As the film "The King's Warden" continues its box office run, warm anecdotes about director Jang Hang-jun, who directed the film, have been circulating and drawing attention. Alongside the film's success, the director's personal side is once again gaining focus.
Earlier, actor Kim Yong-seok posted on his social media last month, "'The King's Warden' life is like Jang Hang-jun," and revealed an anecdote from the time of filming. He, who appeared as Pan Hanseong-bu official Yu Gwi-san in the film, said, "I'm grateful just to have been part of the project, but there was a time I felt deeply thankful to the director personally."
According to Kim Yong-seok, while they were moving the monitor during filming and he mentioned that his baby had been born a few days earlier, director Jang Hang-jun reportedly first offered, "If you give me your home address, I'll send diapers. At first you need a lot of diapers." Because of wardrobe constraints at the time he couldn't take out his phone to exchange contact information, but the next day Director Jang contacted him directly to ask for the home address and the diaper type, and two boxes of baby diapers were actually delivered to his home. Kim Yong-seok added warmly, "I also want to be someone who offers that kind of comfort to others."
In addition, anecdotes about director Jang Hang-jun shared by fellow directors have recently been revisited online. Director Lim Seon-ae mentioned on a YouTube channel, "Around the end of filming, Director Jang Hang-jun paid for a big company dinner," and director Yoon Dan-bi also said, "He bought so much food that we felt sorry." Director Jang is known to have expressed his belief, "My philosophy is that those who earn more should keep sending down to those below," according to reports.
Another heartwarming story was also revisited online. In the past, Director Jang Hang-jun directly mentioned on a YouTube channel that when he was preparing to become a director he befriended a part-time worker in his 20s who worked at a barbecue restaurant. At the time, the young man had to give up attending art school because of financial difficulties, and Director Jang Hang-jun and writer Kim Eun-hee encouraged him, saying, "It's not too late even now," telling him not to give up his dream, and they reportedly let him use an empty room in their home so he could resume painting.
He later was accepted to Hongik University's College of Fine Arts, and seven to eight years later he was named one of the "33 young artists" selected by the Seoul Arts Center, growing into an artist who drew attention in Korea's art world. The person reportedly married a member of Director Jang Hang-jun's production staff and has maintained the relationship to this day. As these stories became known, online reactions such as "There's a reason things go well" and calling him the king of heartwarming anecdotes added to the warm response.
Meanwhile, "The King's Warden" is a film set in 1457 at Cheongnyeongpo that depicts the story of the dethroned young king Danjong Lee Hong-wi and village headman Eom Heung-do, and it has surpassed 11 million cumulative viewers, continuing a long run at the box office.
[photo] 'OSEN DB, SNS'
[OSEN]