Kim Ki-duk (Korean: 김기덕[kimɡidʌk̚]; 20 December 1960 – 11 December 2020) was a South Korean filmmaker,[1] noted for hisidiosyncraticart-house cinematic works. His films have received many distinctions in the festival circuit, rendering him one of the most important contemporary Asian film directors.
Kim was born on 20 December 1960 inPonghwa,North Kyŏngsang. In 1990, he went toParis to studyfine arts, but instead he spent two years working there on the streets as a portrait painter.[2][3] He served for five years in theSouth Korean marine corps, becoming a non-commissioned officer.[4]
After returning to South Korea, Kim began his career as a screenwriter and won first prize in a screenplay contest held by the Korean Film Council in 1995.[5] In the following year, Kim made his debut as a director with a low budget movie titledCrocodile (1996). The film received sensational reviews from movie critics in South Korea. Ki-duk said that his international breakthrough occurred withThe Isle at theToronto International Film Festival.[6] His 2000 filmReal Fiction was entered into the23rd Moscow International Film Festival.[7]
In 2003, Ki-duk releasedSpring, Summer, Fall, Winter... And Spring. The film was praised by numerous critics, including criticPeter Bradshaw, who considered the film to be his masterpiece and one of the great works of modern Korean cinema. "A potent and enigmatic parable which manages to be both serene and gripping at the same time [...] It is that rarest of things - a genuinely spiritual film."[8] The film work is included in criticRoger Ebert'sGreat Movies.[9]
In August 2017, an actress referred to as "Actress "A" by prosecutors filed a complaint against Kim Ki-duk through Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office. In the complaint the actress accused Kim of slapping her face and forcing her to do an unscripted sex scene on the set of his filmMoebius. In December 2017, the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office fined Kim Ki-duk for $4,450 (KRW 5 million) for physical assault but didn't charge him otherwise citing lack of physical evidence.[14]
On March 6, 2018, the South Korean TV channelMBC's investigative report showPD Notebook aired an episode titled "Movie director Kim Ki-duk, Master's Naked Face" with more accusations from Actress A and two others (Actress B and C as they mentioned in the show). The actresses accused Kim and his frequent collaborator, actorCho Jae-hyun of verbal and physical sexual harassment and rape.[15][16] In response, Kim filed false accusation and defamation suits against the accusers andPD Notebook.[17]
After that, on August 7, 2018, MBC aired a second episode of thePD Notebook show "Master's Naked Face. Aftermath" with more accusations from other actresses and staff members against Kim and Cho. In that episode journalists interviewed a Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Special Investigation Unit on Sexual Violence official about the cases. The official explained that the police approached the survivors and established the facts behind accusations but could not indict actor Cho and director Kim because of expired statute of limitation.[18]
In January 2019, Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office decided to drop the criminal lawsuits filed by Kim Ki-duk against actresses andPD Notebook because "there was neither proof that actress' initial accusation was false, nor was there evidence that the news show had been programmed with the purpose of defamation".[19]
In March 2019 Kim Ki-duk filed another lawsuit in civil court against Actress A andPD Notebook seeking $885,740 (KRW 1 billion) in damages. The lawsuit was ruled by court in defendants' favor on October 28, 2020. The court also ordered Kim to pay legal fees for the defendants.[20]
TheBritish Board of Film Classification delayed the release of Kim Ki-duk'sThe Isle (2000) in theUnited Kingdom because of instances ofanimal cruelty in the film. Concerning scenes in which a frog is skinned after being beaten to death and fish are mutilated, the director stated, "We cooked all the fish we used in the film and ate them, expressing our appreciation. I've done a lot of cruelty on animals in my films. And I will have a guilty conscience for the rest of my life."[21]
To a U.S. interviewer who suggested that scenes such as these are "very disturbing and [seem] to place an obstacle to the films [sic] reception, or... distribution, to other countries", Kim said, "Yes, I did worry about that fact. But the way I see it, the food that we eat today is no different. In America you eat beef, pork, and kill all these animals. And the people who eat these animals are not concerned with their slaughter. Animals are part of this cycle of consumption. It looks more cruel onscreen, but I don't see the difference. And yes, there's a cultural difference, and maybe Americans will have a problem with it - but if they can just be more sensitive to what is acceptable in different countries I'd hope they wouldn't have too many issues with what's shown on-screen."[22]
^Bitel, Anton (2014). "Edges, Silence and Cycles: A brief guide to the outsider cinema of Kim Ki-duk". InLondon Korean Film Festival 2014 Brochure, pp. 14–15. Korean Cultural Centre UK.PDF. Also available online at Bitel, Anton (31 January 2015). "Edges, Silence and Cycles: a brief guide to the outsider cinema of Kim Ki-duk".Projected Figures.Link.
^Rayns, Tony (November 2004). "Sexual Terrorism: Strange Case of Kim Ki-duk".Film Comment (40): 50.
^현지 언론 "김기덕 감독, 라트비아서 코로나19로 사망" [Local media "Director Ki-deok Kim dies of Corona 19 in Latvia"].JTBC (in Korean). 11 December 2020.Archived from the original on 11 December 2020. Retrieved11 December 2020.
MARTONOVA, (2012) A.To feel HAN (Arirang by Kim Ki-duk) // Kino, No.3, Sofia:p. 49-47, ISSN 0861-4393 [Да чувстваш ХАН ("Ариран" на Ким Ки-док). — Original title in Bulgarian]
MARTONOVA, A. (2007) The hieroglyph of cinema. Aesthetics and meaning in East Asia movies. Sofia: Panorama Publishing House, 242 pages,ISBN978 954 9655 31 5 (in Bulgarian)
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