Kang Hye-jung (filmmaker)

Kang Hye-jung (born 1970) is a South Korean filmmaker and entertainment executive. She is the CEO of the film production house company Filmmaker R&K, which was established in 2005 with director Ryoo Seung-wan. Her notable works are mostly directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, like Veteran (2015), The Battleship Island (2017), Escape from Mogadishu (2021) and Smugglers (2023), as well as projects from other directors such as Exit (2019) and Hostage: Missing Celebrity (2021).

Early life
Kang Hye-jung was born in 1970. Her parents had hoped she would become a teacher, so she enrolled in the Department of Home Economics Education at Korea University. During her college years, she was an student activist. She found the film club, 'Stone Light,' cumbersome as they constantly carried cameras for filming demonstration. Never interested in the film club, she never imagined that she would work in the film industry. After graduating in February 1993 and working as a teacher for a while, Kang realized that teaching was not the right path for her.

Early career
In May 1993, Kang stumbled upon a notice for a film workshop at the Independent Film Council. Intrigued, she paid the 300,000 won tuition fee and joined the 5th batch, embarking on a three-month journey into the world of filmmaking. During this time, she met Ryoo Seung-wan, a former student from the 3rd batch who was now an assistant instructor at the workshop. Their relationship evolved romantically as they collaborated on her workshop film project.

Kang sought feedback from film critic Kim Young-jin, who gave harsh criticism. Kang responded with a determined attitude, saying, "We'll wait and see." At that time, Ryoo Seung-wan was a promising new talent who had been developing scenarios for a decade. Kang decided to give it a 10-year trial period and move on if it didn't succeed. Between Kang began his journey by working part-time writing movie leaflets at Core Art Hall. She also worked part time tutoring students, and even mentoring Ryoo Seung-bum during his middle school years.

In 1995, she joined a film company in Chungmuro, called "Movie Room" under CEO Joo Pil-ho and started promoting foreign movies. She was part of the production department for Lim Jong-jae's film Kill the Love.

In 1996, She joined the film company Cinema Service during the production of Two Cops 3 where she worked closely with film producer Kim Mi-hee.

In 1996, Kang invested her own savings in director Ryoo Seung-wan's short film debut, "Transmutated Head." At that time, she was the youngest member of the production department, while director Ryoo Seung-wan was the youngest in the directing field.

In 2000, Kang joined Good Movies Co., Ltd. led co-CEO and film producer Kim Mi-hee as the youngest member of the production department. She started as producer by working on director Byun Young-joo's film Ardor. Despite her lack of experience and young age, Kang was determined to learn the ropes of film production. Producer Kim Mi-hee encouraged her to understand the field thoroughly if she wanted to become a producer. Her initial tasks were challenging, such as picking up cigarette butts on set and managing traffic from a distance. People even mistook her actions for dancing. After long hours of work, she was rewarded with food and 30 cans of film to transport. Alone on a late-night bus ride with the heavy load, Kang reflected on the hard work and dedication required to make movies, realizing the significant human effort involved in the process.

While working at the company, Kang was also involved in the marketing of director Ryoo Seung-wan's film No Blood No Tears, but she chose not to handle its promotion directly. Kang believed it was a strategic move to delegate the promotion to someone who could offer a neutral perspective. In 2004, she served as the producer for director Byun Young-joo's film Flying Boys. This project marked her last work with the company. In 2005, Kang made the decision to resign from her position when she became pregnant with her third child.

As producer and CEO of Filmmaker R&K
In 2005, Kang and Ryoo Seung-wan used the bonus from the film Arahan as capital to establish their own film company. They named the company Oeyunaegang with Filmmaker R&K as their official English name, derived from their surnames. The name was actually created when they collaborated on their first short film in 1996. The Chinese characters of the name literally translate to "soft on the outside, strong on the inside." This phrase also symbolizes that Ryoo serves as the external face of the company, while Kang takes on the role of an internal leader. Kang has been the CEO since the company's establishment. Director Ryoo Seung-wan focused on directing films, Kang took charge of the overall production aspects.

After giving birth, Kang produced Filmmaker R&K's first film, The City of Violence (2006), a South Korean action thriller film co-written and directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, who stars in the film alongside action director and longtime collaborator Jung Doo-hong.

Kang's second film, Dachimawa Lee, was released in South Korea on August 13, 2008. The movie was based on an internet version of "Tachima and Lee" that had gained 1.2 million views in 2000. Despite the popularity of the internet version, the theatrical release in 2008 failed to attract audiences and performed poorly at the box office. By September, 2008, the film had only garnered a total of 629,591 admissions and grossed US$3,715,997. Kang faced financial difficulties that made it hard to pay the office rent, resulting in the cancellation of the deposit and a threat of eviction. Kang had to remove the office furniture but couldn't afford storage. Luckily, the Yangsu-ri filming studio offered an empty room to help Kang out.

Kang left her home in Yangsu-ri and moved with her mother and children to a large house she purchased in the secluded mountains of Toechon in Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do. Shortly afterwards, she took a part-time job at the Korea Tourism Organization. Kang was then offered a commercial project featuring Chinese actors exploring Korea, which was exclusively aired in China. The earnings from creating four of these commercial shorts were used to settle outstanding salaries for her employees. Soon, Motorola expressed interest in a cinematic promotion for their 2G phone, Classic. Kang collaborated with Ryoo Seung-wan to create a short film for this purpose.

Meanwhile, director Ryoo Seung-wan wanted to make film again, prompting Kang to rent an office space. Kang also worked as producer in the film Troubleshooter (2010 film), starring Sol Kyung-gu and directed by newcomer Kwon Hyuk-jae. Kwon Hyuk-jae has the experience of winning the grand prize in the action thriller category at the Mise-en-scène Film Festival for The Short Art of War and is an action fanatic who worked as an assistant director on Arahan, Crying Fist and Dachimawa Lee. Kang managed to secure MoU with Daejeon City and the Daejeon Film Commission to support the production of the film.

Kang's return to success with The Unjust, received critical acclaim for its gripping narrative, action scenes, social commentary, and stellar performances by Hwang Jung-min and Ryoo Seung-beom. It was a box office hit, selling over 2.7 million tickets and ranking in the top ten for year.

Kang then produced The Berlin File, written and directed by Ryoo Seung-wan. This espionage thriller follows a North Korean spy betrayed during a weapons deal. To prepare for the film, Ryoo Seung-wan met with North Korean defectors and filmed the documentary *Spies* for Korean broadcaster MBC. The film, shot in Europe, focuses on South Korean agents uncovering North Korea's secrets and explores the emotional toll of espionage. Despite becoming the highest-grossing Korean action film, attracting 13.41 million viewers. It barely broke even due to its high budget of 5.9 billion won. This experience led them to recognize the need to target younger audiences and make more cost-effective films in the future.

In 2015, Kang served as a producer for the action film Veteran, again written and directed by Ryoo Seung-wan. The film tells the story of a ruthless third-generation business tycoon pursued by a detective investigating a truck driver's mysterious injuries. Despite its modest budget of ₩6 billion, Veteran became a huge success in the South Korean box office, with 13.3 million admissions and earning US$89.7 million. It stands as the biggest hit of Kang's career and ranks as the 5th all-time highest-grossing film in Korean cinema history. The film brought Kang significant success and established her reputation as one of the leading female film producers in her 40s.

Their next project was together The Battleship Island, set on Hashima Island, an outlying island abandoned by Japan off the coast of Nagasaki, where countless Koreans were drafted into forced labor during World War II. The film follows a group of American OSS agents and Korean independence fighters on a mission to evacuate a key Korean figure from the island. The film's total production cost was 25 billion won.

Initially, Filmmaker R&K primarily focused on producing director Ryoo Seung-wan's films. However, over time, the company has expanded its efforts to discover new directors. In 2017, Filmmaker R&K established a joint production system with Film K starting with The Battleship Island. Followed by On Your Wedding Day and Svaha: The Sixth Finger.

Also in 2019, filmmaker R&K released the action comedy film Exit, written and directed by Lee Sang-geun as his first feature film debut, and starring Jo Jong-suk and Im Yoon-ah. Exit also marks Im Yoon-ah's first leading role in a film and is also the second film in her acting career after appearing as a supporting role in Confidential Assignment in 2017. The story follows a man trying to reconnect with an old crush, but they end up fleeing from a mysterious gas threatening Seoul district. Exit first premiered in South Korea on July 31, 2019. It was South Korea's third most-watched domestic film of the year, as it sold more than 9.4 million admissions domestically. It was also a worldwide box office success, earning over US$69.5 million.

Due to commercial success of Svaha: The Sixth Finger and Exit, Kang won the 'Female Filmmaker of the Year' award at The 2019 Women's Film Festival, hosted by the Women Filmmakers Association.

In 2021, director Ryoo Seung-wan's Escape from Mogadishu and Hwang Jung-min's Hostage, which were released in July and August, were released one after another at three-week intervals as works produced by Filmmaker R&K. Kang produced Escape from Mogadishu, a film based on real events of the Somali Civil War in the 1990s. It depicted details of perilous escape attempt made by North and South Korean embassy personnel stranded during the conflict. The film made with production cost of 24 billion was entirely shot in Morocco. It was selected as the South Korean entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.

Personal life
In May 1993, Kang attended a three-month filmmaking workshop at the Independent Film Council, where she met Ryoo Seung-wan, who was working as an assistant. They began dating after collaborating on a movie project. Kang was immediately drawn to Ryu's passion for movies, which stood out to her despite the challenges she faced in her life. Despite Ryu's rough exterior, his enthusiasm for filmmaking always shone through, making him special to Kang. "His genuine heart and love for movies captured me completely," Kang reminisced.

In 1997, after four years of dating, Kang married Ryoo Seung-wan in a modest Ceremony. Kang faced opposition from her father and her boss, Kim Mi-hee, when she announced her decision to marry Ryu. They did not accept Ryu Seung-wan, a high school graduate and aspiring film director, as a suitable match for Kang at first.

The couple now has three children. As of 2017, their eldest daughter is in the third grade of high school, while their two sons are in the second grade of middle school and the sixth grade of elementary school.