Kim Seok-yoon

Kim Seok-yoon is a South Korean director whose work spans television comedy, historical detective films, legal drama, and character-driven JTBC series. He directed the 2004–2005 KBS sitcom Old Miss Diary, centered on the relationships of unmarried women, and later brought its cast and premise to the 2006 feature film Old Miss Diary. The early project established a connection with actor Ye Ji-won, who appeared in both versions. In cinema, he directed Detective K: Secret of the Virtuous Widow (2011), a period mystery adapted from a novel by Kim Tak-hwan. Set in Joseon, the film follows government investigator Kim Min, played by Kim Myung-min, as he investigates killings and a conspiracy involving silver distribution. Oh Dal-su plays his partner Seo-pil, while Han Ji-min appears as Han Gaek-ju. Its success led Kim Seok-yoon to direct Detective K: Secret of the Lost Island (2015) and Detective K: Secret of the Living Dead (2018), again starring Kim Myung-min and Oh Dal-su. The trilogy mixes investigation, action, comic banter, and political intrigue rather than treating Joseon history solemnly. His later television projects became closely associated with JTBC. My Wife Is Having an Affair This Week (2016), adapted from a Japanese series, follows a husband who suspects his wife is unfaithful and anonymously seeks advice online; Lee Sun-kyun and Song Ji-hyo lead it. In The Light in Your Eyes (2019), Han Ji-min plays Kim Hye-ja, a young woman who uses a time-reversing watch and abruptly becomes elderly; veteran Kim Hye-ja plays the older version. Later revelations reframe its apparent fantasy premise. Kim directed Law School (2021), set at Hankuk University Law School after a professor's death. Students, including Kang Sol A, played by Ryu Hye-young, confront classes, rivalries, and a murder case, while Kim Myung-min plays professor Yang Jong-hoon. He then directed writer Park Hae-young's My Liberation Notes (2022). Set largely in Sanpo, it follows siblings Yeom Mi-jeong, Chang-hee, and Ki-jeong, and the mysterious Mr. Gu, who asks Mi-jeong to worship him. Its pacing emphasizes commutes, family debts, work, and emotional fatigue. In 2023, Kim reunited with writer Lee Nam-gyu on Behind Your Touch. The series pairs veterinarian Bong Ye-bun, played by Han Ji-min, with detective Moon Jang-yeol, played by Lee Min-ki. After gaining psychometric abilities in a meteor-shower incident, Ye-bun helps investigate crimes in Mujin. The comedy gradually becomes a serial-murder mystery. Kim works with Han Ji-min and Kim Myung-min while balancing comedy and dramatic turns.