This study examines the social dynamics underlying the institutionalization of a particular movie genre, that is, social problem films (SPFs) in a particular setting, that is, the Korean film industry. We focus on the role of movie directors as social critics who have strategic intentions in institutional dynamics and answer the questions of which directors are more likely to choose SPF genre for their films and how and when they do so. Based on recent developments in institutional theories, such as actorhood, institutional work, and strategic action field, we empirically analyzed the micro-level factors related to movie directors and their actions that may have affected the institutionalization of SPF at the field level in the Korean film industry. The findings of this paper in the Korean film industry between 1994 to 2017 suggest that the irreversible status of directors, such as their educational degrees, the reversible status, such as their achievements in the field, and their experiences in SPF positively affect the odds of choosing SPF genre. In addition, the effect of reversible status reduced as the institutionalization of SPFs had been more fully established, while the effects of the other two were not affected by the different levels of the SPF institutionalization.