Comedian-turned-director falls into trap of debts

He was once called a great master of slapstick comedy with his trademark persona, a fool named "Young-gu." After becoming a movie director, Shim Hyung-rae became the first to receive "Korea's new intellectual" medal from the liberal government led by President Kim Dae-jung in 1999. The honor was given in recognition of his success in exporting his first sci-fi monster picture "Yonggari" to the United States, proving the possibility of locally produced blockbusters. The 53-year-old director was widely reported to have clinched big commercial success in 2007 when his second monster picture, the CGI-heavy "D-War," hit the local film market, drawing about 8 million viewers. It also became one of the rare Korean films to hit the U.S. box office, raking in more than US$10 million, according to the Korean Film Council, which promotes the local film industry.