Park Chan-wook

Director

August 23, 1963 (62 years)

Seoul, South Korea

Biography

Park Chan-wook (Korean: 박찬욱; pronounced [pak̚tɕʰanuk̚]; born 23 August 1963) is a South Korean filmmaker and former film critic. Widely regarded as a leading figure in South Korean and 21st-century world cinema, he is known for films that blend crime, mystery, and thriller elements with other genres. His films are noted for their cinematography, framing, black humour, and often brutal subject matter. After two unsuccessful films in the 1990s, which he has since largely disowned, Park came to pr…

Filmography

8.2

The Handmaiden

1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl, Sook-hee, is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, Hideko, who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering Uncle Kouzuki. But the maid has a secret. She is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count to help him seduce the Lady to steal her fortune.

8.2

Oldboy

With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate man seeks revenge on his captors.

7.5

No Other Choice

After being laid off and humiliated by a ruthless job market, a veteran paper mill manager descends into violence in a desperate bid to reclaim his dignity.

6.8

The Sympathizer

Near the end of the Vietnam War, a spy who was embedded in the South Vietnam army flees to the United States and takes up residence in a refugee community, where he continues to gather intelligence and report back to the Viet Cong.

7.3

Decision to Leave

From a mountain peak in South Korea, a man plummets to his death. Did he jump, or was he pushed? When detective Hae-joon arrives on the scene, he begins to suspect the dead man’s wife Seo-rae. But as he digs deeper into the investigation, he finds himself trapped in a web of deception and desire.

7.1

The Little Drummer Girl

Brilliant young actress Charlie strikes up an acquaintance with an intriguing stranger while on holiday in Greece, but it rapidly becomes apparent that his intentions are far from romantic.

7.5

Lady Vengeance

Released after being wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for 13 years, a woman begins executing her elaborate plan of retribution.

7.8

Joint Security Area

Two North Korean soldiers are killed in the border area between North and South Korea, prompting an investigation by a neutral body. The sergeant is the shooter, but the lead investigator, a Swiss-Korean woman, receives differing accounts from the two sides.

6.6

Stoker

After India’s father dies suddenly, her uncle Charlie, whom she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her emotionally unstable mother. Soon after his arrival, she begins to suspect that this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives. But instead of feeling outrage or horror, the friendless girl becomes increasingly infatuated with him.

7.5

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

A deaf man and his girlfriend resort to desperate measures in order to fund a kidney transplant for his sister. Things go horribly wrong, and the situation spirals rapidly into a cycle of violence and revenge.

7.1

Thirst

A respected priest volunteers for an experimental procedure that may lead to a cure for a deadly virus. He gets infected and dies, but a blood transfusion of unknown origin brings him back to life. Now, he’s torn between faith and bloodlust, and has a newfound desire for the wife of a childhood friend.

7.0

I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK

Young-goon, mentally deranged and frequently electro-charging herself with a transistor radio, has been admitted into a mental institution. Firmly believing herself to be a cyborg, she refuses to consume like a human being. Il-soon is another patient, who catches the eye of Young-goon and soon becomes a close friend. Il-soon is now confronted with the biggest task: to cure Young-goon's mental problem and have her eat real food.

6.8

Three... Extremes

Features an anthology centred on the experiences of a witch doctor, a film-maker and a disgruntled extra determined to take revenge on him, and a novelist as well as her twin sister.

N/A

Decades Apart

For the work Decades Apart commissioned by the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain for the exhibition Highlights, PARKing CHANce has conceived an original immersive 3D sound and image installation. Based on the set of Joint Security Area (JSA) (2000), a movie by Park Chan-wook, new images were filmed for the work and sound treated in a very surprising way to give the visitor a total experience.

6.0

If You Were Me

Anthology film of six shorts by leading Korean directors. Park Chan-Wook, tackles racial prejudice and the economic exploitation of immigrant workers through the real-life story of a Nepalese woman in Korea. Jeong Jae-Eun, tackles the plight of a paedophile released into the community. Yeo Gyun-Dong, invites disabled actor Kim Moon-Joo to re-enact his most famous protest. Im Soon-Rye, goes for the engrained sexism of Korean men with superb wit and, Park Jin-Pyo, confronts the horror of children forced into oral surgery to improve their English-speaking ability.

N/A

The Brigands of Rattlecreek

A sheriff and a doctor seek revenge against a group of bandits who used the cover of a torrential thunderstorm to rob and terrorize the occupants of their small town.

N/A

Never Ending Peace and Love

"Never Ending Peace and Love" (or "N.E.P.A.L.") is part of the South Korean omnibus film "If You Were Me" (2003). Comprising six short films directed by six prominent Korean directors and commissioned by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, "If You Were Me" deals with discrimination in the country. The directors were given free rein with regards to subject and style. Park Chan-wook's short tackles the theme of human rights abuses towards foreign laborers in Korea, telling the sory of a Nepalese woman named Chandra who spent six years in a mental hospital after she was mistakenly accused of losing her mind.

4.5

Trio

Han is a suicidal saxophonist, Mun is a violent simpleton with an I.Q. of 80, and Maria is a single mother with dreams of becoming a nun. Han has tried numerous times to kill himself, but nothing ever works. After witnessing his wife's infidelity, it's the last straw.

5.9

Day Trip

A master and his student visit a mountain to practice pansori (a musical storytelling performed by a singer and a drummer) after a music competition which outcome has left the trainee disappointed.

5.7

Night Fishing

A man casually sets up for a fishing trip at the water's edge. Evening comes and a tug on his line presents him with the body of a woman.