Jung Doo-hong

Quick Facts: Who was Jung Doo-hong?

Subject:

Jung Doo-hong

Known for:

Pioneering South Korean action director, choreographer, and actor known for 'Koreanized' action.

Born:

1966-12-14

Century / Era:

1966s Historical Era Archive

Verified Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

Jung Doo-hong (Korean: 정두홍; born December 14, 1966) is a South Korean action director, martial arts choreographer, stunt coordinator, and actor. Jung Doo-hong was born in 1966 in Chilsan-ri, Imcheon-myeon, Buyeo County, South Chungcheong Province, the youngest of seven siblings. As a child, he was small for his age and had an unusually shy and introspective personality. His life changed dramatically when a private Taekwondo institute opened near his high school when he was a freshman student, and he became engrossed in the traditional Korean martial art, practicing taekwondo every day. Because he was so poor, he could not afford to pay his training fees; the master of the institute, Lee Gak-soo, taught him taekwondo for free because he recognized Jung's passion and talent.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

In 1985, he entered Incheon Junior College as an athletics/physical education major. He was also selected as a member of a performing team that promoted taekwondo and Korean culture around the world, and spent much of his college years overseas, teaching taekwondo in the United States, Japan and Mexico. During his mandatory military service, he served as a martial arts trainer of a frontline elite unit, followed by a brief stint as a bodyguard for a parliamentarian after his discharge from the military. A friend on his bodyguard team recommended Jung as a stuntman. But in 1990, the compensation and benefits that Korean stuntmen received were meager at best, and Jung was hired only to carry heavy equipment for the stunt acting team on a direct-to-video film he applied for.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Deeply disappointed, he temporarily quit stunt work; instead, every day he underwent intensive exercise at Boramae Park to improve his physical strength, and continued learning various martial arts such as aikido, hapkido, kickboxing and fencing under Kim Young-mo at a nearby training center from 11 p.m. Three months later, he was hired as a stuntman for actor Lee Il-jae on Im Kwon-taek's hit movie General's Son (1990). Jung quickly rose up the ranks to become the action director (also called stunt coordinator, martial arts director, or fight director) on the 1992 film Sirasoni ("Bobcat"), making him, at age 25, the youngest to hold that job in Korean film history. In the succeeding years, Jung became the country's most important and influential action director, remaining in the center of Korean movie action by directing/choreographing action for 4 to 6 movies per year. He was responsible for designing the street shooting in Shiri (1999), the wrestling in The Foul King (2000), the western spectacle in The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008), and the hand-to-hand combat and wire work in The Berlin File (2013).

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1966 (1966-12-14): Birth of Jung Doo-hong — Pioneering South Korean action director, choreographer, and actor known for 'Koreanized' action.
2. 1985: 1985 Milestone — In 1985, he entered Incheon Junior College as an athletics/physical education major.
3. 1990: 1990 Milestone — But in 1990, the compensation and benefits that Korean stuntmen received were meager at best, and Jung was hired only to carry heavy equipment for the stunt acting team on a direct-to-video film he applied for.
4. 1992: 1992 Milestone — Jung quickly rose up the ranks to become the action director (also called stunt coordinator, martial arts director, or fight director) on the 1992 film Sirasoni ("Bobcat"), making him, at age 25, the youngest to hold that job in Korean film history.
5. 1999: 1999 Milestone — He was responsible for designing the street shooting in Shiri (1999), the wrestling in The Foul King (2000), the western spectacle in The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008), and the hand-to-hand combat and wire work in The Berlin File (2013).

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Jung Doo-hong

True or False: “Jung Doo-hong's early career in stunt work faced initial financial difficulties due to meager compensation for Korean stuntmen.”

Answer (TRUE ⭕): The article notes that in 1990, the compensation and benefits received by Korean stuntmen were at best meager.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• A. O. Scott — Contemporary (Born in 1966) (1966): American journalist and cultural critic specializing in film and literary analysis.
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• Abdul Salam Arif — Contemporary (Died in 1966) (1966): Iraqi military officer and politician who served as the second president of Iraq.
• Ahmet Ertegun — Shared historical date (12-14 · Died) (2006): Pioneering Turkish-American music executive, co-founder of Atlantic Records.
• Andrei Sakharov — Shared historical date (12-14 · Died) (1989): Soviet physicist turned Nobel laureate and fierce advocate for human rights.
• Abe Saperstein — Historical peer (Died in 1966) (1966): Founder of the Harlem Globetrotters, revolutionized black basketball.
• Abu Musab al-Zarqawi — Historical peer (Born in 1966) (1966): Jordanian jihadist militant known for orchestrating violence in Iraq (1966–2006)
• Aiko Kayō — Historical peer (Born in 1985) (1985): Japanese singer and actress known for her work on the Avex Trax label.
• Alex Honnold — Historical peer (Born in 1985) (1985): Pioneering free solo climber, famous for conquering El Capitan.
• A. J. P. Taylor — Historical peer (Died in 1990) (1990): Influential English historian specializing in 19th and 20th-century European diplomacy.
• 1966 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1966
• December 14 (12-14) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on December 14

Frequently Asked Questions about Jung Doo-hong