I. Introduction
Bae Yong-Kyun is a South Korean film director, painter, and professor. He is best known for his Seon(Zen)-influenced 1989 film Dharmaga tongjoguro kan kkadalgun (Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East). He also wrote and directed one other film, Geomeuna dange huina baekseong (The People in White).
Bae is a painter by training. He holds a doctorate and serves as an art professor in South Korea.
II. Career
Bae studied visual arts in South Korea and France, and he's an art professor in Korea. His first and the only feature length film, "Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East?", probably is the only film in Korean film history to be released abroad first. Its sudden debut caused quite a stir Korea, and only after a successful film festival cicuit tour in Europe, it made its screening in Korea. Despite high media and public attention, Bae remained and still remains unknown and mysterious. It is known, however, that it took more than 7 years to complete his film, and that he used his own resources for the film and did not use any professional actors. Offers from large film studios poured in, but Bae declined them and maintains a private life.
III. Filmography
| Year | Cover | Title |
| 1989 | Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East | |
| 1995 | Geomeuna dange huina baekseong |
