For this week’s Offstage we are diving into the works of a well-known director with an incredible creative mind and a unique style. Let’s dive into the career of Yoo Je-Won.
Beginnings
Yoo Je-Won started off as an assistant director in 2007. During this period he worked for the series ‘Salt Doll’, ‘Sky High’, ‘Life Is Beautiful’ and ‘Stranger’.
His debut as director happened in 2014 with the tvN drama ‘High School King of Savvy’ starring well-known actors such as Seo In Guk, Lee Ha Na and many others.
His following production was the hit tvN rom-com ‘Oh My Ghost’ in 2015, this production became quite big internationally and was one of his first works that put his projects on our to-watch radar.
A very particular aspect of his work is the warm tone of some of his productions. They have a welcoming and soothing effect. One of the best examples for this particular style was his directing work for the 2017 drama ‘Tomorrow With You’ starring none other than Shin Min-A.
Another important feature of a lot of his dramas is the storytelling of it, and how in his productions the sentiment and emotions are enhanced through the direction and camera work. His following productions ‘The Smile Has Left Your Eyes’ (2018), ‘Abyss’ (2019) and ‘Hi Bye, Mama’ (2020), were stories with quite unique genres and strong stories to tell, and his work in them made the plots have a stronger impact in the audience.
Breakthrough and latest works
With his 2021 drama ‘Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha’, Je-Won won the 2022 Asian Academy Creative Award for the Best Direction category.
This drama became one of the most watched dramas on Netflix and spent over two months in the top ten ranking in sixteen different countries. ‘Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha’ and its heartfelt characters and beautiful storyline brought a new light to his directing style. His use of colour tone and unique filmography were key elements that along with the story made this drama a beautiful and engaging watch.
His latest work is the tvN drama ‘Crash Course in Romance’, starring Jeon Do-yeon and Jung Kyung-ho.
Yoo Je-Won’s series have a uniqueness that makes them beautiful to watch. We cannot wait to see his upcoming works, in the meanwhile catch up with his previous work, a few of them are available on Netflix.
