Occupation Documentary filmmaker Hangul 김동원 McCune–Reischauer Kim Tong-wŏn | Years active 1988–present Revised Romanization Gim Dong-won Alma mater Sogang University | |
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Born February 24, 1955 (age 62) ( 1955-02-24 ) Seoul, South Korea Movies Repatriation, The Sang-kye dong Olympics, 63 Years On Similar Jung Ji‑woo, Ryoo Seung‑wan, Jang Jin, Yim Soon‑rye, Kim Soo‑hyun | ||
Kim Dong-won (born February 24, 1955) is a South Korean documentary filmmaker. Kim is best known for his documentary films Repatriation (2004) and 63 Years On (2008).
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Career
Born in 1955 in Seoul, Kim Dong-won graduated from Sogang University, majoring in mass communication. He works as an assistant director as well as a documentary filmmaker. In 1991, Kim founded the documentary film collective P.U.R.N Production and has since produced and directed about thirty documentaries.
His acclaimed documentary Repatriation (2004) documents the lives of North Korean spies who were captured in the South Korea and takes a look at their journey back to their homeland after being detained in the South's prisons for over 30 years. A labour of love that took him more than a decade to finish, it has been hailed as the most successful documentary ever in South Korea. It was presented with the Freedom of Expression Award at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, the first time a Korean film has ever been presented with an award at the prestigious U.S. festival. It also won Special Mention at the 24th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards and Special Jury Prize at the 5th Busan Film Critics Awards in 2004, as well as Best Documentary Award at the 19th Fribourg International Film Festival in 2005.
His latest documentary 63 Years On is about the comfort women enslaved by the Japanese military in stations across Asia during World War II. The film provides a historical investigation along with interviews with victims still living in Korea, China, and the Philippines. It won Best Documentary Feature Film at the 2nd Asia Pacific Screen Awards in 2008.