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Byun Sung-hyun

Byun Sung-hyun

Writer and director · Born December 2, 1980 (45) · South Korea

Byun Sung-hyun is a South Korean Director. After graduating from the Seoul Institute of Arts, BYUN Sung-hyun made the medium-length film

Biography from TMDB.

Born
December 2, 1980 (45)
From
South Korea
Works as
Writer and director
Titles
7 on MovieCove · 10 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Up 20% in 30 days

What are Byun Sung-hyun's films like?

Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
42%
Self
27%
Morality
27%
Survival
4%
Loyalty3 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 6 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 1 · Serious 2 · Dark 3

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

Grounded 2 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 2

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

Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 5

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

Steady 1 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 0

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 4 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1

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

Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 6 · Relentless 0

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 3 · Full focus 2

Heavy: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their heavy movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

Easy watch 0 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 4

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 2 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
5
Thrilling
3
Dread
2
Bittersweet
2
Joyful
1
Other
4

How their films linger

Bittersweet4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet2
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous2

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 Byun Sung-hyun's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (3).

Subscription and free streaming for Byun Sung-hyun'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

10 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page.

  • Mantis(2025)

    Characters · Creator · Writer

    Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all films

  • Good News(2025)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Dirty Money(2024)

    Adaptation

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Kill Boksoon(2023)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • Kingmaker(2022)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • The Merciless(2017)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Whatcha Wearin'?(2012)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • The Beat Goes On (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Director · Writer · as Chups

  • Han Myung-hoi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Show 104 episodes · as King Yejong (young)

  • An Dong (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Writer

Career shape

A full career of 10 titles, 9 of them dated from 1994 to 2025.

Biggest box office

Whatcha Wearin'? (2012)

$13M worldwide

Highest rated

The Merciless (2017)

Midcredits 79th

Most popular right now

Mantis (2025)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting2 of 10: 1 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting6 of 10: 0 only directing, 6 with another role · typical Midcredits score78thWriting9 of 10: 2 only writing, 7 with another role · typical Midcredits score76thOther crew1 of 10: 0 only other crew, 1 with another role

10 titles, 7 with more than one role — writing and directing overlap on 6 of them.

By decade

1990s1 · acting2010s3 · 1 acting · 3 crew2020s5 · crew

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.

How do Byun Sung-hyun's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 76th percentile, the median of all 7; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 78th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

78thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Approval · how many liked their films

73rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Reach · how many have seen their films

92ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Midcredits score across 7 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up4
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th2

Shape of the crowd

None of their 7 titles divides audiences: 5 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Crowd Pleaser5
  • Mixed2

Most loved · director, writer

The Merciless (2017)

Midcredits 79th · 66% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 56/100 and the plot and story 54/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

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 Byun Sung-hyun's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Sex & Nudity4 titlesmedian 24 · mildMedian of all films: 32

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Byun Sung-hyun work with?

People who share at least 2 of Byun Sung-hyun's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Sul Kyung-gu shares the most, 4.

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors