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Martial Arts Director Jung Doo-hong

Jung Doo-hong is in high demand both for TV dramas and the silver screen. He is indispensable to action filmmaking. He directs the most touted Korean films. Jeong is the number one martial arts director in the country.

Fiery passion and innocence

Jeong is undisputedly the country's top martial arts director and the best stunt performer as well. Stories about him are countless. Just to hear about him from other film directors who worked with him will take up half a day. The list of dramas and movies he has worked on would make a thick book. He has always been strong headed, over the top and ready to make the next big scuffle. But any producer who has worked with him once wants to keep him around. Why? Because whatever the film director wants, Jeong can make happen with any means possible. There were more times that the director tried to talk him out of a daring action scene rather than Jeong turning down a director's call. Jeong's eyes are extremely intense when he is dead focused on the film set during acting or coaching the cast. But anyone who has seen his smile may also be puzzled. To quote director Kim Seong-su, Jeong is a "country lad" with a big, warm heart.

From taekwon boy to director

Born in 1967 in Imcheon, Buyeo County, South Chungcheong province, up until entering high school, Jeong was in fact a particularly quiet boy. He was small in physique, not into any sports and shy in front of girls. But the opening of a taekwondo (Korean martial art) gym in town changed all that. He once saw a children's taekwondo competition on TV and thought it was awesome. He was mesmerized by the sport and hit the gym in rain or snow and practiced ceaselessly. He was the kind of person who endeavored to the end on any passion. He couldn't afford the training fee, but the center's head teacher took note of his hard work and talent and taught him for free. Thus, taekwondo became his destiny.

After graduating from high school, Jeong entered a physical training college in Incheon as a special talent student. He spent most of his college years touring the world as a member of a school squad introducing taekwondo and Korean culture overseas. He served as a martial arts instructor while serving in the military, and briefly as a security guard of a lawmaker after completing his Army duty. Then a senior colleague offered him a film stunt gig. But his rosy dream of the entertainment world was crushed in reality. Stunt actors were not highly regarded some 20 years ago. He failed to notch a role even for a direct-to-video film. His highly trained muscles were only good for carrying the stunt team's luggage and heavy equipment. Distraught, he called it quits and focused more on physical training.

This is when he began to visit Boramae Park to work out. The park remains one of his cherished spots to this day. Every day, he transferred buses to go to the park from Gurodong, where he lived. In a nearby "hapkido (self defense art)" gym, he would practice fighting skills from 11 pm until the next morning. After three such months, he was ready for a proxy stunt role in the famous Korean gang series "The General's Son" directed by Im Kwon-taek. His hard training shined in the movie and the staff was deeply impressed. Even so, Jeong believes stunt actors have yet to be properly appreciated. This is why he opened the Seoul Action School at the Boramae Park gymnasium in 1998.

Cradle of hope, Seoul Action School

Jeong's life story would not be complete without mentioning the Seoul Action School, in which he invested his life and is currently the center of Korean action cinema. The school has now expanded and moved to Paju, Gyeonggi province, but his ambition and love for the school is the same as when he first opened it. At times he is burdened by the responsibility. These days he is also attentive to safety concerns which resulted from a painful memory in 2002. One of his trainees fell sick and went to the hospital, and was diagnosed with malnourishment. When other students missed classes, Jeong found out they didn't have enough money for transport fare. He thereafter worked hard to improve the poor conditions and working environment but it was still a shock to him. He no longer performs stunts on set, but it's more nerve-racking for him to watch his students go at it. So he thoroughly checks every detail during rehearsal.

Always up for new challenge

Jeong always embraced new challenges one after another, such as incorporating a Korean-style wire action scene or a completely new action move. He works brutally hard not to maintain his top position but to challenge himself and advance his skills. Korean action films may soon catch up to Hollywood motion pictures as long as his passion for action-packed Korean cinema continues.

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