Na Woon-gyu - Early Life

Early Life

Na Woon-gyu was the third son of Na Hyong-gwon, a military officer during the final days of the Joseon Dynasty who had returned to his hometown of Hoeryong, Hamgyongbuk-do to teach. As a high-school student, Na was involved in theater and acting, but also in anti-Japanese activities including the March 1, 1919 protest against the occupation. To avoid imprisonment, he spent two years crossing and re-crossing the Duman River, which separates Korea from Manchuria. He traveled as far as Siberia, joining with Korean Liberation fighters in anti-occupation work.

In 1921, he returned to Seoul, and enrolled in Yonhui (now Yonsei) University to study social science. It was at this period that his fascination with the cinema began. He would fill notebooks with jottings while watching films in theaters, and would carry a hand mirror with him wherever he went to practice facial expressions.

However, like the main character in his first, and most famous film, Arirang, he was caught by the Japanese and jailed for his participation in The March 1st Movement. While in prison in Chongjin, from 1921 until 1923, Na received his artistic pen-name, Chunsa, from Lee Chun-song, another resistance fighter. When he was released in 1923, he joined the Yerimhoe Play Troupe in his hometown, Hoeryong.

After leaving the troupe, he sold all of his books to buy a train ticket to Busan, where he applied for a job acting at the Choson Film Company. He started playing extras and then villains in films for this company. His debut was in the 1925 film UnYeongJeon.