Director Cho Chul-hyun, who wrote 'The Throne' and helmed 'Naraatmal Ssami,' dies at 67

Cho Chul-hyun, the director and screenwriter who wrote "The Throne" and directed "Naraatmal Ssami," a film about the creation of the Korean alphabet, died Thursday. He was 67.

Cho died at around 1 a.m. that day, according to the film industry. He had been battling bile duct cancer since his diagnosis in February.

Born in 1959, Cho began translating foreign films into Korean in 1987 and went on to translate more than 600 titles. He later expanded his role to film producer, joining forces with director Lee Joon-ik and the late Jeong Seung-hye, head of production company Achim. The trio became so closely associated in the industry that colleagues compared them to the three sworn brothers of the classic Chinese novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" — Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei — with Cho cast in the role of Guan Yu.

As a producer, Cho's name appeared in the credits of "Spy Li Cheol-jin" (1999), "Anarchists" (2000) and "A Distant Place" (2008), among others. His presence was especially prominent in the sageuk dramas he made with Lee. He contributed as planner, producer and screenwriter on "Hwangsanbul" (2003), "Like the Moon Escaping from the Clouds" (2010) and "Pyongyang Fortress" (2011). His screenplay for "The Throne" (2015), which depicted the tragedy of King Yeongjo and Crown Prince Sado, earned him the screenplay award at the 35th Korean Film Critics Association Awards, the 2nd Korean Film Producers Association Awards and the 21st Chunsa Film Art Awards.

Approaching 60, Cho stepped behind the camera for the first time. He wrote, adapted and directed "Naraatmal Ssami," which opened in 2019. At the film's production press conference, he said he had harbored the ambition to make a film about Hunminjeongeum — the original Korean alphabet — for about 15 years. He continued creating afterward, contributing as planner and screenwriter on director Jang Hoon's sageuk drama "Mongyudowondo."

Those close to Cho remembered him as "the eternal Guan Yu of Korean cinema" — a voracious reader widely regarded in the industry as a sunbae whose steady, unpretentious character and keen insight earned him the deep respect of younger colleagues.

The funeral hall is located at Room 303 of Korea University Anam Hospital in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. The funeral procession departs Saturday at 7 a.m., and the burial will take place at Seoul Memorial Park.