Park Chan-wook

Cast · Director · Writer

Born

August 23, 1963 · Seoul, South Korea

“I have principles and rules. I deal very carefully with acts of violence and make sure that audiences understand how much suffering these acts cause.” Park Chan-wook is director considered part of the New Wave of Korean Cinema. He studied at the Department of Philosophy at Sogang University and started the film club "Sogang Film Community", where he began to delve into film critic. After graduating, he continued writing articles and started working as an assistant director to later direct his own films. Success didn't come until his fourth film, "Joint Security Area" (2000), which became the most watched South Korean film and gave him the creative freedom to develop his famous Revenge Trilogy, consisting of: "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" (2002), "Oldboy" (2003), winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes 2004, and "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" (2005). From the trilogy onwards, he has made clear his authorial signature, defined mainly by the reinterpretation of the modern thriller, extreme violence, manga influences and a precise and innovative composition of the shots. In 2022, he won the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival for "Decision to Leave".