Yu Hyun-mok (Korean: 유현목; July 2, 1925 – June 28, 2009) was a South Korean film director. Born in Sariwon, Korea, Empire of Japan (now in North Korea), he made his film debut in 1956 with Gyocharo (Crossroads).[1] According to the website koreanfilm.org, his 1961 film Obaltan "has repeatedly been voted the best Korean film of all time in local critics' polls."[1] Yu attended the San Francisco International Film Festival in 1963, where Variety called Obaltan a "remarkable film", and praised Yu's "[b]rilliantly detailed camera" and the film's "probing sympathy and rich characterizations."[2]
His dedication to the intellectual side of film and interest in using film to deal with social and political issues led him to have difficulties both with box-office-oriented producers, and with Korea's military government during the 1960s and 1970s.[1] Korean critics have said his directing style is "in the tradition of the Italian Neorealists," yet "the terms 'modernist' or 'expressionistic' [are] just as applicable to his works."[3]
Besides his directing activities, he has taught film,[1] and made a significant contribution to Korean animation by producing Kim Cheong-gi's 1976 animated film, Robot Taekwon V. A retrospective of Yu's career was held at the 4th Pusan International Film Festival in 1999.[3]
Yu died from a stroke on June 28, 2009.[4]
