Korean Indie Director and Chinese Star Plan Wedding
In an official press release, indie film director KIM Tae-yong has announced that he and Chinese star TANG Wei will become husband and wife later this year. The pair met during the shoot of KIM’s 2010 film
Late Autumn, which was shot in the American Northwest. Rumors initially surfaced that TANG was dating her co-star HYUN Bin, but those were quashed when KIM and TANG were seen together at the Busan International Film Festival in 2012.
Following his 1999 debut Memento Mori, co-directed with MIN Kyu-dong, KIM has made a name for himself in Korean independent cinema by directing the multi-strand drama Family Ties (2006) and Late Autumn, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival, becoming one of the country’s most critically-acclaimed filmmakers in the process. KIM has also directed many shorts, including Picnic, the concluding segment of Mad Sad Bad, the 3D omnibus that opened this year’s Jeonju International Film Festival.
TANG quickly rose to fame in 2007 when she was cast in Ang LEE’s steamy period drama Lust, Caution, alongside Tony LEUNG Chiu-wai. The erotic nature of her role raised some controversy in her native China, but she weathered criticisms to become one of the country’s leading actresses, most recently toping the charts in the successful romcom Finding Mr. Right.
The couple, who are working hard to learn each other’s languages, will tie the knot this autumn.