Director and producer. He initially studied painting at the Sejong University. Due to lack of money, he dropped out of university and got a job as a magazine illustrator. He became the marketing director in the company Seoul Cinema in 1985, designing posters for numerous films. He founded his own production and distribution company CineWorld in 1993 and directed his first film, a family comedy Kid Cop. His next film, historical comedy Hwangsanbul (Once Upon a Time in the Battlefield, 2003), was a success. His next film, historical drama Wang-ui namja (The King and the Clown, 2005) achieved exceptional ratings and earnings, and became his most successful film. Recently he has returned comedies with Ra-dee-o-seu-ta (Radio Star, 2006) and Jeul-geo-woon in-saeng (The Happy Life, 2007), but these films were not so successful. In his drama Nim-eun-meon-go-sae (Sunny, 2008) the story takes place during the Vietnamese war. He goes back to the past in the action film Goo-reu-meul beo-eo-nan dal-cheo-reom (Blades of Blood, 2010) and the war comedy Pyeong-yang-seong (Battlefield Heroes, 2011), a sequel to his previous film Hwangsanbul.