Joseph Kahn
Joseph Kahn (born Ahn Jun-hee; October 12, 1972) is a South Korean-born American director known for his music videos. He has worked with various famous artists such as George Michael, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Garbage, Eminem, Backstreet Boys, Imagine Dragons, Lady Gaga, Rob Thomas, Snoop Dogg, Chris Brown, Kelly Clarkson, Ava Max, Mariah Carey, Destiny's Child, and Jisoo.
Also recorded as Joseph Jun-hee Kahn
Joseph Kahn

EsotericSapience (Flickr profile) · CC BY 2.0
- Name
- Joseph Kahn
- Birth Name
- Ahn Jun-hee
- Born
- 12 October 1972
- Birthplace
- Busan, South Korea
- Occupation
- Film director, music video director
- Nationality
- South Korea
- Education
- New York University Tisch School of the Arts · Jersey Village High School
- Languages
- Korean
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q1363428
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
The documentary record
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Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Joseph Kahn • Birth Name — Ahn Jun-hee • Born — 12 October 1972 • Birthplace — Busan, South Korea • Citizenship — * South Korea • United States • Occupation — Film director, music video director • Website — http: www.josephkahn.com • Years Active — 1990–present
Documentary record
Joseph Kahn (born 12 October 1972) is described as a director and cinematographer in the authority records of the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. Joseph Kahn was born on 12 October 1972 in Busan.
Early life
Early life
Kahn was born Ahn Jun-hee in Busan, South Korea. His family spent part of his childhood there and in Livorno, Italy until moving to Jersey Village, Texas, a suburb of Houston, when Joseph was seven. After graduating from Jersey Village High School in 1990, Kahn went to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts but dropped out after a year. Returning to Houston, began to direct hip hop music videos.
Music videos
Music videos
Kahn's videography spans thirty years. In the mid-1990s, he directed music videos for artists including Aaliyah, Ice Cube, Backstreet Boys and Snoop Dogg. In 2003, Kahn won his first Grammy for Eminem's "Without Me" video which also won the MTV VMA's Best Video of the Year, as well as Best Direction. His video for Katy Perry "Waking Up in Vegas" won the MVPA 2009 Best Video of the Year. Kahn's usage of Japanese pop culture in music videos first began with Janet Jackson's "Doesn't Really Matter" video. The video was also the most expensive video Kahn has directed and is among the most expensive of all time, costing over $2.5 million. In 2014, Kahn was given The Icon Award by the UK Music Video Awards. In 2015, Kahn directed MTV's choices for Video of the Year, Best Pop Video, Best Female Video, and Best Collaboration for multiple videos from Taylor Swift's fifth studio album 1989, including "Blank Space", "Bad Blood", "Wildest Dreams" and "Out of the Woods" and her sixth studio album Reputation, including "Look What You Made Me Do", "...Ready for It?", "End Game" and "Delicate". He won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video of 2015 for Swift's single "Bad Blood" featuring Kendrick Lamar. In 2017, Kahn won the American Country Music Awards Video of the Year for "Forever Country." In 2019, he collaborated with Ava Max for the "Torn" music video, and directed a new music video for Mariah Carey's 1994 hit, "All I Want for Christmas Is You". In 2022, Kahn directed a music video for Chris Brown's "Iffy".
Film
• Illustration — Kahn at a screening of Detention at the Los Angeles Film School, 2012 Kahn also directed the 2004 action film Torque starring Ice Cube. In May 2007, it was announced that he would direct an adaptation of William Gibson's science fiction classic Neuromancer for producer Peter Hoffman. On May 7, 2010, Fangoria reported that Vincenzo Natali, the director of Cube and Splice, had taken over directing duties and would also rewrite the screenplay. In 2011, Kahn directed the low-budget self-financed horror comedy Detention. After winning a number of audience favorite awards on the film festival circuit, Detention was picked up for theatrical distribution by Sony for a release in 2012. In July 2016, test footage for the DC Comics character Swamp Thing was released which was directed by Kahn for the potential Justice League Dark film. Kahn's next film was Bodied, a satirical black comedy about racial tensions in the world of battle rap. The film was produced by Eminem and premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the People's Choice Award in the Midnight Madness section. Bodied continued to pick up the Audience Awards at both AFI Fest and Austin's Fantastic Fest. His fourth feature film, Ick, starring Brandon Routh, Malina Weissman and Mena Suvari, premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, and later received a theatrical release in July 2025.
Awards and nominations
Awards and nominations for Joseph Kahn • Year — Organization — Award — Nominated work — Result — Ref. Reference • 2002 — MTV Video Music Awards — Video of the Year — "Without Me" (by Eminem) • Best Direction • 2003 — Grammy Awards — Best Music Video — "Without Me" (by Eminem) • 2006 — "Feels Just Like It Should" (by Jamiroquai) • 2011 — "Love the Way You Lie" (by Eminem featuring Rihanna) • 2014 — UK Music Video Awards — Icon Award — Himself • 2016 — Grammy Awards — Best Music Video — "Bad Blood" (by Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar) • 2017 — Academy of Country Music Awards — Video of the Year — "Forever Country" (by Artists of Then, Now & Forever)

Director Joseph Kahn and actress Shanley Caswell at the screening of the movie "Detention" at the LA Film School, April 2012.
EsotericSapience (Flickr profile)

Director Joseph Kahn at the screening of his movie "Detention" at the LA Film School, April 2012.
EsotericSapience (Flickr profile)
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Joseph Kahn (director), revision 1374041672 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Jeong, Cheon-gi (정천기). American music video director Joseph Kahn enters Korea (美 뮤직비디오 감독 조셉 칸 한국 진출). Seoul Broadcasting System. April 25, 2001.
- 2.Han, Brian. Taylor Swift 'Blank Space' director Joseph Kahn digs deep into Korean roots. The Korea Times. November 24, 2014.
- 3.Yun, Hyeon-jin (윤현진). Joseph Kahn: "Korea should be proud of BoA" (interview) [조셉칸 "한국은 보아를 자랑스러워하라" (인터뷰)]. Newsen. June 16, 2009.
- 4.Bio. JosephKahn.com.
- 5.Yin, Wesley. Joseph Kahn, the infamous director of Taylor Swift's music videos, tells the ugly truth. The Washington Post.
- 6.Joseph Kahn. IMDb.
- 7.Diehl, Matt. Asia Pacific Arts: APA Top Ten: Joseph Kahn music videos. Entertainment Weekly. October 17, 2008.
- 8.UK Music Video Awards 2014: Hiro Murai wins Best Director, DANIELS take Video Of The Year, Joseph Kahn accepts Icon Award on Promo News. Promonews.
- 9.Lark Joseph Kahn. larkcreative.tv.
- 10.Joseph Kahn. GRAMMY.com. May 22, 2018.
- 11.'Forever Country' Earns Video of the Year at the 2017 ACM Awards. The Boot. April 3, 2017.
- 12.Mariah Carey's 19th Number #1 Single and New Music Video by Joseph Kahn by Ashton Brooks at Chaos and Comrades, December 16, 2019.
- 13.Chris Brown Drops 'Iffy' Video. Rap-Up.
- 14.Torque.
- 15.Gingold, Michael. Natali takes "NEUROMANCER" for the big screen. Fangoria.com.
- 16.Celebrated Music Video Director Shows Up for 'Detention'. June 11, 2010.
- 17.Detention Joseph Kahn. www.josephkahn.com.
- 18.Sony Pictures Worldwide Opts For 'Detention'. June 15, 2011.
- 19.Watch 'Detention' Director Joseph Kahn's 'Swamp Thing' Test for 'Justice League Dark'. Collider. July 27, 2016.
- 20.AFI FEST 2017 Announces Award Winners. February 17, 2024.
- 21."Toronto: 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' Captures Audience Award" . The Hollywood Reporter, September 17, 2017.
- 22.Katcy Stephan. Brandon Routh and Mena Suvari to Star in Joseph Kahn's 'Ick' From Interstellar Entertainment. March 15, 2024.
- 23.Ick trailer: Brandon Routh, Mena Suvari creature feature is coming to theatres in July. JoBlo. June 5, 2025.
- 24.Hay, Carla. Eminem Clip Dominates VMAs. Billboard. September 7, 2002.
- 25.Knight, David. UK Music Video Awards 2014 - all of the winners!. Promo News. November 10, 2014.
- 26.2017 ACM Awards Winners. Academy of Country Music.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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