the Gyo-dong neighborhood of Seoul—now part of Gyeongun-dong in Jongno-gu—on October 10, 1922. His family had lived in Seoul for several generations, and his grandfather was a guard at Gwanghwamun. Kim's family was well-educated and artistically inclined. His father, Kim Seok-jin, was an English teacher, and his mother, Han Jin-cho, was also a teacher and a graduate of Gyeonggi Women's College. Both painted as a hobby. The family had two daughters, and Kim Ki-young was their only son. One of his sisters graduated as an art major from Seoul National University, and the other majored in dance at Ewha Womans University. His sisters encouraged the young Kim to develop his own creativity. The family moved to Pyongyang in 1930, where they stayed for the next 10 years. At Pyongyang National High School, Kim showed exceptional talent in music, painting and writing, and his studious nature earned him the nickname "Professor of Physics". While still a student, one of Kim's poems was published in a Japanese newspaper, and he was awarded first prize in a painting competition. Despite his artistic talents, Kim's main interest was medicine, and he applied for entrance into medical school upon graduation from high school in 1940. When he failed to gain admittance, Kim moved to Japan, planning to study and save up money to reapply for medical school. The theater and cinema grew into lifetime interests at this time. Kim often went to Kyoto, where he attended many stage productions and saw many international films. Josef von Sternberg's Morocco (1930) and Fritz Lang's M (1931) made a particularly strong impression on him, and their influence was to show in his mature film style. Kim returned to Korea in 1941, initially planning to work as a dentist, but instead immersing himself in the study of drama. At this time he was particularly interested in classical Greek theater, Ibsen and Eugene O'Neill. To avoid conscription by the Japanese into the military, Kim returned to Japan briefly before 1945. He returned to Pyongyang where he studied Stanislavsky's theories of acting and founded a theatrical group called "The Little Orchid". In 1946 Kim enrolled in Seoul Medical School, Seoul National University, and graduated with a major in dentistry in 1950. While attending university, his theatrical activities continued. He founded the National University Theater in 1949, and with this group staged many works of the Western theater, including Ibsen's Ghosts, Čapek's