Before 1980 he was known primarily as a commercial filmmaker who could efficiently direct as many as eight genre pictures a year, helping to fulfill the quota for domestic pictures set by the government [http://www.bilaterals.org/article.php3?id_article=530]. His desire to make more artistically satisfying films began to show itself with his 1978 film "Jokbo" ("Genealogy" or "The Family Tree"), but the turning point of his career came with the 1981 film "Mandala". From this point his films have been regarded as art-house cinema, and have been regularly shown at international film festivals, and have won numerous awards.