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Ryoo Seung-wan

Ryoo Seung-wan

Director, writer, producer and actor · Born December 15, 1973 (52) · Onyang, South Chungcheong, South Korea

Cannes award winner

Ryoo Seung-wan (류승완) is a South Korean film writer, director, and actor.

Biography from TMDB.

Born
December 15, 1973 (52)
From
Onyang, South Chungcheong, South Korea
Works as
Director, writer, producer and actor
Titles
21 on MovieCove · 36 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Up 71% in 30 days

What are Ryoo Seung-wan's films like?

Across their 14 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Power.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
28%
Power
22%
Bonds
18%
Self
15%
Survival
11%
Society
6%
Ideas
1%
Justice5 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival4 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age2 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception2 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCorruption3 titles, browse their movies with this themeOppression2 titles, browse their movies with this themePower3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 14 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 2 · Dark 8

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 10 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 1

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 2 · Intense 12

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 1 · Shifting 10 · Whiplash 3

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 1

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 6 · Relentless 7

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 1 · Engaged 9 · Full focus 4

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 8 · Open-ended 6 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

1 analyzed role

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
11
Thrilling
8
Dread
4
Joyful
3
Hopeful
3
Other
8

How their films linger

Bittersweet6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 3 with a twist

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet9
  • Ambiguous3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Ryoo Seung-wan's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 16 of their 21 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (10).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Ryoo Seung-wan's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

36 credits, 21 with a MovieCove page; 10 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Humint(2026)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Pretty Crazy(2025)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • I, the Executioner(2024)

    Director · Characters · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • Dr. Cheon and Lost Talisman(2023)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films

  • Smugglers(2023)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Hostage: Missing Celebrity(2021)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Escape from Mogadishu(2021)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Start-Up(2019)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Exit(2019)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Svaha: The Sixth Finger(2019)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • The Big Shot(2019)

    Original Story

    Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films

  • The Battleship Island(2017)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Misbehavior(2016)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films

  • Veteran(2015)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Gyeongju (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    as Teacher Kang

  • Mad Sad Bad (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director

  • The Berlin File(2013)

    Director · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Battlefield Heroes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    as Commando 1

  • The Unjust(2010)

    Director · Adaptation · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Troubleshooter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Producer · Writer

  • Dachimawa Lee (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Director · Screenplay

  • The City of Violence(2006)

    Director · Producer · Writer · as Yoo SukHwan

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • Hey, Man~ (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Director

  • If You Were Me 2 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Director

  • Sympathy for Lady Vengeance(2005)

    as Passerby

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Crying Fist (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director · Writer

  • Arahan(2004)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Oasis(2002)

    as Hong Jong-sae

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance(2002)

    as Chinese Delivery Man

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • No Blood No Tears (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director · Writer

  • Dachimawa Lee (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Director · Writer

  • Die Bad (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Director · Writer · as Seok-whan

  • Doctor K (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Production Assistant

  • Rumble (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Director

  • Veteran (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Original Film Writer

  • Veteran 3 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Characters

Career shape

A full career of 36 titles, 34 of them dated from 1998 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Veteran (2015)

$94M worldwide

Highest rated

Oasis (2002)

Midcredits 97th

Most popular right now

Humint (2026)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting7 of 36: 5 only acting, 2 with another roleDirecting20 of 36: 4 only directing, 16 with another role · typical Midcredits score67thWriting19 of 36: 2 only writing, 17 with another role · typical Midcredits score66thProducing14 of 36: 7 only producing, 7 with another role · typical Midcredits score65thOther crew1 of 36: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

36 titles, 17 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 16 of them.

By decade

1990s2 · crew2000s12 · 5 acting · 9 crew2010s13 · 2 acting · 11 crew2020s7 · crew

Billing

usually 13th · top billed in 0% of 5 roles

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.

Awards

1 major award from 2 major nominations, 2005.

WinNomination
  1. 2005
    • Cannes award, won · Quinzaine des réalisateurs
    • Cannes award, nominated · Directors' Fortnight

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Ryoo Seung-wan's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 66th percentile, the median of all 21; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 70th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

70thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Approval · how many liked their films

67thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Reach · how many have seen their films

89thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Midcredits score across 21 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up8
  • 50th to 74th10
  • 25th to 49th3

Shape of the crowd

14 of their 21 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Crowd Pleaser14
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · producer

Pretty Crazy (2025)

52nd percentile spread · 11% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Oasis (2002)

Midcredits 97th · 86% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 72/100 and the pacing 56/100 in their films, across 14 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Ryoo Seung-wan's work okay for kids?

Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Sex & Nudity6 titles3–42 · median 19 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 32

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Ryoo Seung-wan work with?

People who share at least 2 of Ryoo Seung-wan's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Young-hwan Choi shares the most, 5.

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers