- Source: Kim Seryun
Kim Seryun (Korean: 김세륜; August 11, 1928 – February 27, 1998) was a North Korean screenwriter who specialized in the comedy genre. He was a recipient of the Kim Il Sung Prize and a Labor Hero.
Biography
Kim was born on August 11, 1928, in Unjon County, North Pyongan Province during the Japanese occupation of Korea. He later lived in Seoul for a brief period with his family and went to college there, but left to serve as a volunteer soldier upon the Korean War commencing in 1950. His family remained in South Korea during and after the war; Kim's experiences of being a defector from South Korea to the North and separated from his family due to the Korean War later inspired his script for the 1979 drama film Blood Relative.
Shortly after the war ended, Kim worked at the Pyongyang City Theater. He started his career as a screenwriter at the Korean Film Literature Creation Company in 1962. His first script, entitled The Virgin Captain, was published in 1963.
Kim gained fame for pioneering North Korea's comedy film genre during the mid-1960s. According to the July 2002 issue of the North Korean magazine Chosun Art, the characteristics his comedy works were "above all, beautifully singing the socialist reality with an optimistic smile and praising a hopeful future." The publication considered him equal to Charlie Chaplin as a comedian.
Among his scripting credits outside of the comedy genre are Blood Relative (1979), Pulgasari (1985; with Ri Chun-gu who was uncredited), Hong Kil-dong (1986), the Rim Kkok Jong film series (1987–1989), and Bird (1990). He was working at Shin Films for Shin Sang-ok in the 1980s. In December 1992, he earned the Kim Il Sung Prize and the title of a "Labor Hero" for co-creating the Nation and Destiny film series.
Kim died on February 27, 1998, at the age of 69. According to the Korean Central News Agency in 2014, he was buried at the Patriotic Martyrs' Cemetery in Pyongyang.
References
External links
Se Ryun Kim at IMDb