'The King's Warden' reached 10 million admissions, making director Jang Hang-jun a 10-million director for the first time in his 24-year career. He is no longer just known as the husband of writer Kim Eun-hee but can comfortably be called a 10-million director and a master.
The film The King's Warden (director Jang Hang-jun, distributed/provided by SHOWBOX, produced by Onda Works·BA Entertainment, abbreviated 'The King's Warden') reached 10 million admissions on the 7th. According to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) integrated box office network, The King's Warden recorded a cumulative audience of 10,000,855 at about 6:32 p.m. that day.
With this, director Jang Hang-jun, who debuted in 2002 with the film Light the Lighter, became a director who made his first 10-million film 24 years after his debut. It is especially meaningful because it is the first 10-million film in about two years since The Roundup: Punishment in May 2024, at a time when Korea's movie theaters are in a slump. Here we look back at representative works from the filmography of director Jang Hang-jun, who has become a 'master.'
# debut film 'Light the Lighter,' a Korean comedy classic even after 20 years
Director Jang Hang-jun made his commercial feature film debut in 2002 with Light the Lighter. The film tells the story of Bong-gu (Kim Seungwoo), an irresponsible unemployed man who, at the age of 30, loses the lighter he bought with his entire savings at Seoul Station. Bong-gu not only boards the train to Busan from Seoul Station to find the lighter but also confronts and stands up to gang boss Cheol-gon (Cha Seung-won) whom he meets on the train.
It was nothing more than a disposable lighter costing only 300 won. But for Bong-gu it became his 'entire fortune,' and its presence changed in that moment. From his debut, director Jang Hang-jun captured that subtle difference in his work and delivered laughter. Bong-gu's obsession with the lighter throughout the train journey, the butterfly effect started by a single disposable lighter, and the laugh-inducing ending—Light the Lighter is still counted as a trustworthy and watchable Korean comedy classic even 24 years after its release.
In particular, director Jang Hang-jun became famous from his debut for demanding a 'no shouting' rule from head staff on set. It was his choice and insistence to maintain a set where people gathered to make a film they loved and to keep the creative environment enjoyable. At a time when profanity and abusive language were rampant on film sets, it was quite a bold request for a debuting newcomer director. Nevertheless, his principle has continued to be upheld and talked about. At the same time, it has become exemplary. Wasn't his ability to remain calm and laugh without shouting in any situation Jang Hang-jun's true charm and asset?
# 2 million, the wall of lament that could not be overcome: 'husband of Kim Eun-hee' who endured
After the attention his debut received, he released another new work the following year, Spring Wind Blow, but it flopped at the box office. After that came a period of lament. For 15 years, he did not present another directed film until Memory of Night in 2017. During that long period of obscurity, director Jang Hang-jun worked with his wife, writer Kim Eun-hee, participating as a writer on the 2010 tvN drama Crisis: Windmill Villa, and spent a time of endurance appearing in many films in bit parts and special appearances and contributing to adaptations.
In particular, in 2011 he finally had a signature work by participating in writing the SBS drama Sign with his wife, writer Kim Eun-hee, which became a success. After Kim Eun-hee also made the hit tvN drama Signal, Jang Hang-jun came to be known not as a director but as the husband of Kim Eun-hee. However, he did not shrink back. On various broadcasts he naturally and proudly boasted of his wife's achievements, and he did not fall short behind the label 'husband of Kim Eun-hee.'
Meanwhile, Memory of Night, starring Kang Ha-neul and Kim Moo Yul, drew 1.38 million, and the film Rebound, released six years later in 2023, attracted only about 700,000, not even reaching 1 million. Nevertheless, director Jang Hang-jun showed persistence by continually challenging new genres—after comedy came thriller, after thriller came sports—regardless of box office performance.
# finally, the first 10 million: 'The King's Warden' and a master
The King's Warden is fundamentally a work set in 1457 at Cheongnyeongpo about a village chief who volunteered for exile for the village's revival and a young dethroned king who was exiled. It movingly portrays the tragic Joseon king Danjong (Park Jihoon), who was killed at a young age; Eom Heung-do (Yoo Hai Jin), who risked death to watch over and handle his final moments; and the residents of Yeongwol at the time who sheltered them.
The King's Warden, which is also director Jang Hang-jun's first historical drama, is recognized not only for its 10 million admissions but also by viewers who love the film as a work that reads its era. Why does the young tragic Joseon king who died centuries ago resonate with citizens living in 21st-century democratic Korea? The brutal world of power that kills even nephews bound by blood, the battered appearance of morality and justice within it—these elements leap across centuries to generate empathy and leave implications for contemporary audiences.
There are certainly shortcomings to the film, such as the somewhat laughable tiger CGI or the seemingly compressed bond between Danjong and the residents near Cheongnyeongpo due to runtime limits. Nevertheless, the fact that more than 10 million people chose The King's Warden during a period when the theater slump has become entrenched shows that the film's charms more than offset its small flaws. In an era when reason is valued over emotion and fun over meaning, a subtle sensitivity that willingly transcends time and draws immersion is at play. Could this be the secret behind the 10-million success that director Jang Hang-jun achieved in 24 years after capturing joy, anger, sorrow and pleasure in a disposable 300-won lighter? Park Jihoon, who once shouted 'saved in my heart' as a wink boy of idol group Wanna One, now smiles and shouts 'a master in my heart,' making director Jang Hang-jun a '10-million master.'
[Photo] Provided by SHOWBOX and posters of each work.
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