Choi Jae-won

Choi Jae-won (born 1967) is a South Korean film investor, planner, and producer, as well as the co-founder and current CEO of Anthology Studio, a subsidiary of Studio LuluLala. He started his career as security analyst at a venture capital company. He became film investor after he introduced South Korea's first film investment fund.

Throughout his career, he has held CEO positions at iPictures, Barunson E&A, Next Entertainment World, and withUs Film. Moreover, he has served as the former head of Warner Bros. Korea, fostering collaboration between the domestic film market and major Hollywood studios.

Choi Jae-won oversaw the investment, production, and distribution of numerous films. He has been involved in films such as Kim Jee-woon's A Tale of Two Sisters and The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008); as well as Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder, The Host, and Mother. Additionally, he was involved in Yang Woo-suk's The Attorney (2013) which is ranked 16th in South Korean box office of all time and had sold more than ten million tickets.

In 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism appointed Choi Jae-won as one of seven members of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). The term of office was from January 3, 2020, to January 3, 2022. In January 2021, he was appointed as the vice chairman of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).

Early life and education
Choi Jae-won was born in 1967. After attending Seondeok High School, he became a member of the Class of 1986 in Korea University's Department of Agricultural Economics, which is now known as Food and Resource Economics. Choi loved drawing, but gave up going to art school due to his father's opposition, which was a lifelong regret for him. During his college years, he channeled his creative impulses by performing in plays. He also worked as a composition writer at Korea Broadcasting Corporation.

Early career
Following his graduation, Choi took on the role of a securities analyst at a venture capital company, Korea Industrial Securities. In his early 30s, Choi made the decision to leave his career as a securities analyst at a venture capital firm, where he earned a substantial annual salary, in order to pursue film investment. Despite the financial challenges he faced, such as selling his apartment in Gangnam and relocating to a rented house on the outskirts of Seoul, he remained resolute in his determination to create at least one exceptional production that would deeply resonate with audiences.

It was begun when Choi joined Infinite Technology Investment (무한기술투자㈜) in 1997, a mid-sized startup led by CEO Lee In-gyu. While working in online investment at Infinite Startup, Choi became interested in movie investment in 1998. In early 1999, Choi met Uni Korea through the introduction of Moon Seong-keun and considered forming an venture fund together, but things did not go well. Around June of that year, Choi met with Sidus Pictures' CEO, Cha Seung-jae and they started working with CJ Entertainment. Unfortunately, their collaboration faced setbacks at the last minute. Subsequently, in mid-December, Cha Seung-jae met Director Kang Woo-seok (Showbox CEO) and sought his assistance in creating a venture fund. Director Kang Woo-seok readily accepted, and a fund worth ₩11.5 billion was created and named the Cha Seung-jae Venture Fund in tribute to Sidus Pictures' CEO Cha Seung-jae. Their first film investment was in director Bong Joon-ho's commercial film debut, Barking Dogs Never Bite. "'Director Bong Joon-ho's Barking Dogs Never Bite also probably cost around 900 million won from what I remember. I have only started investing in movies, and I think the market environment then was better than it is now. In the past, when there were rumors of a crisis, it was actually a crisis of production capital. If we judge that the current crisis is a crisis of production capital, consumers' behavior patterns have changed, consumption habits have changed, and content distribution has changed.'—Choi on his first film investment."

In February 2000, iPictures Co., Ltd. was founded. The company is a joint investment between venture capital firm Infinite Technology Investment and the film production company Sidus to operate Infinite-Cha Seung-jae Venture Fund. Choi, who serves as a director at Infinite Technology Investment, and Cha Seung-jae, the CEO of Sidus Pictures, jointly lead iPictures. The company specializes in practical investments in the visual content industry that covers film planning, production, marketing, overseas distribution, and merchandise.

In August 2000, Choi transitioned to the role of leading the Content Team within Infinite Technology Investment. In January 2001, Choi as film venture capitalist, mentioned that their investments covered not only film but also games and online platforms. In the online sector, they invested in Web Cinema, Easy Club, and Geoinet. They also invested in a total of 20 films and animations, including box office hit Kick the Moon, as well as Musa, and Indian Summer (South Korean film). They also prepared another venture funds. On September 24, 2001, Infinite Technology Investment established MBC Infinite Video Venture Fund No. 1 and No. 2 with funds of ₩5 billion and ₩10 billion, respectively. In the first fund, MBC invested 4.2 billion won, while Infinite Technology Investment contributed ₩800 million. The primary focus of the first association was investing in MBC-produced contents. The primary focus of the second fund, was on the film industry, and its members included Infinite Technology Investment, Korea Local Administrative Mutual Aid Fund, MBC and its affiliates, Korean Film Council, Sunwoo Entertainment, Sidus Pictures, and Enter One.

In 2002 year's investment scale was estimated to be around ₩30 billion, including ongoing productions. There was a focus on investing in films produced by Sidus Pictures. Their plans included investing in 14 works. Among the planned investments, was Kim Young-bin's film Balhae, known for its production cost of ₩4.5 billion; a gothic horror film reinterpreting a classic called A Tale of Two Sisters, and an animation titled titled Adventure in the East River. However among i-Pictures' main investment films in 2002, only Marriage Is a Crazy Thing didn't incur losses. My Beautiful Girl, Mari caused a loss of ₩2 billion, Jungle Juice ₩300 million, and Road Movie ₩900 million, resulting in a total loss of ₩3.2 billion. In contrast, Marriage Is a Crazy Thing earned a profit of ₩1 billion. Initially, Cha Seung-jae was responsible for selecting works, but as box office performance worsened, he eventually withdrew from the fund.

Starting in September 2002, Choi ran i-Pictures independently from Infinite Technology Investment. Despite requesting the remaining fund he operated from Infinite Investment, his request was not accepted. Despite worries about his own capabilities as he had only known the life of a salaried worker, Choi decided to stand on his own, leveraging the know-how he had accumulated over the years. He took a leap and invested in projects called Madeleine and A Tale of Two Sisters. which marked a new beginning. However, Madeleine (2003) incurred a loss of approximately 1.5 billion won. In a situation where the company's survival was uncertain, film A Tale of Two Sisters was released and garnered 3.15 million viewers nationwide, bringing in at least ₩3 billion to i-Pictures. Choi's investment in Kim Jee-woon's film A Tale of Two Sisters is noteworthy because the lead actors, Lim Soo-jung and Moon Geun-young were newcomers at that time. As a result, other investors withdrew their support, doubting the film's potential success. Consequently, Choi had to single-handedly cover the investment. However, when the film achieved remarkable success, he generously rewarded the crew by sharing the profits, something unprecedented in Korean film industry.

Among other i-Pictures investments, Bong Joon-ho's thriller Memories of Murder (with a nationwide audience of 5.3 million) and the melodrama Singles (with an audience of 2.5 million) also performed well at the box office. By acquiring a 30% stake in Memories of Murder and a 22% stake in Singles, it was certain that both works would generate a net profit of more than 2 billion won.

Choi took on the role of the primary investor for the film The President's Barber. He revealed that despite the initial production cost of 4 billion won, their total investment reached close to ₩10 billion. The President's Barber is a comedy drama film from 2004, directed by Lim Chan-sang. The story revolves around a barber, his wife, and their only son, spanning four decades of turbulent Korean history. The narrative is presented through the perspective of the titular barber, who is selected to be the official barber for President Park Chung Hee. The character of the barber is portrayed by Song Kang-ho, while Moon So-ri plays his wife. The film was released on May 5, 2004. Unfortunately, despite its critical acclaim, it fell short of reaching the break-even point, making it a box office disappointment.

Barunson and Next Entertainment World (NEW)
Following the failure of their latest film, The President's Barber, iPictures experienced bankruptcy, prompting Choi to consider a return to the financial world. However, he made the decision to delve into film production instead. On November 9, 2005, Choi sold iPictures to Barunson Co., Ltd. This acquisition allowed Barunson to expand its presence in the entertainment industry and establish Barunson Entertainment. Prior to the acquisition, iPictures had been involved in the film business since 2000 through a Venture Fund and had ranked as the third-largest company in terms of investment performance, trailing behind Cinema Service and CJ Entertainment.

After the acquisition, Choi took on the leadership role in the film business division at Barunson. The division's goal was to produce, co-produce, and invest in more than 10 films annually, starting from the following year. Notably, the division had already secured investment contracts. At the time, Choi signed a contract with directors Kim Jee-woon and Bong Joon-ho for two films each, which was an unprecedented move in the industry. Both director Kim Jee-woon's film A Bittersweet Life (2005) and Bong Joon-ho's film The Host (2006) were both critically and commercially successful.

In 2005, Choi transitioned into a producer role while overseeing Barunson's film division. The first film he produced was director Yim Pil-sung's film Hansel and Gretel. It began filming in April 2007.

Choi was also involved in the investment and production of Kim Jee-woon's film The Good, the Bad, and the Weird. It began filming in May 2007. It garnered immediate public attention due to the presence of three renowned actors: Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, and Jung Woo-sung. It faced challenges such as production delays in China which resulted in increased production costs, and a recession in the Korean film market. Concerns arose regarding the film's potential success. However, following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, the film received a string of favorable reviews. It quickly surpassed seven million viewers, making it highly likely to achieve profitability. As the CEO of Barunson Entertainment, Choi personally experienced the hardships and pressures endured by both actors and directors, from the initial stages of film production to the screening phase. If a project featuring such reputable actors and a director fails to achieve success, the responsibility squarely falls on the producer.

A year later, Choi served as a producer for director Bong Joon-ho's film Mother. Choi shared insights about the film. He described Mother as a unique Korean film that explores the theme of motherhood using a mother's perspective. The movie had elements of a feminine thriller and mystery, giving it a distinctive style not commonly seen in previous Korean films. He mentioned that the film had a dreamlike quality despite being grounded in realism. Choi also highlighted the universal relevance found in the director's previous work, The Host, and the tension present in Memories of Murder. Overall, Mother successfully combined these elements, creating a more accessible portrayal of the mother-child relationship.

In 2007, he was ranked 38th in the list of Cine21 Chungmuro 50 Power Filmmaker. He was chosen for his ability to quickly adapt to director branding trends and for his innovative approach of combining capital and talent directly, without relying on a production company as an intermediary. Although his experimental film business model, which involved investing based on the abundant capital of a listed company and establishing a production unit directly, had yet to be fully proven. It was anticipated that he would demonstrate a certain level of efficiency given the growing influence of directors in the industry.

In 2009, after leaving Barunson, Choi became Co-CEO of film distribution company Next Entertainment World (NEW). NEW was founded in 2008 by Kim Woo-taek, former Showbox CEO. Under Choi's leadership, NEW collaborated with Uni Korea Literary Investment, a film importer, to bring the 2005 Indian film Black into the market. Despite a lack of interest from other importers and major distributors, who believed the film had low domestic awareness and had already been widely seen, Uni Korea Literary Investment acquired the copyright after it topped the charts for illegal downloads in late 2007. NEW made the decision to release the film in 200 theaters. Although the import price was not disclosed, it was mentioned that the total investment, including copyright and marketing costs, amounted to approximately ₩1.2 billion—a surprisingly low figure. Nevertheless, the film went on to generate over ₩4 billion in box office revenue.

Establishing withUs Film and venturing into film production
In May 2010, CEO Choi established withUs Film and ventured into full-fledged film production. Together with Youth Film, withUs Film co-produced Director Kim Seok-yoon's film Detective K: Secret of the Virtuous Widow. Based on the novel "Secret of the Virtuous Women's Gate" by Kim Tak-hwan, the film centers on a mystery that portrays the clandestine power struggle among political factions during King Jeongjo's reign, focusing on the death of a woman. The film features Kim Myung-min, Oh Dal-su, Han Ji-min in lead roles, and Lee Jae-yong, Woo Hyun, Yeo Su-jeong, Choi Moo-sung, and Jeong In-ki in supporting roles. Released on January 27, 2011, the movie had nearly 4 million viewers by February 18. With a budget of ₩6 billion, it was expected to earn around ₩13 billion at the box office, twice its production cost.

Afterwards, Choi produced director E J-yong's film Behind the Camera, which garnered significant interest for offering an authentic behind-the-scenes look at renowned actors including Youn Yuh-jung, Park Hee-soon, Kim Min-hee, Kim Ok-vin, Kang Hye-jung, Ryu Deok-hwan, Oh Jung-se, Choi Hwa-jung, Kim C, Kim Nam-jin, Lee Ha-nui, Jung Eun-chae, and Esom. The film was premiered to audiences through the 'Korean Film Today' section of the 2012 Busan International Film Festival. It was invited to the Panorama section of the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival.

Choi's (withUs Film's) third work was The Attorney, which marked the directorial debut of Yang Woo-suk. The film drew inspiration from the real-life that took place in 1981 during the authoritarian Chun Doo-hwan regime. It chronicles the transformative journey of Song Woo-seok, portrayed by Song Kang-ho, a struggling tax lawyer, as he faces five intense trials and forges significant relationships along the way. "'This movie was conceived around early May 2012. I went to school (his alma mater) unexpectedly met juniors, but college students these days are not interested in society or anything else, and their only goal is to get a job. So, it reminded me a lot of when I was in school. I thought, why don’t we tell a story about how in our 20s, we talked about democracy and the people while giving up our vested rights and risking our lives to fight for them?'—Choi about the planning motif of The Attorney."CJ ENM and Showbox had expressed their interest in distributing The Attorney, but Jang Kyung-ik, the CEO of NEW's film division, reached out to Choi to inquire why the proposal had not been shared with him. Additionally, NEW's CEO, Kim Woo-taek, personally contacted Choi regarding the film. In the end, withUs Film signed an investment and distribution agreement with NEW. NEW's persistence paid off when The Attorney, made with a production cost of approximately ₩7.5 billion, achieved remarkable success at the box office. The film sold over 11 million tickets and generated ₩82.9 billion in revenue. It was the second highest-grossing Korean film in 2013. Currently, it holds the 17th rank among the highest-grossing Korean films of all time.

Warner Brothers
In 2014, while still holding the title of "Producer of The Attorney," Choi was offered a position at Warner Bros. Korea. Despite initial hesitation, his curiosity about the company's 90-year presence in the global film industry and the belief in effectively utilizing overseas film capital led him to accept the offer. He officially joined Warner Bros. Korea on January 1, 2015.

Choi admires Warner Bros.'s deep trust placed in creators. Directors like Clint Eastwood, who have longstanding relationships with the company, are given significant creative freedom. The emphasis is on providing unwavering support for the creative process while carefully managing schedules and budgets once decisions are made. Choi believes that incorporating aspects of the Hollywood approach can positively impact the Korean film production environment. By "Koreanizing" these methods, he envisions fostering the growth and development of the local film industry.

Warner Bros. Korea made an entry into the Korean film market with its inaugural film, The Age of Shadows. On August 3, 2015, Warner Bros. Korea announced their involvement in financing and distributing their first Korean-language film set in the 1930s, tentatively titled "Secret Agent." The movie, with a budget of $8.62 million, was being co-produced by Grimm Pictures. The film has an impressive lineup with Lee Jin-sook as the scriptwriter and Kim Jee-woon as the director. The talented cast includes Song Kang-ho and Gong Yoo. On July 14, 2016, a trailer was released, unveiling the film's new title, The Age of Shadows. On August 30, 2016, The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) announced that The Age of Shadows had been selected as South Korea's official entry for the best foreign-language film category at the 89th Academy Awards.

The film dominated Chuseok holiday with 7.5 million viewers. Its success allowed Warner Bros. to surpass the four major domestic film companies and claim the top spot in the Korean film distribution market, as reported by the Korea Film Council in September. Securing the top position holds great significance, considering that it was the first film produced domestically by a direct Hollywood distribution company. With The Age of Shadows 's success, Choi accomplished a smooth establishment of a local production with an overseas distributor, successfully avoiding trial and error. This achievement not only alleviated anxieties surrounding overseas companies but also positioned Warner Bros. as a prominent player in the market. Their financial strength, adaptable planning and development system, and openness to new ideas also played a crucial role.

In the same year, Warner Bros. Korea collaborated with Park Hoon-jung to produce the crime-action thriller film V.I.P., starred Jang Dong-gun, Kim Myung-min, Park Hee-soon, and Lee Jong-suk. It centered around the pursuit of a serial killer by officers from South Korea, North Korea, and Interpol. Despite featuring a renowned cast, the film did not perform well at the box office. Moreover, V.I.P. received a lot of criticism its excessive portrayal of violence against women.

Warner Bros. Korea established Hwayi-Warner Content Venture Fund. It was first film fund formed by Warner Brothers Korea in Korea. Huayi Investment is in charge of the operation. major domestic and foreign content companies and capital companies joined, including Warner Brothers Korea, Huayi Brothers Korea, Huayi-Tencent Entertainment, FNC Ad Culture, and Next Entertainment World. Next Entertainment World invested in The Battleship Island in July 2017 by participating as an investor of Hwayi-Warner Content Venture Fund.

Between 2017 and 2018, Warner Bros. and Kim Jee-woon collaborated on the production of the science fiction action film Illang: The Wolf Brigade. This movie serves as a remake of the 1999 anime film Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade   Boasting an impressive ensemble cast that includes Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung, Kim Mu-yeol, and Choi Min-ho, the film was released during the summer of 2018. With a production cost of 19 billion won (equivalent to US$17.04 million), Warner Bros. Despite receiving mixed reviews and falling short of expectations at the domestic box office, with approximately 897,000 tickets sold as opposed to its break-even point of six million tickets, it competed for the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, making it the second South Korean film to do so. Additionally, Netflix acquired the international distribution rights for the film.

In 2018, Warner Bros. once again collaborated with Park Hoon-jung again in science fiction action horror film The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion. This marked the third collaboration between Park Hoon-jung and Park Hee-soon. The film also featured actress Jo Min-soo and actor Choi Woo-shik. For the role of Ja-yoon, a high school student who loses her memory after escaping from a facility where a mysterious accident occurred, a rookie actress named Kim Da-mi was chosen for the role of Ja-yoon after competing against odds of 1,500 to 1. was chosen after competing against odds of 1,500 to 1. The story revolves around Ja-yoon, as she tries to uncover the truth behind the incident that caused multiple deaths in a hidden facility.

Except for The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, which attracted 3.18 million viewers, Illang: The Wolf Brigade, Jesters: The Game Changers, and The Battle of Jangsari received disappointing result, leading Choi to think hard about what kind of movie to make. One way to get an answer is to pay more attention to content that younger employees find interesting. Choi makes the final decision among the works selected by employees. As a result, film of The Day I Died: Unclosed Case, Josée, and Killing Romance were scheduled to be released.

In September 2020, Warner Bros. Korea decided to withdraw from the Korean film industry due to underwhelming results from their recent productions. This withdrawal has generated uncertainty regarding the highly anticipated sequel, The Witch 2, following the success of the first installment, The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, which attracted 3.18 million viewers upon its release in 2018.

Anthology Studio
Following his departure from Warner Bros. Korea, Choi, together with director Kim Jee-woon and actor Song Kang-ho, founded a film production company named Anthology Studio (앤솔로지스튜디오). It was established on November 17, 2020.

In December 2021, JTBC Studios acquired 100% stake of Anthology Studio for 20 billion won. It appears that the funds converted into cash from the sale of shares were used for paid-in capital increase. All Anthology Studio's founders have become shareholders of JTBC Studio. JTBC Studio issued 767,077 shares of common stock to Choi, director Kim Jee-woon and actor Song Kang-ho, as well as Paan Co., Ltd., a film company founded by Choi and actor Song Kang-ho. Song's wife, Hwang Jang-sook, currently serves as Paan Co., Ltd.'s executive director. The price per share was confirmed at 16,048 won. The size of the capital increase is 12.3 billion won. This capital increase involved Choi investing 3.4 billion won, Kim Jee-woon investing 2.9 billion won, and Paan Co., Ltd. investing 6 billion won to JTBC Studio. The acquired stocks are subject to a one-year lock-up period.

Anthology Studio first work, where Choi also served as producer was Kim Jee-woon's Cobweb, a period black comedy-drama film directed starring Song Kang-ho, Im Soo-jung, Oh Jung-se, Jeon Yeo-been, and Krystal Jung. Principal photography began on March 8, 2022 and concluded on June 6, 2022.

On March 30, 2022, JTBC Studio underwent a name change and became 'SLL (Studio LuluLala),' with a vision to expand its reach in the global content market. Anthology Studio become label of SLL. On April 19, the SLL Media Day event, 'Let's LuluLala,' took place at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Jung-gu, Seoul. Present at the event were SLL CEO Jeong Kyeong-moon, SLL Production Division 1 Director Park Jun-seo, SLL Strategy Department Director Choi Jae-hyuk, Climax Studio CEO Byun Seung-min, Film Monster director Lee Jae-gyu, and Anthology Studio CEO Choi Jae-won.

On March 21, 2023, photo of the partnership signing ceremony between Choi, representing Anthology Studio, and Kumar Mangat, CEO of Padak Panorama Studio was released. On that day, Panorama Studio India made the announcement that the two studios will collaborate to produce the remake of Drishyam, which signifies the first-ever collaboration between an Indian and a Korean studio. Additionally, it will be the first time a Hindi film is officially remade in the Korean language. Anthology has plans to remake all three films in the Drishyam franchise, and production for the first installment is expected to commence in 2024.

In May 2023, Cobweb premiered in the non-competitive section at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. The film was released theatrically on September 27, 2023 coinciding with Korean Chuseok holidays.

The 28th Busan International Film Festival hosted the 'Asia Content & Film Market - Korea, US, and Japan content production environment and global market strategy' session at BEXCO Exhibition Hall 1 in Haeundae-gu, Busan. Anthology Studio CEO Choi Jae-won, director Anthony Shim, David Flynn, and Anthology Studio producer Song Sun-ho attended and unveiled the 'Anthology Studio Global Project Lineup.' This lineup includes 'Offering,' 'D-1,' and 'The Hole,' which are novel-based works transformed into global content.

Anthology Studios and Anonymous Content are to produce "Offering," an acclaimed Korean coming-of-age novel written by Michael Kim. Anthony Shim, the Canadian Korean director behind Toronto International Film Festival's winning film Riceboy Sleeps, is served as writer and director. Kim Jee-woon is set to direct the adaptation of the novel The Hole. In the case of D-1, which is adapted from the novel "Oh Sister" and produced by SLL global label Wiip and Anthology Studio, the plan is to develop it as a film in Korea and as a series in the United States.

Other activities
In 2020, The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism appointed Choi Jae-won as one of seven non-executive members of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). The term of office was from January 3, 2020, to January 3, 2022. In January 2021, Choi was served as vice-chairman of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). Kim Young-jin, a professor at Myongji University's Department of Arts, was chosen as the chairman. The appointment was held on the afternoon of January 12, 2021, in a committee meeting to elect new leadership.

In November 2021, Ulsan City announced that it had appointed Choi Jae-won as honorary executive chairman of the 1st Ulsan International Film Festival. Choi Jae-won was also selected as the honorary executive chairman of the Pre-Festival last year.

Choi served as feature film judge member of The 49th Seoul Independent Film Festival 2023. It was opened at CGV Apgujeong on November 30, 2023.

Personal life
Choi is married with children, including a daughter born in 1995 and a son. Choi and his wife are devoted to their Buddhist faith. Monk Gwangje, the eldest Theravada of Baekyangsa Temple, bestowed upon Choi the Dharma name "Hwaôm" (華嚴).

During a difficult period in Choi's life, his wife guided him towards Hadong Ssanggyesa Temple. Having achieved substantial success in the securities industry and established his own investment company, Choi had attained considerable wealth. However, unforeseen circumstances led to a sudden downfall, resulting in his bankruptcy. Prior to this challenging period, Choi was raised in a non-devout Buddhist family, only visiting the temple on events like Buddha's Birthday.

Since 2004, Choi has made a weekly pilgrimage to Hadong Ssanggyesa Temple and receiving teachings from Monk Eunbong, the superior of Monk Gwangje. This dedicated routine has been ongoing for a decade, with exceptions made only for overseas business trips and times of mourning for his mother. Additionally, Choi incorporates meditation into his spiritual practices on a regular basis.