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Kim Won-seok () is a South Korean television director. He directed Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010), Monstar (2013), Misaeng (2014), Signal (2016), My Mister (2018), Arthdal Chronicles (2019) and When Life Gives You Tangerines (2025).
Kim's first Korean drama as main director was fusion historical drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal in 2010. Based on Jung Eun-gwol's bestselling 2007 novel The Lives of Sungkyunkwan Confucian Scholars, it depicted the friendship and love that develops between four classmates (including a girl disguised as a boy) attending Sungkyunkwan, Joseon's highest educational institute where no women were allowed. Despite solid but unspectacular viewership ratings, Sungkyunkwan Scandal became a cult hit among younger viewers, resulting in increased popularity for its cast Park Min-young, Park Yoo-chun, Yoo Ah-in and Song Joong-ki, and several trophies at the 2010 KBS Drama Awards. Kim won Best New Television Director at the 47th Baeksang Arts Awards, and Best Director at the 4th Korea Drama Awards.
After leaving Kim KBS, in August 2011 Kim signed with media conglomerate CJ E&M, which owns cable channels Mnet and tvN. His first project post-move was a 30-minute music video for Superstar K3 starring the reality show's remaining contestants, titled Superstar K3: The Beginning. Then inspired by the American show Glee, Kim directed Mnet's first-ever musical drama, Monstar in 2013. It was Kim's third time to collaborate with screenwriter Kim Tae-hee (after The Dual Accounts Murder and Sungkyunkwan Scandal). Auditions were held, and Kim cast rookie actress Ha Yeon-soo, K-pop singer Yong Jun-hyung and stage actor Kang Ha-neul in the lead roles.
When tvN announced that Kim would next adapt Yoon Tae-ho's webtoon Misaeng (lit. "Incomplete Life") about a former baduk player who becomes an office temporary work at a trading company, it became one of the most anticipated Korean TV series of 2014. The workplace dramedy Misaeng had no A-list stars (its cast was led by Im Si-wan and Lee Sung-min), but it struck a chord among viewers and critics, unexpectedly becoming a huge ratings hit for cable and a pop culture phenomenon. Kim said, "As cartoonist Yoon said he had rejected every offer from major broadcasters who wanted to dramatize his cartoon because they wanted to insert a love-hate relationship as dramatic devices for TV version. But I told him we wouldn't do that. We, instead, focused more on life of ordinary people like the original cartoon to give glimpse at office life. ... I wanted to make a realistic drama about ordinary people." Misaeng won the Grand Prize (Daesang) at the 9th Cable TV Broadcasting Awards, while Kim won Best Television Director at the 51st Baeksang Arts Awards, beating nominees from terrestrial channels.
Kim next cast Lee Je-hoon, Kim Hye-soo and Cho Jin-woong in Signal, based on the real-life unsolved serial rape-murders of ten women in the city of Hwaseong between 1986 and 1991 (the case also inspired Memories of Murder and Gap-dong). In Signal, detectives from the present and the past communicate across time and space through a two-way radio to solve the crimes. The series was a critical and commercial success, and is currently the second highest-rated drama in Korean cable television history. Signal won several awards from award-giving bodies including Best Drama at the 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards.
From 2016 to 2019, Kim was under Studio Dragon, the production company spun off from CJ E&M. In December 2019, he resigned from the company for personal reasons.
In January 2020, an exclusive report stated that Kim has joined Kakao M's soon-to-be-launched new drama production subsidiary to be led by former Studio Dragon and CJ E&M executive Park Ho-sik. Seven months later, the company, Baram Pictures, was officially launched.
In August 2022, it was reported that Kim will work with writer Lim Sang-choon to develop series under the working title Life (). In December 2022, production designer Ryu Seong-hie confirmed her involvement. The original Korean title, Pokssak sogatsuda (), was revealed on January 27, 2023. This Jeju language expression translates to "thank you for your hard work." The English title, When Life Gives You Tangerine, was announced on January 30, 2023, and is a word play on the proverb "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. The production cost of the series is reported to be around billion.
The series received eight nominations at the 61st Baeksang Arts Awards, the most of any series that year, including BestcDirector. It won four awards. In the first stage of the Grand Prize evaluation, IU, Lim Sang-choon, director Kim Won-seok, and When Life Gives You Tangerines made it as candidate. The finalists entering the second phase of judging were IU, Kim Won-seok, and When Life Gives You Tangerines against unscripted Netflix show Culinary Class Wars, with the show ultimately winning the Grand Prize. It also received the most nomination in 2025 Blue Dragon Series Awards with six categories.
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| Sungkyunkwan Scandal | ||||||||||
| Monstar | ||||||||||
| Misaeng | ||||||||||
| Signal | ||||||||||
| My Mister | ||||||||||
| Arthdal Chronicles | ||||||||||
| When Life Gives You Tangerines |
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