나운규 羅雲奎
Independence patriot · Film director and actor · Wrote, directed and starred in the film Arirang (1926) · Order of Merit for National Foundation, Patriotism Medal (1993)
| Life | 1902 ~ 1937 |
| Era | 근현대 |
| Clan | 나주 나씨 |
Life & career
Na Woon-gyu (1902–1937) was a film director, actor and screenwriter of the Japanese colonial period, regarded as a pioneer of Korean national cinema. His clan seat was Naju and his pen name Chunsa. He was born in Hoeryong, North Hamgyong Province, the third son of the herbal doctor Na Hyeong-gwon.
After Hoeryong Common School he entered Myeongdong Middle School in North Jiandao in 1918, but when the school was closed he wandered through Jiandao and Manchuria and became involved with independence army groups. He was arrested as a suspect in a plot to blow up a tunnel on the Cheongjin–Hoeryong railway and served a year and a half in prison, being released in 1923.
In 1924 he joined Joseon Kinema in Busan, made his screen debut in Unyeongjeon and won recognition in Simcheongjeon and Nongjungjo. In 1926 he wrote, directed and starred in Arirang, which caused a sensation, followed by works such as Pungunah, Beongeori Samryong (The Mute Samryong), The Ferryboat Without a Ferryman (as lead actor) and Omongnyeo. In about fifteen years he left 29 works and appeared in 26 films, writing, directing and starring in 15 of them.
Soon after finishing Omongnyeo in 1937 he died of tuberculosis in Seoul. He was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Patriotism Medal, in 1993.
Descendants
Son Na Bong-han (stage actor and film director)