Choe Ik-gyu (Korean: 최익규, born 27 February 1934), also known under the pseudonym Choe Sang-gun, is a North Korean film director, propagandist, and politician. Choe became the head of the in 1956 at age 22. By the time Kim Jong-il took over the country's film industry in 1968, Choe was the most experienced filmmaker of North Korea. Kim and Choe became close associates – Kim producing and Choe directing – a number of important North Korean films. Sea of Blood (1968) and The Flower Girl (1972) were "" that, in addition to being popular successes, profoundly shaped the industry. By the end of the 1960s, Choe supervised film making in all of North Korea as the Propaganda and Agitation Department film section head. In 1972, his responsibilities covered other forms of North Korean propaganda as