Hwang Jan-Lee

Hwang Jan-Lee was born on December 21, 1944 into a Korean family of emigrants on the island of Honshu (Japan), where his father headed a shipping company. After the end of World War II, Korea gained independence from Japan, and he and his parents returned to Korea. In 1957 he began training in taekwondo and gradually reached the 7th dan level.

In 1965, at the age of 21, Hwang was drafted into the Korean Army for two years, where he became a martial arts instructor and taught taekwondo to the troops. It is alleged that during this period he killed a man who attacked him with a knife. While accounts of the incident vary, Jan-Lee is said to have avoided jail time because the incident was chalked up to self-defense.

Hwang Jan-Lee began his acting career in the 1970s with several low-budget Korean films before being discovered by a former employee Shaw Brothers Ng Xiyuan, who founded his own company “Seasonal Films Corporation“. He cast Hwang as the evil bandit Silver Fox in “Secret rivals” (1976) alongside fellow debutant and rival superkicker John Liu. This film and its sequel showcased Jan-Li's incredible range and gave Xiyuan his first box office success. Similar collaborations continued in the films “Invulnerable” And "Communication through a jade bottle” 1977.

The following year, Ng cast Hwang as the villain in a kung fu film, which marked the young man's directorial debut. Yuen Wu-ping, and the main role was played by a relatively unknown Jackie Chan. "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow(1978) became a huge hit and set the standard for the kung fu comedy subgenre, although Hwang was nearly turned down for a role in the film due to visa problems while traveling to Hong Kong. In the same year, collaboration with Jackie Chan was repeated in the film “Drunk master“, in which Hwang played the brilliantly cast character “Thunderfoot.”

With Jan-Li's career as an evil martial artist on the rise, he was offered the opportunity to direct, produce and star in his own movie.Killer in the hands of Buddha” (1981). Notably, he left his silver wigs aside and played the lead character in this film.

Hwang continued to teach taekwondo during the height of his prolific film career. One of his students was an actor Seasonal Films Roy Horan, who first met Jan-Li on the set of the film “Bruce Lee's Secret” (1976), and they became good friends and starred in several films together, including “Tower of Death” (1980). In 1982, he released an instructional documentary, The Art of the Power Kick, which successfully demonstrated the technique behind his signature kick repertoire. At the same time, he signed a contract with Shaw Brothers, starring in the films “Guy from Guangdong” (1982),"Ninja in the Dragon's Lair” (1982) and “Ghost Parade” (1983). He was supposed to direct a film for the company, but production was stopped due to disagreements with the lead actor Wong Yu. Hwang refused to continue the project and terminated the contract with SB. In 1983, he returned to Korea to film his second film, “Viper from Canton“, in which he expanded his acting range by playing a fighter seeking redemption for past crimes.

In the mid-1980s he returned to Hong Kong, starring in the film Sammo Hunga "Where is Officer Tuba?” (1986) and “Millionaire Express” (1986). He played with Moon Lee в "Angels” (1987) and Michelle Yeoh в "Magnificent warriors” (1987), although again in henchman roles. He made his English debut fighting by Cynthia Rothrock in the continuation of the series of action films “Don't retreat and don't give up 2” (1988). In 1990, he appeared as a silent villain in the American film “Street soldiers“ before returning to South Korea.

After declining roles in a number of B-movies, Hwang retired from the film industry in 1996 to focus on teaching martial arts and managing his own business ventures. He invested in an American business producing and selling golf tees, and also opened a hotel in Seoul and ran his own security service.

In 2003, Hwang Jan-Lee received 9th dan in taekwondo. He is also a 9th Dan in the World Tang Soo Do Federation, for which he is a technical advisor.

In 2009, he came out of retirement to appear in the 13-episode Korean drama series “Return of Il Ji-mae“. He also became the subject of a documentary film “Anonymous King” (2013) director John-James Hodson, who managed to track down Hwang in Seoul. In the interview, he talks about his personal life, training regime and military career.

Hwang still teaches martial arts. He is an instructor for the World General Tang Soo Do Federation.