Seo Jeong-min

In this Korean name, the family name is Seo.

Seo Jeong-min (Korean: 서정민; 5 January 1934 – 7 July 2015) was a South Korean cinematographer who worked on over 130 films from 1959.^[1] He died on 7 July 2015, at the age of 81.^[2]

Seo Jeong-min
Nationality	South Korean
Occupation	Cinematographer
Years active	1963–2015
Notable work	The Marines Who Never Returned, Wild Animals, Whispering Corridors
Korean name
Hangul	서정민
RR	Seo Jeongmin
MR	Sŏ Chŏngmin

Early life

Born in Incheon in 1934, he spent his early years in Hamhung and Chongjin before returning to Incheon, where he experienced Korea's liberation and the Korean War. As a child, he loved watching movies at the theater. In his fourth year at Korea University, studying chemistry, he coincidentally entered the film industry through the recommendation of director Park Sung-bok, a friend of his senior.^[3]

Career

He debuted with director Im Won-jik's Chon Oboki (1961). In 1964, he won the Grand Bell Awards for Best New Cinematographer for The Marines Who Never Returned, marking the beginning of a period where he almost exclusively handled the cinematography for director Lee Man-hee's major works, dominating the era. In 1966, he also directed Hooni's Mom from Dongdaemun Market, starring Kim Ji-mi, Heo Jang-kang, and Park No-sik.^[3]

Later, he worked with directors Kim Ki-young, Im Kwon-taek, and Lee Doo-yong, and continued to participate in films by directors Lee Jang-ho, Jung Ji-young, and Kim Ki-duk in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming a name that connected the past and present of Korean cinema.^[3]

Partial filmography

Referenced by:^[4][3]

• The Marines Who Never Returned (1963)
• The Watermill (1966)^[5]
• Wild Animals (1997)
• Piano Man [ko] (1997)
• Birdcage Inn (1998)
• Whispering Corridors (1998)
• Libera Me (2000)^[6]
• Address Unknown (2001)^[7]
• Wishing Stairs (2003)
• My Little Bride (2004)
• Wet Dreams 2 (2004)

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee / Work	Result	Ref.
Grand Bell Awards	1964	Best New Cinematographer	The Marines Who Never Returned	Won	[3]
	1997	Best Cinematographer	Piano Man	Won
	2001		Libera Me	Won	[6]
Golden Cinematography Awards	1977	Best Cinematographer — Bronze Award	First Love	Won	[8]
	1978	Best Cinematographer — Gold Award	The Last Day of Dosolsan	Won
	1982	Best Cinematographer — Gold Award	They Shot the Sun	Won
	1984	Best Cinematographer — Bronze Award	Declaration of Fools	Won
	1994	Best Cinematographer — Gold Award	Absolute Love	Won
	1997	Best Cinematographer — Gold Award	Piano Man	Won
	2001	Best Cinematographer — Gold Award	Libera Me	Won