Bong Joon-ho (Korean: 봉준호), born September 14, 1969, is a South Korean film director, producer and screenwriter. His films are characterised by emphasis on social themes, genre-mixing, black humor, and sudden tone shifts.
He first became known to audiences and achieved a cult following with his directorial debut film, the black comedy Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000), before achieving both critical and commercial success with his subsequent films: the crime thriller Memories of Murder (2003), the monster film The Host (2006), the science fiction action film Snowpiercer (2013), and the Academy Award-winning black comedy social thriller Parasite (2019), all of which are among the highest-grossing films in South Korea, with Parasite also being the highest-grossing South Korean film in history.
All of Bong’s films have been South Korean productions, although both Snowpiercer and Okja (2017) are mostly in the English language. Two of his films have screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival—Okja in 2017 and Parasite in 2019; the latter earned the Palme d’Or, which was a first for a South Korean film. Parasite also became the first South Korean film to receive Academy Award nominations, with Bong winning Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, making Parasite the first film not in English to win Best Picture. In 2017, Bong was included on Metacritic’s list of the 25 best film directors of the 21st century. In 2020, Bong was included in Time’s annual list of 100 Most Influential Peop;ee and Bloomberg 50.
Director Chung Ji-Young criticizes the thought that older directors have difficulties in making certain movies. Actress Yoon Jin-Seo agonizes over her…
Searching for Bong
Himself
2015-10-29
Unlike our dream of becoming a great filmmaker, the movie boards that adults talk about are tough. We are looking for our idol, Bong Joon-ho……
Snowpiercer: Transperceneige, From the Blank Page to the Black Screen
Self
2014-04-02
Documentary on the making of the film….
Mother, Son and Murder: The Making of Mother
Himself
2010-07-20
A documentary on the making of ‘Mother’….
Making Memories of Murder
Himself
2005-08-09
Made in 2004, this extensive documentary chronicles the production and release of Memories of Murder….
Two Or Three Things I Know About Kim Ki-young
Himself
2007-01-21
A documentary consisting of twenty-two Korean directors’ interviews about Kim Ki-young and respect for his work and the influence…
Understanding Movies
Himself
2014-05-01
Ji-han’s set for graduation film. It is not as easy as it feels to devote all the production techniques that he have learned in school for four years….
Can I Borrow a Light?
Guitar Man
2009-05-20
A thoughtful young man ambles around the Han River, providing an expansive setting for his contemplations. During a telephone call on the Jamsu Bridge…
Memories
Self
2018-07-11
…
Tony Rayns, the Not-So-Distant Observer
Himself
2012-10-01
Prominent film critic Tony Rayns has long been a supporter of Korean cinema. This film illustrates Rayns’ affection for Korean cinema through interv…
The Clouzot Scandal
Self
2017-10-17
Great filmmakers claim the artistic influence of French director Henri-Georges Clouzot (1907-1977), a master of suspense, with a unique vision of the …
Where is my DVD?
Self
2013-11-09
Go Gi-hwan is the actor who was starred in a large number of short films. However, he couldn’t get any dvd from the directors. He’s decided to collect…
Kurosawa’s Way
Himself
2011-05-13
Eleven major film makers from Europe, America and Asia talk about Akira Kurosawa and discover surprising influences on their own work….
Doomsday Book
Joon-ho, lee
2012-04-11
In ‘A Brave New World’, a virus brings the city to ruins and zombies flood the streets of Seoul. In ‘The Heavenly Creature’, a robot reaches enlighten…
A Brave New World
Lee Joon-ho
2012-04-05
A geek is left home alone and his negligence causes the spread of a deadly contamination that infects the entire local population and turns them into …
Crush and Blush
English teacher
2008-10-16
With her frumpy hair, blushing face, and awkward mannerisms, Yang Mi Sook has spent her entire life being unnoticed. Nicknamed Miss Carrot, she dilige…
No Blood No Tears
officer (Cameo)
2002-02-28
Gyung-sun is a washed-up cab driver who has been trying to go straight after years in trouble with the law after being a big-time safecracker. Soo-jin…
Death to 2020
Self (archive footage)
2020-12-27
2020: A year so [insert adjective of choice here], even the creators of Black Mirror couldn’t make it up… but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a …
Bong Joon-ho Directing Movies
Movie Name
Job
Release Date
Overview
The Host
Director
2006-07-27
Following the dumping of gallons of toxic waste in the river, a giant mutated squid-like creature appears and begins attacking the populace. Gang-du’s…
Mother
Director
2009-05-28
A mother lives quietly with her son. One day, a girl is brutally killed, and the boy is charged with the murder. Now, it’s his mother’s mission to pro…
Barking Dogs Never Bite
Director
2000-02-19
An idle part-time college lecturer is annoyed by the yapping sound of a nearby dog. He decides to take drastic action….
Memories of Murder
Director
2003-05-02
1986 Gyunggi Province. The body of a young woman is found brutally raped and murdered. Two months later, a series of rapes and murders commences under…
Tokyo!
Director
2008-08-16
An anthology of three short films by Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, and Bong Joon-ho, each of whom offers an imaginative and trans-/super-natural glimpse …
Incoherence
Director
1994-05-31
Three seemingly unrelated men commit petty crimes on the eve of an important televised discourse on social disorder in Korea….
Snowpiercer
Director
2013-08-01
In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer, a train that tr…
Influenza
Director
2004-05-06
The film starts with a man named Cho Hyuk-rae who has perched dangerously on top of the Han River Bridge. It is a sad picture of a man who has been ca…
Sink & Rise
Director
2003-01-01
Under the Sungsan Bridge, in a waterside stand by the Han River, a poor and tired-looking father and daughter, Jae-mun, and In-seon, are arguing the g…
Okja
Director
2017-06-28
A young girl named Mija risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend – a massive animal named Okja….
3.11 A Sense of Home
Director
2011-11-04
In memory of the Japanese earthquake on 3.11, each director presents a 3 minute and 11 second short film in tribute to those who were lost that day….
Motel Cactus
Assistant Director
1997-10-25
The film consists of four episodes, all of which take place in Room 407 of Motel Cactus, a love hotel in Seoul….
White Man
Director
1994-08-01
One day, W, a very run-of-the-mill, average middleclass man finds a severed index finger on his way to work. He is not curious about whom the finger b…
Memories in My Frame
Director
1994-08-01
A little boy comes home from school and hears his dog barking, or does he?…
Jeonju Digital Project 2004
Director
2004-11-15
Three digital short films: ‘Influenza’ by Bong Joon-ho, ‘Kyo-shin’ by Sogo Ishii, ‘Dance Me to the End of Love’ by Yu Lik-wai…
Parasite
Director
2019-05-30
All unemployed, Ki-taek’s family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpe…
Untitled Bong Joon-ho Animated Film
Director
The story will reportedly follow an invertebrate deep-sea fish who believes he’s suffering from spinal disk herniation….
Mickey7
Director
Feature adaptation of the science fiction novel by Edward Ashton follows the story of Mickey7, an “expendable,” who is a disposable employee on a huma…
Bong Joon-ho Production Movies
Movie Name
Job
Release Date
Overview
Okja
Producer
2017-06-28
A young girl named Mija risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend – a massive animal named Okja….
Sea Fog
Producer
2014-08-13
A fishing-boat crew takes on a dangerous commission to smuggle a group of illegal immigrants from China to Korea….
Parasite
Producer
2019-05-30
All unemployed, Ki-taek’s family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpe…
Mickey7
Producer
Feature adaptation of the science fiction novel by Edward Ashton follows the story of Mickey7, an “expendable,” who is a disposable employee on a huma…
Executive Producer
More than seven years after the world has become a frozen wasteland, the remnants of humanity inhabit a gigantic, perpetually-moving train that circle…
Executive Producer
…
Writing
Movie Name
Job
Release Date
Overview
The Host
Screenplay
2006-07-27
Following the dumping of gallons of toxic waste in the river, a giant mutated squid-like creature appears and begins attacking the populace. Gang-du’s…
Mother
Screenplay
2009-05-28
A mother lives quietly with her son. One day, a girl is brutally killed, and the boy is charged with the murder. Now, it’s his mother’s mission to pro…
Memories of Murder
Writer
2003-05-02
1986 Gyunggi Province. The body of a young woman is found brutally raped and murdered. Two months later, a series of rapes and murders commences under…
Snowpiercer
Screenplay
2013-08-01
In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer, a train that tr…
Phantom: The Submarine
Writer
1999-07-31
Korea’s first nuclear submarine and a crew with no record of existence embark on a do-or-die mission into the deep waters of the Pacific….
Snowpiercer
Screenstory
2013-08-01
In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer, a train that tr…
Sea Fog
Writer
2014-08-13
A fishing-boat crew takes on a dangerous commission to smuggle a group of illegal immigrants from China to Korea….
The Host 2
Characters
The plot is not yet known….
Tokyo!
Writer
2008-08-16
An anthology of three short films by Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, and Bong Joon-ho, each of whom offers an imaginative and trans-/super-natural glimpse …
Antarctic Journal
Writer
2005-05-19
During their journey the expedition led by Captain Choi Do-hyung discovers a journal that was left behind by a British expedition 80 years earlier. Th…
Motel Cactus
Writer
1997-10-25
The film consists of four episodes, all of which take place in Room 407 of Motel Cactus, a love hotel in Seoul….
Incoherence
Screenplay
1994-05-31
Three seemingly unrelated men commit petty crimes on the eve of an important televised discourse on social disorder in Korea….
Barking Dogs Never Bite
Screenplay
2000-02-19
An idle part-time college lecturer is annoyed by the yapping sound of a nearby dog. He decides to take drastic action….
7 Reasons Why Beer Is Better Than a Lover
Adaptation
1996-02-17
…
Okja
Screenplay
2017-06-28
A young girl named Mija risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend – a massive animal named Okja….
Okja
Story
2017-06-28
A young girl named Mija risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend – a massive animal named Okja….
Memories in My Frame
Writer
1994-08-01
A little boy comes home from school and hears his dog barking, or does he?…
White Man
Writer
1994-08-01
One day, W, a very run-of-the-mill, average middleclass man finds a severed index finger on his way to work. He is not curious about whom the finger b…
Influenza
Writer
2004-05-06
The film starts with a man named Cho Hyuk-rae who has perched dangerously on top of the Han River Bridge. It is a sad picture of a man who has been ca…
Sink & Rise
Writer
2003-01-01
Under the Sungsan Bridge, in a waterside stand by the Han River, a poor and tired-looking father and daughter, Jae-mun, and In-seon, are arguing the g…
Parasite
Story
2019-05-30
All unemployed, Ki-taek’s family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpe…
Parasite
Screenplay
2019-05-30
All unemployed, Ki-taek’s family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpe…
Mickey7
Screenplay
Feature adaptation of the science fiction novel by Edward Ashton follows the story of Mickey7, an “expendable,” who is a disposable employee on a huma…
Jeonju Digital Project 2004
Writer
2004-11-15
Three digital short films: ‘Influenza’ by Bong Joon-ho, ‘Kyo-shin’ by Sogo Ishii, ‘Dance Me to the End of Love’ by Yu Lik-wai…
Original Story
More than seven years after the world has become a frozen wasteland, the remnants of humanity inhabit a gigantic, perpetually-moving train that circle…
Other Info
Movie Name
Job
Release Date
Overview
2001 Imagine
Director of Photography
1994-01-01
2001 short film…
Incoherence
Editor
1994-05-31
Three seemingly unrelated men commit petty crimes on the eve of an important televised discourse on social disorder in Korea….
