Shawn Choi (Korean name: 최승현, Choi Seung Hyun) is a Seoul-based composer and music director whose work spans film, Christian music, and a variety of other musical genres.

 

He has served as a music director and principal composer on approximately 40 feature films, including Return, The Children, The Guard Post, The Black House, My Girlfriend Is an Agent, Fly High, Windstruck, Sisters on the Road, Datchi Ma-Wa Ri, and Runway Cop.

 

In addition, he was one of the principal composers for internationally acclaimed films such as Oldboy, and he composed the complete original scores for Sympathy for Lady Vengeance and The Classic, though he did not serve as the music director. (In Korea, the term ‘music director’ is generally used instead of ‘music supervisor.')

 

Originally a guitarist and largely self-taught in composition, he turned his focus to film scoring. To deepen his musical expertise, he studied classical music theory and conducting privately, and further expanded his foundation by earning a master’s degree in film scoring from New York University.

 

He has served as an adjunct, visiting, and full-time professor at multiple universities, including Myongji University, Korea National University of Arts, Dankook University, Sangmyung University, and Dong-A University.

 

In recent years, he has stepped down from full-time academia, teaching only selectively at Ewha Womans University Graduate School and Yonsei University’s Film Scoring Program, while focusing the majority of his time on composition.

 

His goal is to create highly crafted works in the film music field he has cultivated over the years, to share music that brings deep resonance and joy beyond the realm of film, and to offer praise to God through his music.

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