One of the most successful comedian in the 1980s in Korea, SHIM Hyung-rae took his comedic strengths over to the big screens. His early works were comic features that targeted young audiences, building on the popular “Young-gu” character he created, and monster movies with dinosaurs. The media and critics did not consider his works as worthy of mention, but he received continued support from his children fans. With the know-how he accumulated through his monster movies, S...More

One of the most successful comedian in the 1980s in Korea, SHIM Hyung-rae took his comedic strengths over to the big screens. His early works were comic features that targeted young audiences, building on the popular “Young-gu” character he created, and monster movies with dinosaurs. The media and critics did not consider his works as worthy of mention, but he received continued support from his children fans. With the know-how he accumulated through his monster movies, SHIM dreamt bigger dreams--to make blockbuster SF features and sell his films to Hollywood. His dream was materialized with <D-Wars>, which officially cost 30 billion won in production, the biggest-ever amount for a Korean movie. A box office success in Korea, <D-Wars> was also the first Korean-made film to be wide-released in the US. SHIM assumed “Young-gu” character again in his latest feature, <The Last Godfather> in 2010, which cast a Hollywood movie star [Harvey Keitel]. Less