Choi Tae-young

Choi Tae-young (Korean: 최태영; born July 2, 1971), also known as Ralph Tae-young Choi, is a South Korean film sound designer the co-founder and CEO of Live Tone Studios. As South Korea's largest cinematic sound post-production facility, Live Tone has contributed to over 400 feature films and numerous high-profile streaming series, including Squid Game and Moving. They have also worked on Korea's highest-grossing films such as The Admiral: Roaring Currents, Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds, 12.12: The Day, The Host, Miracle in Cell No. 7, King and the Clown, Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days, A Taxi Driver, Exhuma, Train to Busan, and The Attorney.^[1][2]

Choi is particularly noted for his long-term collaborations with visionary directors. He has provided the sound supervision for Bong’s feature filmography, including Memories of Murder (2003), The Host (2006), Snowpiercer (2013), Okja (2017), and Parasite (2019).^[3] His extensive work with Kim Jee-woon spans two decades, from A Tale of Two Sisters (2003), to his work such as, A Bittersweet Life (2005), The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008), I Saw the Devil (2010), The Age of Shadows (2016), and Cobweb (2023).

Choi, along with Livetone, has received 15 Grand Bell Award nominations, winning three for Save the Green Planet! (2003), Lump Sugar (2006), and War of the Arrows (2011). His international recognition grew significantly with Parasite (2019) for which he won one MPSE Golden Reel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing. In 2020, Choi was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).^[4][5]

Choi Tae-young first developed an interest in music during his high school years. He pursued a career as a recording engineer and even joined a band. However, the band disbanded in 1994 prior to releasing any album. He subsequently studied recording engineering at the Los Angeles Recording School in Los Angeles, California and took courses in music business and recording engineering at UCLA Extension. During this period, he identified film sound post-production as a career path.^[6][7][8][9]

After returning to South Korea in 1996, Choi co-founded Livetone, a sound production studio. Initially handling all post-production tasks, Choi later specialized in mixing as the company grew. Livetone pioneered Dolby 5.1 channel film sound in Korea with Beat in 1997.^[6][8]

Choi began his career without formal training in film-specific sound engineering, initially focusing on high-fidelity technical reproduction. During the production of The Foul King (2000), director Kim Jee-woon rejected Choi's initial sound design for being technically over-refined and failing to match the film's comedic tone. Following this, Choi adjusted his methodology to prioritize script analysis and the director's subjective intent. In the climactic sequence of Kwak Kyung-taek's Friend (2001), Choi implemented his new approach by differentiating the sonic texture of repeated stabbing sounds. He varied the audio by alternating between the protagonist's internal perspective and the audience's external perspective, a departure from the standard practice of maintaining a consistent tone for foley effects.^[10] Later that year, Choi implemented Dolby 6.1 channel audio for the production of Volcano High.^[6][8]

Choi later stated that while the technical creation of complex sound effects is a routine task, the primary challenge of film sound lies in its subjectivity. He defines his role as translating a director's imagination into an objective audio experience through the precise timing and placement of sound.^[6]

For Kim Jee-woon's A Bittersweet Life (2005), Choi and sound designer Lee Seung-yeop utilized field-recorded audio to achieve a realistic soundscape. The team captured location-specific ambient sounds in Seoul and used live ammunition at Yangsu-ri Studio for ballistic authenticity. The film was mixed in Dolby Digital Surround EX (6.1).^[10] During this period, Choi also served as the sound supervisor for Typhoon (2005).^[11]

At the 44th Grand Bell Awards in 2007, Choi received Sound Effect Award nominations for four of his projects: The Host, For Horowitz, and The Restless, and Lump Sugar. He won the award for Lump Sugar alongside his partner, Jeong Kwang-ho.^[12]

For the 2011 film War of the Arrows, Choi utilized a Dolby 7.1 surround mix. He collaborated with the American foley firm Sound Dogs to record ballistic audio in the Palm Springs desert, chosen for its low ambient noise. Using a nine-microphone array and a professional archer, the team recorded variations in the sonic profile of arrows based on trajectory and velocity. This audio was later integrated with 4D sound technology for theatrical screenings.^[13]

The 2013 film Mr. Go was the first South Korean production to use Dolby Atmos. This object-based format allowed individual sounds to be manipulated as independent objects within a three-dimensional space. The project involved a collaboration with Sony PCL for 3D mixing and high-resolution audio. To manage the spatial positioning of digital characters, Choi worked with Wavell CEO Lee Jeong-jin to develop sound sources compatible with the Atmos environment.^[14]

For The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014), Choi developed specialized audio for the film's naval vessels. To simulate the movement of ships without power plants, he incorporated twisting sounds that mimicked external pressure on large trees. In his work on Tunnel (2016), Choi utilized layered audio to depict the structural collapse of the film's central setting.^[15]

Choi has served as the sound designer for every feature film in Bong Joon Ho's career, a partnership that began with Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000).^[3][16][17] During the production of Memories of Murder (2003), Choi moved away from standard industry mixing protocols to adopt a more conceptual approach requested by the director. This change involved the use of layered environmental audio and specific rain foley to create a non-traditional sonic atmosphere.^[18]

For the 2006 film The Host, Choi and Live Tone collaborated with the American sound recording firm Sound Dogs to develop the creature's sonic profile. The final audio was a hybrid construction using primary vocalizations derived from sea lion recordings. At the request of the director, Choi integrated human vocal elements provided by actor Oh Dal-su for specific character sounds. These human-sourced recordings were used for the creature's snoring and the noises associated with it consuming prey.^[19]

The 2013 science fiction film Snowpiercer, an international co-production, was mixed in Dolby 7.1 surround sound over a six-month period.While original plans called for the audio to be finalized in the United States, sound supervision was reassigned to Choi and Live Tone late in the production cycle. This shift required a reorganization of the sound team to accommodate the film's global release schedule. Due to budget constraints and the expedited timeline, the sound effects and final post-production were completed at Live Tone’s facilities in South Korea rather than at an American studio.^[20]

For the 2017 film Okja, Choi developed the vocalizations for the titular genetically modified creature using a hybrid foley technique. The creature's sonic palette was constructed by layering high-fidelity recordings of pigs, hippopotamuses, and rhinoceroses captured in New Zealand. These animal sounds were blended with human vocal tracks provided by actress Lee Jung-eun to facilitate the creature's characterization.^[21][22]

Audio post-production for Parasite was conducted at Live Tone Studios over a twelve week period beginning in December 2018. The schedule included eight weeks for sound editing and recording, two weeks for pre-dubbing, and a two week final mix in Dolby Atmos completed in February 2019.^[3]

The studio’s mixing workflow centered on two AMS Neve DFC 3D digital film consoles, utilizing their stem routing and automation systems to manage the film's spatial requirements. This technical setup allowed for the precise placement of sound objects within a three dimensional field to contrast the environments of the two central families. For the Park residence, the soundscape focused on clean, expansive acoustics, while the Kim family’s apartment utilized low frequency environmental noise and air circulation sounds to suggest a confined space.^[23][24][25]

Choi's and his team, including Young Kang-hye, Kim Byung-in, Park Sung-gyun, Lee Chung-gyu, and Shin Yi-na, were awarded the MPSE Golden Reel Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Foreign Language Feature for their work on the critically acclaimed film Parasite (2019).^{[26][27][28][29][30][31]}

In 2021, Choi with other Korean film industry sound masters, were attending the 22nd Jeonju International Film Festival.^[32]

With the rise of global OTT platforms, Choi has become a vocal advocate for elevating South KoChoi has advocated for the adoption of global audio standards in the South Korean industry, noting the requirement for 5.1 Surround or Dolby Atmos delivery on platforms such as Netflix and Disney+.^[33] In the Netflix series Kingdom, Choi developed a distinct sonic identity for the "K-zombie," focusing on aggressive, high-velocity foley to differentiate them from the slower-paced archetypes of Western cinema.^[21] Choi noted that the success of Squid Game (2021) established a "K-sound" trend, proving that high-fidelity audio is essential for the global viability of Korean content.^[34]

In 2023, Livetone handled the sound supervision for the Disney+ original series Moving. Under the direction of sound supervisor Kang Hye-young, the studio developed a specialized sonic palette for the show's diverse superpowers. This included high-frequency synthesized layers to represent electrical currents and complex three-dimensional panning for flight sequences. This project marked Livetone's first full-scale collaboration with Disney+, further integrating the studio into the global streaming production ecosystem.^[35]

In 2018, Choi (representing Dexter Livetone) and Ryu Jae-rim (Director of the Korean Film Archive) signed a landmark agreement at the Sound Master Data Donation Ceremony in Seoul. Under this pact, Livetone donated over 200 original analog and digital sound pieces for permanent preservation. The Archive has since integrated these materials into its digitization workflow to support future film restoration projects.^[36] Additionally, Livetone partnered with the Seoul Business Agency (SBA) to bolster the domestic content industry. This collaboration utilized the SBA Media Content Center’s infrastructure and Livetone’s technical expertise to provide post-production support for short films, documentaries, and high-end Dolby Atmos productions.^[37]

For the 2023 film The Moon, Choi collaborated with director Kim Yong-hwa on a highly technical audio reconstruction. Due to on-set noise interference, approximately 99.9% of the film's audio—including dialogue and ambient textures—was recreated in post-production using foley and sound effects. The project utilized roughly 700 sound channels, the largest scale in Choi’s career, and required over a year of production.^[38]

In Exhuma, Choi and the Livetone team integrated Dolby Atmos from the pre-production stage, coordinating sound design with Dexter Studios' color grading to maintain environmental consistency.^[39]

For the historical drama 12.12: The Day, the sound team focused on period-accurate realism through extensive field recordings. Choi utilized foley work to distinguish the sounds of specific military equipment, including various types of boots, armored vehicles, and artillery. The mixing process consisted of two months of standard mixing followed by one month of specialized Dolby Atmos pre-mixing and finalization. Choi cited his personal background in a military band as a reference for the film's sonic spatiality.^[40][41]

In 2023, Choi signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Supertone to collaborate on sound technology research at Livetone’s Sangam-dong headquarters.^[42]

Regarding the Alienoid: Return to the Future franchise, Choi prioritized "sound coherence" to bridge the two installments. While the first film focused on establishing the narrative framework, the second part, Return to the Future, shifted toward a character-driven soundscape to emphasize emotional immersion.^[43]

• Choi Tae-young at IMDb
• Choi Tae-young at the Korean Movie Database