 2". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-05-04.
  17. Lee, Hyo-won (11 April 2010). "Yang Breathlessly Returns With Comedy". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  18. Lee, Hyo-won (17 November 2011). "'Pigs' depicts frightening realism". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-02-19.
  19. "A Time to Love". IndieStory. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  20. "Shibata & Nagao". IndieStory. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  21. Jang, Sung-ran (9 May 2013). "4 Celebrities Make Smartphone Shorts". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-05-10.

External links