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Yeon Sang-ho

Yeon Sang-ho

Writer, director and producer · Born December 25, 1978 (47) · Seoul, South Korea

Cannes award nominee

Yeon Sang-ho (born 1978) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He wrote and directed the animated films The King of Pigs (2011) and The Fake (2013), and the live-action film Train to Busan (2016).

Biography from TMDB.

Born
December 25, 1978 (47)
From
Seoul, South Korea
Works as
Writer, director and producer
Titles
17 on Motif · 38 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 157 days to Oct 28Down 8% in 30 days

What are Yeon Sang-ho's films like?

Across their 15 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Morality.

Themes

share of theme weight
Survival
28%
Morality
21%
Bonds
18%
Self
15%
Power
10%
Society
7%
Ideas
2%
Survival8 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds5 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice4 titles, browse their movies with this themeRevenge2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 9 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 1 · Serious 4 · Dark 4

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

Grounded 3 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 2

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

Gentle 0 · Charged 3 · Intense 6

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

Steady 1 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 2

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 9 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 4

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

Casual 0 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 3

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

Easy watch 0 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 6

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

Resolved 6 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
14
Dread
10
Thrilling
7
Melancholic
5
Hopeful
3
Other
3

How their films linger

Thought-provoking6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteDevastating3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 3 with a twist

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet7
  • Ambiguous7

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 Yeon Sang-ho's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 16 of their 17 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (8).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Yeon Sang-ho's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Motif 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

38 credits, 17 with a Motif page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Paradise Lost (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2026)

    Director · Writer

  • Human Vapor(2026)

    Show 8 episodes · Creator · Executive Producer · Writer

    Motif score: 41st percentile of all shows

  • Colony(2026)

    Director · Writer

    Motif score: 71st percentile of all films

  • The Ugly(2025)

    Director · Graphic Novel · Writer

    Motif score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Revelations(2025)

    Director · Comic Book · Writer

    Motif score: 43rd percentile of all films

  • Parasyte: The Grey(2024)

    Show 6 episodes · Director · Creator · Writer

    Motif score: 62nd percentile of all shows

  • The Bequeathed(2024)

    Show 6 episodes · Executive Producer · Screenplay

    Motif score: 25th percentile of all shows

  • Nattering with Nah (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2023)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Jung_E(2023)

    Director · Writer

    Motif score: 25th percentile of all films

  • Princess Aya (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2022)

    Producer

  • Monstrous(2022)

    Show 6 episodes · Creator · Writer

    Motif score: 10th percentile of all shows

  • The King of Pigs(2022)

    Show 12 episodes · Creator · Original Film Writer

    Motif score: 91st percentile of all shows

  • Hellbound(2021)

    Show 12 episodes · Director · Comic Book · Creator · Original Film Writer · Screenplay

    Motif score: 37th percentile of all shows

  • The Cursed(2021)

    Writer

    Motif score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Peninsula(2020)

    Director · Writer

    Motif score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • The Cursed(2020)

    Show 12 episodes · Creator · Writer

    Motif score: 60th percentile of all shows

  • Psychokinesis(2018)

    Director · Writer

    Motif score: 40th percentile of all films

  • The Way Home (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2017)

    Director · Writer

  • The Senior Class (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2016)

    Original Story · Producer · Screenplay

  • Kai (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2016)

    Producer

  • Seoul Station(2016)

    Director · Editor · Producer · Writer · as Young Man 4 (voice)

    Motif score: 47th percentile of all films

  • Train to Busan(2016)

    Director · Adaptation · as Control Room (uncredited)

    Motif score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Master and Man (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2014)

    Producer

  • The Satellite Girl and Milk Cow (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2014)

    as Playground Person / Passerby (voice)

  • The Fake (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2013)

    Director · Editor · Writer · as Biker 2/ Choi Kyeong-seok's underling 3/ Karaoke guest 1/ Police 3/ Church voice (voice)

  • The Window (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2012)

    Director · Writer · as Lee Chang-su

  • The King of Pigs (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2011)

    Director · Editor · Writer · as Lee Jeong-min / Cat / Kim Yeong Message Center / School students (voice)

  • RedaKai(2011)

    Show Director

    Motif score: 25th percentile of all shows

  • Love Is Protein (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2008)

    Director · Writer

  • Indie Anibox: Selma's Protein Coffee (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2008)

    Director

  • The Hell (Two Kinds of Life) (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2004)

    Director · Editor · Producer · Writer

  • Megalomania of D (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1998)

    Director

  • 35th Street (not in the Motif catalog yet)

    Director · Writer

  • Devotion (not in the Motif catalog yet)

    Director

  • Dr. Apocalypse (not in the Motif catalog yet)

    Director

  • Parasyte: TAMIYA (not in the Motif catalog yet)

    Show 1 episode · Creator · Writer

  • The Last Train to New York (not in the Motif catalog yet)

    Original Film Writer

  • 심야사진관 (not in the Motif catalog yet)

    Show 1 episode · Creator · Writer

Career shape

A full career of 37 titles, 31 of them dated from 1998 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Train to Busan (2016)

$94M worldwide

Highest rated

Train to Busan (2016)

Motif 97th

Most popular right now

Colony (2026)

Film career

  • 2011Screen debut· The King of Pigs

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting7 of 37: 2 only acting, 5 with another roleDirecting22 of 37: 4 only directing, 18 with another role · typical Motif score45thWriting28 of 37: 2 only writing, 26 with another role · typical Motif score45thProducing8 of 37: 3 only producing, 5 with another roleEditing4 of 37: 0 only editing, 4 with another roleOther crew8 of 37: 0 only other crew, 8 with another role · typical Motif score51st

37 titles, 26 with more than one role — writing and directing overlap on 18 of them.

By decade

1990s1 · crew2000s3 · crew2010s11 · 6 acting · 10 crew2020s16 · 1 acting · 15 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 Motif score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

Nominated for 2 Cannes awards in 2012.

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 Yeon Sang-ho's films land?

Their typical Motif film has a Motif score in the 47th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 52nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

52ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Approval · how many liked their films

41stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Reach · how many have seen their films

88thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Motif score across 17 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th10
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

6 of their 17 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser4
  • Broadly Agreed4
  • Mixed6

Most divisive · director

RedaKai (2011)

76th percentile spread · 19% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor, director, writer

Train to Busan (2016)

Motif 97th · 86% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 46/100 and the plot and story 46/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; 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 Motif score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif 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 Yeon Sang-ho's work okay for kids?

Across up to 8 Motif titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films and sex & nudity and alcohol & drugs lighter.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore6 titles71–88 · median 83 · severeheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity8 titles6–35 · median 17 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity5 titles34–69 · median 53 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs5 titles6–32 · median 22 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense5 titles71–92 · median 88 · severeheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

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 Yeon Sang-ho work with?

People who share at least 2 of Yeon Sang-ho's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Kim Dong-wook shares the most, 5.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers