Born in Soonchun, Hong Eun Won grew her interest in cinema since her childhood. During her high school years, she watched many movies. After graduation, Hong went over to Manchuria and became a member of Shin Kyung Music Choirs where she met director Choi Yin Gyu.

After Korea was liberated from Japanese rule, Hong and Choi returned to Seoul, and Hong started in the film industry as a continuity girl for Choi’s film "An Innocent Criminal" (1948). After 11 years as a continuity girl, Hong had built her career as an assistant director with Early Spring (1959), Burden of Love (1959), Ah! Baekbeom Kim Ku (1960) and Women Rule (1962), then she made her debut as a screenwriter with Affection and Apathy directed by Shin Kyeong Gyun.
When she turned forty, she made her first feature film A Woman Judge (1962), which made her the second female filmmaker in Korean film history. Her first film dramatized the death of a woman judge, which was inspired by a true event. Through this well-made drama, Hong received recognition for her talents as a director and for her skills to dramatize the ideas. Hong directed two more films such as The Single Mom (1964) and What Misunderstanding Left Behind (1966).