Sung Kiwoong

Sung Kiwoong

Born 1974. Playwright, director, leader of the 12th Tongue Theater studio.
While studying Korean Language and Korean Literature at Yonsei University, Sung spent one year studying Japanese on an exchange program with the Korean department of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in 1999. After returning to Korea he did graduate studies at the Korea National University of Arts’ School of Drama.

In 2006, Sung debuted as a playwright and director with his play Private Third Class. In addition to his activities as a writer and director, Sung was also active in multiple roles as a translator, interpreter, directing assistant and producer in the world of Japanese and Korean theater. Working in collaboration with Japanese director Junnosuke Tada of Tokyo Deadlock, he created the plays Karumegi (2013) and Taifu Kidan (2015). Among his works as a translator are the three-volume collection of selected plays of Oriza Hirata, titled Collected Plays of Oriza Hirata, and he has co-translated and published [Oriza Hirata’s] For Contemporary Colloquial Theater, and published Collected Plays of Yoji Sakate,: The Attic.

In 2011, Sung’s production of Kagakusuru Kokoro – Mori no Oku Hen (The Scientifically Minded – Deep in the Forest Edition) based on the play by Oriza Hirata won the Excellent Drama award of the 4th Korean National Theater Grand Prix; in 2012, he won the Best Director award of the 1st Seoul Theater Grand Prix for a production of Too much love, too many; in 2013, Sung’s play Karumegi won the Best Play, Best Director and Best Visual and Sound Design awards of the 50th Dong A Play Awards; and in 2014, he won the 4th Doosan Artist Award and the Young Artist Award of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.