Seo Jeong-min (; 5 January 1934 â 7 July 2015) was a South Korean cinematographer who worked on over 130 films from 1959. He died on 7 July 2015, at the age of 81.
Born in Incheon in 1934, he spent his early years in Hamhung and Chongjin before returning to Incheon, where he experienced Korea's liberation and the Korean War. As a child, he loved watching movies at the theater. In his fourth year at Korea University, studying chemistry, he coincidentally entered the film industry through the recommendation of director Park Sung-bok, a friend of his senior.
He debuted with director Im Won-jik's Chon Oboki (1961). In 1964, he won the Grand Bell Awards for Best New Cinematographer for The Marines Who Never Returned, marking the beginning of a period where he almost exclusively handled the cinematography for director Lee Man-hee's major works, dominating the era. In 1966, he also directed Hooni's Mom from Dongdaemun Market, starring Kim Ji-mi, Heo Jang-kang, and Park No-sik.
Later, he worked with directors Kim Ki-young, Im Kwon-taek, and Lee Doo-yong, and continued to participate in films by directors Lee Jang-ho, Jung Ji-young, and Kim Ki-duk in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming a name that connected the past and present of Korean cinema.
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