She made her debut as film director in 2010 with Finding Mr. Destiny, a movie adaptation of her own hit musical with the same title.
[1][2][3] Jang's interest in acting was sparked when she attended a church retreat and witnessed a theater performance by college students.
[3] She then studied in England from 1997–1998 and spent her part-time money watching musical performances like The Phantom of the Opera and Cats.
[3][5][6][7] As a student, Jang was a cinephile and additionally had the opportunity to take classes in the film department, located across the hall; there, she met and learned from the director Byun Young-joo.
[9] In 2001, Jang began writing The Tiger Maiden is Having an Affair based on "The Tale of Kim Hyeon-gam-ho" from the fifth volume of Samguk Yusa; the tale is about the unrequited love story between a woman, who lives as a tiger by day and a human by night, and an innocent young man named Kim Hyeon.
It was performed at the Munhwa Ilbo Hall from July 4–25, 2002, starring Eom Ki-jun, Chu Jeong-hwa, Kwon Geun-yong, Shin Mun-seong, Jang Geum-jun, Lim Ki-hong, and others.
[17] In 2005, Kang directed the musical Love Quilt which was performed at the Seoul Education and Culture Center Grand Theater from December 16–20.
[20] While recovering from a car accident, Jang stayed home and wrote a musical inspired by her hospital experience where patients required constant care to prevent bedsores.
Jang addressed her mental health challenges by offering her services and stayed for a month and a half due to a shortage of volunteers.
It features original songs by Kim Hye-sung, who had previously worked with Jang on Songsan Night Flowers.
After the premiere's success, offers for Jang poured in: "It was so scary... because I had just gotten the flicker of a 200-seat stage and I woke up to this overwhelming amount of promise and expectation.
While writing the foundation for Finding Kim Jong-wook that was developed from 2002, Jang wrote a play script titled Melodrama.
[36] Later, the play won of the 2008 Dong-A Theater Award, after which it was rre-performed at Daehangno Cultural Space Ida 2 from September 5 to November 2 in 2008.
[40] Inspired by a drunk man at Dolgoji Station in Seoul in 2002, Jang wrote the hit musical Finding Kim Jong-wook.
While the plot and characters were finalized, Jang needed to rationalize why the protagonist, Ji-woo, didn't search for her first love, Kim Jong-wook, despite having his resident registration card; once she resolved this issue, however, she completed the script in just three days.
[44] Following a survey of 1,000 musical enthusiasts by CJ Entertainment in 2005, Oh Man-seok and Um Ki-joon, the top-ranked male actors, were selected as leads.
Additionally, the production company incorporated audience feedback into marketing, creating posters based on survey results about first loves.
[48] Now directed by Kim Dal-joong, the musical premiered on June 2, 2006 and ran at Daehangno Arts Center 1 until July 30, 2006.
[29][52] In September 2006, the musical Finding Kim Jong-wook held auditions for the cast[53] and returned for a second season in December 2006 with Jang as director.
[59] The fourth season in 2009, directed by Kim Dong-yeon, featured a new stage design with upgraded lighting, music, and choreography.
They performed alongside Oh Na-ra and Park Dong-ha from the previous season, with Kim Jong-goo and Choi Dae-hoon playing a multi-man role portraying 22 characters.
[67][68] Based on Amanda Brown's 2001 novel of the same name, the film Legally Blonde was first a hit movie starring Reese Witherspoon before being adapted again for the Korean stage in 2007.
Initially, she declined due to her schedule, but a few months later, they proposed turning Finding Mr. Kim Jong-wook into a film and suggested that she direct it.
[75] Jang devoted the whole of 2012 to writing Those Days, a jukebox mystery musical featuring 25 songs sung by the late singer Kim Kwang-seok, including "A Private's Letter," "Around Thirty," "I Loved You," and "Becoming Dust."
[76][77] The story revolves around the disappearance of the president's daughter and her bodyguard at a concert commemorating the 20th anniversary of Korea-China diplomatic relations, and the head of the Blue House security team assigned to solve the case recalls the incident 20 years ago when his partner disappeared with an unidentified woman who was in charge of his security, and investigates the connection between the two incidents.
Produced by Ida Entertainment, it was performed as the opening work at the Daehakro Musical Center Grand Theater from April to the end of June in 2013.
It follows the story of Seok-bong (played by Ma Dong-seok) who has invested all his fortune in excavating relics, as well as his younger brother Joo-bong (played by Lee Dong-hwi) who is on the verge of losing his job; eventually, they meet Aurora (Lee Hanee) after a chance accident, after which Aurora reveals a secret that changes their lives and leads to a transformation of their hometown of Andong.
The film showcases Andong's historical sites, including the Uiseong Kim Clan's ancestral home and the Toegye Taesil, thus adding authenticity to the story.
[83] It was based on the hit film of the same name (original title: O Candidato Honesto) that was released in Brazil in 2014 and subsequently ranked first at the box office.
Jang's film succeeded in the domestic box office by not only presenting comical situations involving deceit but also showing a refreshing take on satire.