Hello all


I've been down so many research rabbit holes recently that it only just dawned on me that I've only added a few bits and pieces from my own research to the Koreans on the HKMDB so far, which was the main reason I was recruited in the first place. My entry onto the HKMDB came during yet another period of research on the Jackie Chan Stunt Team (something else I've spent years on [plenty more to come]), so I thought that updating some JCST stuff of there'd be a good way to get into the swing of things. But at the same time as adding updates, I ended up down yet another rabbit whole of research (which will also be of use to the HKMDB in the future). Then with the collapse of the Naver database, my “Korean stuff time” was taken up by trying to deal with the fallout from that. All that (and more) while backing up pretty much my entire collection of DVDs onto a new external hard drive.


It's taken years (and work continues) to build up my own Korean research database, especially when the credits on some of the films are almost none existent and even when there were some, finding pics or info on those names was exceedingly difficult. Even the KMDB couldn't be relied upon as they had a lot of missing data and (more commonly than I'd expect) there'd be inaccuracies with ID's and even mix ups, a good example being Won Jin, who's KMDB page is still mixed with about 5 other Kim Won-jin's. It took a lot of sleuthing and checking films with few credits against each other to put reoccurring names and faces together etc. I'm sure many of you are familiar with that. I even went as far as creating a Hanja database to try and translate films that had credits but in Hanja rather than Hangul. Hopefully the KMDB will get around to revising the info for these Korean martial arts films and actors, surely they must have the data in the vaults somewhere?


When it comes to IDs, I have a crap load of pics that I've taken over the years, but some were merely for reference rather than as a good display image, also, it's only in the past 6 months (I think) that I realised that the players I used to use would sometimes mess up the aspect ratio of the pics, so I switched to MPV player which seems to (as far as I can tell, I'm not a tech guy) play the vids in their original form. It was round about the same time that I discovered that ripping my DVD vids into MPG files produced noticeably better quality images (with some exceptions of course), though took up huge amounts of space. I bought a new external hard drive and painstakingly backed up pretty much my entire collection as MPGs. I also managed to track down and buy many DVDs missing from my collection over Xmas, so there's more there to do. But I've started (and intend to eventually finish) going over all my MPGs to try to get the best pics possible. It's a big mess but I believe the results are worth it.


Obviously this is a momentous task and will take a very long time, too long I think to keep things on hold, so I'm going to begin updating the HKMDB pages for as many of the Korean entries as possible. For the time being I'll upload the images that I already have and use them as place holders, so at least the IDs are there for fellow fans to use, I'm not saying that my older pics aren't any good, it's just that MPG pics are better. Aside from ID's I'll also be:

Correcting any names to a standardised Hangul transliteration system, which will provide some consistency for Korean names on the HKMDB, it is also highly accurate for reverse-engineering between English and Hangul. Previous names will be kept but set as aliases.

Adding the actual Hangul (and Hanja where available).

Correcting any errors I may encounter such as wrongful ID's, wrong credits etc.

Adding actors to cast lists, as many times no credits are available and sometimes even when they are credits they are still missing names.

Adding some further info where available such as DOB, place of birth, aliases etc. and in some cases I'll add bios written using my research.


There's so much to do, so I'm planning to pace myself and update them person by person rather than by film, but I'll play it by ear and see how things go, in some cases it may be more convenient to update a whole film's cast in one go, we'll just have to see. Although I have dedicated years researching Korean martial arts movies, there's only so much one man can do, especially when there is sadly so little to work with. Hopefully KMDB will get their act together an do an overhaul of all the old martial arts movies and those actors too, even the KMDB doesn't give them the attention they deserve. As always, I hope fellow fans find my research interesting or at least useful.

Credits added:
The 18 Amazones [1979] https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=8915&display_set=eng --- actor [character name] + stunt double

Enter The Invincible Hero [1981] https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=8924&display_set=eng --- actor [character names]

The Dragon's Snake Fist [1981] https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=10356&display_set=eng --- actor [character name]

Sheng Tiao Hero [1982] https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=9395&display_set=eng --- actor + stunt double

Dreadnaught Rivals [1982] https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=19075&display_set=eng --- actor [character names] + stunt double

Duel Of Ultimate Weapons [1983] https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=19076&display_set=eng --- [character name]

Shaolin - The Blood Mission [1984] https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=9261&display_set=eng --- actor [character name]

Thunder Kids: Golden Adventure [1989] https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=15766&display_set=eng --- [character name]

To Catch A Thief [1991] https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=7399&display_set=eng --- actor [character name]

Saviour Of The Soul II [1992] https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=7482&display_set=eng --- [character name] + stunt double


Thanks to all that have contributed to and continue to contribute to the HKMDB, it has been an ocean of info for me for so many years, I never would've got to where I am now with my own research if not for the HKMDB. I'm happy that fellow fans have appreciated my contributions so far, It's great to finally be giving back.

Cheers

To see IDs please go to "Won Jin - IDs" in the Actor Identification section.

Won Jin

It'll be no surprise to those who know me that this would be my first port of call. I'm a bit of a Won Jin fan

I've got some more films to add and some more pics. Importantly correcting The Undertaker Of Sohwa Province credit which I determined years ago was actually a woman with the same name, LOL. Easy mistake to make, it seems like everybody on the internet including the KMDB mixed up that one

I also have a decent bio I wrote a few years ago, it's basic but I think it's still useful, plus I can always come back later to beef it up a bit. As the HKMDB page previously had a small Korean filmography, I'll be adding my complete (known) Won Jin filmography, which is by far the most vast and accurate that can be found, it took ages to do and I'm pretty pleased with it. Obviously I've removed some of the extra stuff that's not that as relevant and since I'm adding his other HK films to the database itself, these will be his Korean works, there for those with an interest.

Cheers

Amazing work, J.J.. Thanks for posting the updates!

bkasten wrote:Amazing work, J.J.. Thanks for posting the updates!

Thanks Bob

Very happy to be making this update, this one was quite a find. My hunches are usually correct, but it's not often they pay off this well.

The Taiwanese/Korean cross-over movie Legend Of Peach Blossom is full of familiar Korean martial arts actors, many playing several roles (one I spotted playing at least 7!!!). But what's the best bit for me is that it has my main man Won Jin playing at least 6 roles!!!! There was possibly some more but I couldn't 100% them. Just goes to show how unappreciated the Korean martial arts guys were, when so much is missing from their filmographies all over the net. Please keep an eye out for Taiwanese films that feature some Koreans and let me know, you never know who might be hidden in the cast.

Unfortunately, despite having some help finding a half decent copy, the quality is not the best, most of it is fine but some of the more distant shots or shots in motion (or both ) are too blurry to have as portraits, especially when there are at least 3 decent shots already.

Hopefully there'll be more updates for hidden gems like this.

Cheers

https://hkmdb.com/db/people/view.mhtml?id=9642&display_set=eng

btw: also added The Age Of Success to my full Won Jin filmography.

Some interesting finds from you. I'm also a fan of Won Jin.

Notes:

To Catch a Thief:
He is not in the 97 minutes HK-DVD version (but his name is in the end credits). Added KOREAN CUT to his role name.
Added 3 more Hong Kong stuntman to the cast.

Sheng Tiao Hero:
Interesting is that the Korean version is different from the most common version. The usual version has a fast, good fight with main villain Ko Fei.
On the UK DVD:

https://www.ofdb.de/fassung/49016,228764,Shaolin-Hero/

is that version but as bonus is the ending of the Korean version with a Korean actor as main villain and more drama and less fast fighting.

It would be interesting to see what the Korean version of KILLER CONSTABLE is. I did not see all the Korean actors listed without role names in the hkmdb cast in the Hong Kong version.

Cheers, it was a lot of work Always good to meet another Won Jin fan.

You're quite right about To Catch A Thief, it drove me mad as a kid because Bey Logan said WJ is in it fighting Moon Lee, I had to get my uncle to order the DVD from US and....no WJ even though (as you said) I could see his name in the end credits, I was very upset. Tried tracking a FULL version for ages with no luck, but came across a clip from the fight years ago, but as a kid I wasn't internet savvy (some things never change ) so I couldn't grab it before it disappeared, for years I couldn't find it and thought maybe I'd dreamed it, LOL. In the last few years when I got back into martial arts films I figured out the Korean title, scoured the Korean sites and found a blog that had the full Korean print with both his fight scenes.

I've still no idea why they were cut, they're the best fight scenes in the film Maybe it's something to do with his 3 film contract with David Lai, maybe his scenes couldn't be shown in HK due to some exclusivity clause. It's actually his first HK film before Saviour Of The Soul II and Operation Scorpio, but hardly anyone talks about it.


Yes I have that UK version of Sheng Tiao Hero, bit tricky to come by these days. But it was more of a pain just finding the right film as the English and Chinese names are so similar to other films, some made at basically the same time I will get round to naming the other Korean actors in that film as there's plenty of other familiar faces.

As for Killer Constable, that would be an interesting one to look over, I've not seen it myself yet. I've managed to get a copy from a Korean site, but it's not the Korean cut, just has Hangul subtitles on it

Cheers

I'm very busy with probably my biggest project of all time, I was planning to do it at a later date, but I got in the zone, and that was that So I'm a few weeks in, making lots of headway, though hit some annoying dead ends too. Anyway, this means that I probably won't be doing any large updates for a bit as it's pretty much all consuming when it comes to my free time and brain power

But I'll still try to add a few simpler updates now and then, starting with an update to the Korean Won Jin films I've listed. We have:

Companion, which was a short film he worked on with fellow Korean action star Kwon Seong-yeong. Kwon is the star and Won Jin was the action director (and apparently has a cameo), it was filmed 2020 and apparently released in 2021 but I've not been able to watch it anywhere yet.

Senior Bodyguard, another short film co-lab with Korean action icon Wang Ho (aka Casanova Wong), this time the Won Jin is the designated action director, I don't think he appears in the film, hopefully we'll get to see it one day and I'm proved wrong

Jump Senior, Won Jin's own short film project where he's the star, action director, and film director!!! And I'm happy to say it's making a successful run of various film festivals where he's already won several awards including: Best Director; Best Comedy Short Film; and Special Mention Lead Actor Short Film Film.

On a side note, I also updated some of my Won Jin pics for better quality ones, as many of the older ones were taken from MP4 files rather than MPG, I will get around to all eventually, bit by bit


There are a couple more projects that I can't add yet, such as:

Boy Kim Doo-Han, which had a beginning of production ceremony in May 2021, yet there's still no sign if it will ever be released. It was to be directed by another Korean legend (yes, these guys stick together) Kwon Il-soo, Won Jin as action director and staring Bae Jae-hyeon. But due to Corona-chan filming kept getting delayed and now Bae is noticeably older and everybody seems to be busy doing other things, and there's not been any talk of it, so who knows.

There's also the several short films for the Space Gold Group, two of which have confirmed Won Jin as the action director and a third film in the works too.


He's a busy guy. Hopefully we'll get to see some of these projects at some point here in the West.
Cheers

Well, I said I'd get round to doing this.....eventually And here it is. I've went back over my Won Jin collection and got the best images I possibly could. Some of these are the same shots that I'd uploaded earlier, but the quality is improved, sometimes it's so slight you won't notice, but it's there (believe me, it's there), every little bit counts.

As I'd said back then, some of the earlier pics were just place holders while I got things organised, so these are much better. Some earlier pics were already good, but some needed cropping and/or brightening a bit and I was more selective with which would be tagged as portraits. I also hadn't taken one for each outfit in the films, a practice I've been doing for a while, not only because it's useful, but also means there's even more pics to enjoy.



Note: While working on Operation Scorpio [1991] I also changed Kwon Seong-yeong's credit from [Thug] to [Mr. Sandakan / Wang's bodyguard] and added portraits for both roles too.



I also took some more screenshots too, catching some action or some shots that I just thought looked good.



Finally: I also added a production still from The 18 Amazones [1979], I thought I had already, but I'd used a cropped version as a portrait. So here's the full image.



I hope people like the new pics, but that's not all. I also have a few extra credits to add to the filmography too. No new films unfortunately, but some extra roles:

#1 Legend Of Peach Blossom [1980]: I'd mentioned before that there were a few more possible Won Jin roles to add to the already large number here. Well I was finally able to confirm one of them. As suspected, he is one of the guards in the dungeon fight scene.
https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=19523&display_set=eng


These next two were new discoveries while looking over these films for other actors, they're literally blink and you'll miss them roles, once again proving the need to keep your eyes peeled at all times.

#2 The 18 Amazones [1979]: There's a few seconds scene where the heroes are in a market area near a sign board, Won Jin walks past wearing a fake tash. As if playing an amazon and doubling for the rest of them wasn't enough, they got their money's worth out of him here.
https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=8915&display_set=eng


#3 Duel Of Ultimate Weapons [1983]: Yet another blink and you'll miss him situation. Though this film featured one of Won Jin's more significant early roles, he actually also plays a waiter in one of the early scenes.
https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=19076&complete_credits=1&display_set=eng



And now, I've finally found a good time to take a break from my research. I've been burnt out for a while, I was actually intending to take a break about two months ago, but I wound up doing more and more . Then I set a hard deadline for taking a break....I passed that two weeks ago Then I set a harder deadline....I passed that one week ago But finally I've found a good point where I can switch my brain off from it all without losing where I am with things. Don't worry, I'll be back, there's several of my projects that are near completion and always plenty more for me to do. But It'll probably be for about a week or so, I'm going to play it by ear.


Cheers

Wow, it sounds like you've been on quite the journey of research and discovery! dedication to cataloging and enhancing the information available on Korean martial arts films and actors is truly commendable. It's evident that you've invested a tremendous amount of time and effort into building your own Korean research database and ensuring accuracy despite the challenges you've faced with missing or inaccurate data.

The commitment to updating the HKMDB pages with standardized Hangul transliterations, correcting errors, adding missing information, and even providing bios based on your research is invaluable to fellow fans and enthusiasts. It's inspiring to see someone so passionate about preserving and sharing knowledge in a niche area like this.

The meticulousness with which you approach your work, from backing up your entire DVD collection to ensuring high-quality images for identification purposes, reflects your dedication to excellence.

Thank you for your invaluable contributions and for your ongoing efforts to enrich our understanding of Korean martial arts cinema. Your work is truly appreciated, and I have no doubt that fellow fans will continue to benefit from your dedication and expertise for years to come. Keep up the fantastic work, and know that your efforts are making a significant impact in preserving this important aspect of cinematic history.

Cheers to you!

Thanks very much for the many kind words. I do love doing this stuff, but I'd be lying if I didn't say it is often frustrating and exhausting. So it's always encouraging to hear from others that enjoy my research and have found it useful.

Cheers

More than a million people visit this site per year. So that is a lot of people appreciating your amazing efforts (as well as every other editor's work here).

Thanks Bob. Yes, all HKMDB members are working hard to spread knowledge and preserve a special piece of history here. 화이팅 !!!

Cheers