Bong Joon-ho, a renowned South Korean film director, producer, and screenwriter, was born on September 14, 1969. His cinematic works are distinguished by their emphasis on social themes, genre-bending, dark humor, and unexpected tone shifts.
Bong's directorial debut, the black comedy Barking Dogs Never Bite, released in 2000, garnered a devoted cult following and paved the way for his subsequent critically acclaimed and commercially successful films. These include 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).
Notably, all of Bong's films have been South Korean productions, with the exception of Snowpiercer and Okja (2017),which primarily feature English dialogue. Two of his films, Okja (2017) and Parasite (2019),were screened in competition at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, with Parasite earning the coveted Palme d'Or, a first for a South Korean film.
Parasite's groundbreaking success extended to the Academy Awards, where it became the first South Korean film to receive nominations, with Bong winning Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. This historic achievement made Parasite the first non-English language film to win the Best Picture award.
Bong's notable accolades include being included on Metacritic's list of the 25 best film directors of the 21st century in 2017 and being recognized as one of Time's 100 Most Influential People and Bloomberg 50 in 2020.
