Kim Hee-sun
Song made his feature film debut in 1999 with the time-traveling romance "Calla", starring Song Seung-heon and Kim Hee-sun, but didn't become more widely known until the success of his second film, "Failan" (2001). Starring Choi Min-sik and Cecilia Cheung, the film is about a hoodlum who finds purpose in life after discovering true love, and it won praise from audiences and critics alike for its sympathetic portrayal of the weakness and deep flaws lingering behind the façade of bravado of Korean men. It earned Song two best director honors, from the 2001 Blue Dragon Film Awards and the 2002 Grand Bell Awards, cementing him as a major force in Korean cinema.