Director Park Chan-Wook 박찬욱 [“Decision to Leave”]

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November 6, 2017

 

Director Park Chan-wook to helm BBC spy drama

 

Source: The DONG-A ILBO

 

 

Korean director Park Chan-wook will direct a BBC drama. According to the Daily Mail, director Park will direct a BBC drama called “The Little Drummer Girl.” British actress Florence Pugh, 21, will star as the show’s heroine.

 

The upcoming BBC drama is a TV adaptation of British author John le Carre’s spy novel “The Little Drummer Girl.” It is a story about an English actress and double agent working for the Israelis in various places such as London, Munich and Vienna. The novel was also made into a film by director George Roy Hill in 1984.

 

Florence Pugh starred in “Lady Macbeth,” which was featured in August, and won best actress awards at the Dublin International Film Festival and the Montclair Film Festival. “Pugh stood out the most among all other actresses I’ve met last year,” said director Park.

 

Park Chan-wook’s upcoming six-part drama series will begin early 2018, with the release date yet to be announced.

Yeun-Kyung Cho yunique@donga.com

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November 6, 2017

 

Park Chan-wook to direct BBC drama

By Kim Jae-heun The Korea Times

 

Esteemed Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook will produce the British TV drama series "The Little Drummer Girl" that will air on BBC. 

 

This is Park's first directing job after he last revealed his erotic psychological thriller "The Handmaiden" last year. 

 

The TV drama "The Little Drummer Girl" is based on the 1983 novel of the same name by popular writer John Le Carre and it will be serialized in six parts. Park will begin shooting early next year but a broadcasting schedule has not been fixed yet. 

 

The story depicts an actress working as a double agent across various borders of England, Germany, Greece, Austria and Israel. The very first film on the book was directed by American filmmaker George Roy Hill in 1984, casting the top actress of the time Diane Keaton. 

 

In Park's version of "The Little Drummer Girl," English actress Florence Pugh, who recently starred in the 2016 drama film "Lady Macbeth," will take the leading role. 

 

Pugh debuted through the mystery drama "The Falling" in 2014, playing the precocious teenager Abbie and left a strong impression on audiences. 

 

She played her first leading role as 17-year-old innocent girl Katherine in "Lady Macbeth," who was sold to an old landowner but rises to power in the mansion. Pugh won the Dublin Film Critics' Circle Award for Best Actress through the movie. 

 

After watching the film, Park said Pugh stood out the most among the actresses he met last year and emphasized he has good eyes to recognize actresses. 

 

Park has been making films featuring strong lead actresses such as "Lady Vengeance" with Lee Young-ae, "Thirst" with Kim Ok-bin and "The Handmaiden" with Kim Min-hee and Kim Tae-ri. 

 

jhkim@ktimes.com

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November 14, 2017

 

PARK Chan-wook to Adapt Le Carré’s THE LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL for BBC
Florence Pugh Leads Cast of Master Director’s 6-Part Series

 

by Pierce Conran / KobIz

 

 

Master filmmaker PARK Chan-wook has signed on to direct the BBC miniseries The Little Drummer Girl, which will be his second English-language project. The six-part series is based on John le Carré’s 1983 novel of the same name.

 

PARK has partnered with The Ink Factory, BBC One and AMC for the series, who previously banded together for the series The Night Manager, also based on a novel by le Carré. The Ink Factory will finance and produce the picture along with 127 Wall, while BBC One and AMC will co-produce and Endeavor Content will serve as the film’s sales agent.

 

Little Drummer Girl will be produced by Laura Hastings-Smith, while executive producers include Simon and Stephen Cornwell from The Ink Factory, original author le Carré, BBC’s Mona Qureshi, Joe Tsai and Arthur Wang for 127 Wall and Wonjo JEONG, PARK’s longtime collaborator at Moho Films.

 

Lady Macbeth breakout star Florence Pugh will star as a talented young actress who becomes involved in the ‘theater of the real’ as she becomes a spy in the 1970s in the Middle East as tensions mount in the region. 

 

The project will begin production in January and PARK has stated that: “Of le Carré’s many masterpieces, the one I love ahead of any other is ‘The Little Drummer Girl’. At the core of this story is an extremely painful, but thrilling and romantic. This is what makes the story universal, reaching beyond borders and languages and remaining incredibly current.”

 

Draft scripts for the protect were penned by Amanda Coe (Apple Tree Yard), while cinematographer KIM Woo-hyung (known for his work with IM Sang-soo, including 2012’s The Taste of Money), production designer Maria Djurkovic (The Imitation Game), casting director Jina Jay (Rogue One), costume designer Steven Noble (A Monster Calls) and supervising editor Lucia Zucchetti (The Queen) are among the production team.

 

PARK’s last foreign foray was with Fox Searchlight Pictures on the gothic thriller Stoker (2013) starring Mia Wasikowska and Nicole Kidman. Meanwhile his last project was the Colonial Era film The Handmaiden for CJ Entertainment. Starring KIM Min-hee, KIM Tae-ri and HA Jung-woo, the film was based on Sarah Waters’ novel ‘Fingersmith’.

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January 9, 2018

 

'The Handmaiden' nominated for best non-English film at British film awards

SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Yonhap) -- "The Handmaiden" by Korea's celebrated film director Park Chan-wook has been nominated for best non-English movie at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), the organizer said Tuesday.

 

The movie, based on Sarah Waters' Victorian lesbian crime novel "Fingersmith," is among five nominees for the Best Film Not in the English Language category. Other films include "First They Killed My Father" produced by Hollywood actress and director Angelina Jolie.

 

The erotic thriller was one of 21 films selected for competition at the 69th Cannes Film Festival in 2016. It won Best Foreign Picture and Best Production Design from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) in December the same year.

 

The 2018 BAFTA awards ceremony is set to take place Feb. 18.

 

Actors Cho Jin-woong (L) and Kim Tae-ri (2nd from L), director Park Chan-wook (C), and actors Kim Min-hee (2nd from R) and Ha Jung-woo attend the screening of "The Handmaiden" at the 69th Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2016. (Yonhap)

 

jaeyeon.woo@yna.co.kr

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January 24, 2018

 

Korea 'exports' film directors           

Park Chan-wook helms BBC TV series

 

By Park Jin-hai The Korea Times

  

Park Chan-wook                         Bong Joon-ho    

Kim Jee-woon                             Kim Yong-hwa

 

If hallyu is mainly thought of when mentioning actors and K-pop singers, now the term can be applied to renowned film directors.

 

It has been a long time since high-profile Korean filmmakers rose in the international cinema industry, winning awards with their lauded unique films and exquisite cinematography. Yet their works have largely remained cult favorites.

 

It might change, as many Korean film directors are taking on films in other countries and some are making TV series in the U.S. and U.K. and meeting wider global audiences.

 

Multiple-award-winning director Park Chan-wook, who was recently nominated for Best Film Not in English at the British Academy Film Awards with the erotic thriller "The Handmaiden" (2016), is directing a TV adaptation of John le Carre's 1983 spy thriller "The Little Drummer Girl" for the BBC.

 

It is Park's TV debut and his second international undertaking following the 2013 Hollywood film "Stoker."

 

The six-episode spy thriller is about an actress who, seeking to escape the dullness of the English bourgeoisie, is lured by an Israeli intelligence agent into a mission to eliminate a Palestinian terrorist group.

 

"At the core of this story is an extremely painful, but thrilling, romance. This is what makes the story universal, reaching beyond borders and languages and remaining incredibly current," Park told the BBC.

 

It will also air on U.S. channel AMC.

 

Director Bong Joon-ho, who premiered "Okja" at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival where it competed for the Palme d'Or, has joined the production of the American TV series "Snowpiercer" as executive producer. The TV adaptation of Bong's 2013 film of the same name, which is his first English-language sci-fi movie, will reach U.S. audiences through cable channel TNT.

 

Director Kim Seong-hun, known for his 2016 film "The Tunnel," is also making zombie TV series "Kingdom," which will be released on Netflix later this year.

 

Experts say for these directors to jump to the small screen, it's like catching two birds with one stone, gaining both unique filmmaking styles and massive appeal. "Korean directors like Kim Jee-woon, Bong Joon-ho and Park have been recognized as auteurs with unique worldviews. But, unlike K-dramas, we don't talk about K-film hallyu because they failed to reach wide audiences. We can speak of hallyu only if it has a wide impact on general audiences," said Hwang Young-mee, a film critic and professor at Sookmyung Women's University. "With their recent ventures, they have earned a springboard to reach wider audience bases."

 

She says these directors have established cinema genres of their own that can appeal to Western audiences. "Park shares Western world views of Hebraism and Hellenism. Kim's great mise-en-scene and Bong's social criticism can also appeal to Western film fans," she said.

 

Darcy Paquet, an American film critic and translator who has worked on English subtitles for over 100 Korean films, says to a certain extent it's becoming a trend for well-established filmmakers around the world to work in TV.

 

"Festivals like Cannes and Berlin have added sections for TV series which have been very well received. The big Korean directors have been talking to Hollywood studios for a number of years now, but right now it seems that trends in TV and trends in the Korean film industry have reached a contact point," Paquet said. "A TV series can attract new high-profile directing talent, and directors can try their hand at a different kind of storytelling.

 

"The Good, The Bad, The Weird" director Kim Jee-woon teams with Stan Lee, who created Marvel characters including Spider-man, Iron Man and the X-Men, to produce the superhero film "Chroma." Kim Yong-hwa, known for his recent hit film "Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds," also joins Lee for his Hollywood debut "Prodigal," a superhero film about "paternal love."

 

"Hollywood has been showing keen interest in Korean films. With relatively low budgets, Korean filmmakers make Hollywood-style movies," Kim said in a recent interview with a local daily.

 

Regarding the recent surge of Korean film directors entering international markets, a market insider says it can also be explained with demand and supply. "With soaring number of content distribution channels outnumbering content providers, the market has a high need for good storytellers," said an official of a local drama production company.

 

"Overseas production companies continue to invest in local content and are looking for gains in intellectual property. Now that they see Korean content has marketing power in the U.S. and Southeast Asia, they are increasing their investments and that leads to more Korean filmmakers working on global projects."

 

jinhai@ktimes.com 

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February 19, 2018

 

Park Chan-wook's 'The Handmaiden' wins best foreign film at BAFTA Awards

LONDON, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- "The Handmaiden" by South Korean director Park Chan-wook has picked up the trophy for the best non-English film at the 71st British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA).

 

The Korean erotic thriller received the award at the 2018 BAFTA Awards ceremony held at Royal Albert Hall in London on Sunday (local time).

 

The film was one of the five nominees for the prize, along with "Elle" by Dutch director Paul Verhoeven, Angelina Jolie's "First They Killed My Father," Russia's "Loveless" and the Iranian film "The Salesman."

   

Loosely based on Sarah Waters' Victorian lesbian crime novel "Fingersmith," the Korean film tells the story of a young maid hired by a con man to seduce a wealthy heiress, only to fall in love with her.

 

The erotic thriller starring Kim Min-hee, Cho Jin-woong, Ha Jung-woo and Kim Tae-ri was in competition at the 69th Cannes Film Festival in 2016. It won Best Foreign Picture and Best Production Design from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) in December the same year.

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Source: Rhythm @thisgenius

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April 4, 2018

 

KOFIC apologizes for barring blacklisted artists from support

 

SEOUL, April 4 (Yonhap) -- The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) made a public apology on Wednesday for its involvement in past administrations' scheme to blacklist left-leaning artists and deny them state support.

 

"Under the two past governments, the KOFIC made the big mistake of creating a blacklist of cultural-art figures on instructions from relevant authorities and carrying out measures to discriminate and exclude them," Oh Seok-geun, chairman of the council, said in a statement during a news conference in central Seoul. "We'll severely reflect on and reform ourselves."

   

Since assuming the post in January, the filmmaker-turned-administrator has conducted an internal probe into allegations that the film promotional body served a key role in creating the so-called artist blacklist under the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye governments.

 

"In 2009, the council unjustly intervened in the processes of screening for various government support programs and adopted an expedient of choosing beneficiaries effectively based on guidelines from authorities like the presidential office and the National Intelligence Service," Oh said.

 

From 2009 to 2016, the council also excluded from its own support programs film industry groups found to have participated in massive candlelight protests during Lee's administration and several indie and art house movie theaters that screened films critical of the government.

 

It also halved central government subsidies for the annual Busan International Film Festival for screening a controversial documentary in 2014, Oh said. The film, "The Truth Shall Not Sink with Sewol," also known as "Diving Bell," decried the Park administration's handling of the Sewol ferry sinking that claimed more than 300 lives, mostly teenage students, that year.

 

Director Park Chan-gyeong was excluded from a government program for supporting artistic films simply because he is the brother of left-leaning filmmaker Park Chan-wook, while the council was directed by Cheong Wa Dae not to support two other directors just because of their liberal political inclinations.

 

Movies related to some keywords such as "ethnic Korean residents in Japan," "sexual minority" and "Jeju naval base" were labeled as "problematic films" and were thus denied support, according to the council.

 

"There are 56 known cases of movies, film studios and filmmakers excluded from support through this process," Oh said.

 

He vowed to conduct further probes into the cases and to work out measures to repair the damage incurred by the victims and prevent any recurrence.

 

sshim@yna.co.kr

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April 15, 2018

 

Park Chan-wook among figures penalized in relation to Sewol

 

Over 100 figures in culture and entertainment sector, including prominent film director Park Chan-wook, had been unlawfully censored or penalized for publicly denouncing irregularities related to 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry.

 

In a report issued on Friday, the government-civilian joint committee to investigate Park Geun-hye administration’s blacklist of cultural figures found that 116 of 1,302 artists and entertainers who publicly decried the Sewol tragedy were either excluded from state support or had their work screened by the authorities. 

 

Students pay respect to the victims of Sewol tragedy at an altar set up at Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul on Friday. (Yonhap)

This included state officials sabotaging the play “This Child,” on grounds that its content -- which includes a scene where a child dies in a field trip -- could remind the viewers of Sewol. 

 

On April 16, 2014, the Sewol sank off the coast of Jindo, South Jeolla Province, leaving 304 dead or missing. Monday is the four year anniversary of Sewol tragedy.

 

Government officials who had worked in print department of the Culture Ministry during Park administration told the committee that any writer who signed petitions related to Sewol was to be banned. 

 

“The general consensus around the Culture Ministry was that if someone is related to Sewol, he or she should not receive support,” a former high-ranking ministry official was quoted in the report. “It was advised that a ‘political judgment’ be taken in relation to Park (Chan-wook), as such issue should be carefully approached since Park is related to Sewol. ... Frankly, the political judgment by working-level officials mean exclusion from subsidy.” 

 

Park, along with another popular director Bong Joon-ho, were among a group of directors who participated in a hunger strike for a special bill on investigation of Sewol tragedy and compensation for the bereaved families.

 

Busan International Film Festival also had its regular government subsidy halved after premiering the documentary film “Diving Bell.” The film follows a controversy surrounding the rescue operation, specifically about the use of a diving bell during the rescue efforts.

 

The report specified evidence of paranoia that the Park administration had at the time, believing that an organized resistance against it was being carried out. In light of the public furor against Park, former Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon resorted to a hardline approach of defining public criticism of Sewol incident as an anti-government movement. 

 

On September of 2014, Kim gave orders that “Diving Bell” was not to be screened, with his aides reporting later in the month that they have procured 70 percent of the seats for the movie. Legal action against the officials of BIFF, cutting subsidies for theaters that screened the film and its distributor, had also taken place.

 

As a testament to how much things has changed, another documentary film on Sewol hit theaters nationwide last week. Just three days after opening, the low-budget film became fastest politically themed documentary to surpass the 100,000 ticket mark on Saturday. 

 

Actor Jung Woo-sung provided the narration for the feature pro bono.

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)

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May 8, 2018

 

Nearly 9,300 individuals or groups victimized by 'artist blacklists'

 

By Shim Sun-ah

 

SEOUL, May 8 (Yonhap) -- Nearly 9,300 artists or groups were unjustly excluded from state support or even illegally inspected under the past two conservative administrations for political reasons, a civilian-government fact-finding committee said Tuesday.

 

After about a 10-month probe into nine sorts of so-called artists blacklists written by relevant authorities under the reigns of President Lee Myung-bak and his successor President Park Geun-hye from 2008 to 2016, the committee tasked with finding the truth about the blacklists said 8,931 individuals and 342 groups were confirmed to have been subject to mistreatment.

 

A total of 21,362 names were originally included on the lists, and the total was slimmed down to 9,273 to remove overlapping, according to the committee.

 

By sector, film had the largest number of victims with 2,468, followed by literature (1,707), performing arts (1,593), visual arts (824), traditional arts (762), music (574) and broadcasting (313).

 

Many of the artists were put on the blacklists simply for expressing their support for joint statements criticizing the governments over contentious social issues.

 

Some of the most popular Korean films -- such as "The Host" and "Snowpiercer" by director Bong Joon-ho; "Joint Security Area" by Park Chan-wook; and "Factory Complex," the winner of the 2015 Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale, by media artist and film director Im Heung-soon -- were barred from being shown in overseas Korean film festivals for highlighting government mismanagement and for various other reasons.

 

The Lee Myung-bak government mainly used the method of inspecting, censoring and excluding from state support famous artists deemed critical of the government based on information from the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

 

Under President Park Geun-hye, her presidential office made extensive use of the blacklists in close cooperation with the NIS and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the committee said.

 

It said it will recommend that the incumbent government request criminal investigations and take disciplinary measures against all civil servants found to have been involved in the process of illegally discriminating against blacklisted artists.

 

The committee also unveiled its plan to recommend that the government enact laws for punishing crimes of violating "freedom of expression" and set up an independent state committee that will take over the culture ministry's work of supporting artists.

 

The fact-finding committee is scheduled to finish its activities at the end of next month and release a white paper on its ongoing probe in July.

 

"Arts does not belong to the real world but to the world of imagination. We need to ensure freedom of artistic expression to make arts productive," Shin Hak-cheol, a painter who co-chairs the committee with culture minister Do Jong-whan, said during a press conference to announce the probe result. "I hope the government will accept our recommendation plans well."

   

sshim@yna.co.kr

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Source: Pierce Conran

 

Seems that Park Chan-wook's BBC series THE LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL has wrapped filming! Director Park and Alexander Skarsgård enjoying themselves at wrap party a few days ago. Michael Shannon and Florence Pugh also star in John le Carré adaptation. #박찬욱 #더리틀드러머걸

 

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June 16, 2018

 

[Guest's Post] Artists' Choice:

Director Eom Tae-hwa lists his 10 Favorite Korean Movies
 

Source: HanCinema.net

 

 

Eom Tae-hwa (born 1980) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. His directorial feature debut "Ingtoogi" (2013) - a graduation project for the Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA) - was nominated for Best Film, Best Director and Best New Director at the 1st Wildflower Film Awards and Best New Director (Film) at the 50th Baeksang Arts Awards in 2014. His second film, "Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned" was even more successful, netting him the Best New Director Award at the 54th Grand Bell Awards.

 

Here are his 10 favorite Korean films, in random order

 

1. "Old Boy" (Park Chan-wook, 2003)

 

2. "Memories of Murder" (Bong Joon-ho, 2003)

 

3. "The Host" (Bong Joon-ho, 2006)

 

4. "The Wailing" (Na Hong-jin, 2016)

 

5. "Christmas in August" (Heo Jin-ho, 1998)

 

6. "Peppermint Candy" (Lee Chang-dong, 1999)

 

7. "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" (Park Chan-wook, 2002)

 

8. "Mother - 2009" (Bong Joon-ho, 2009)

 

9. "A Bittersweet Life" ( Kim Jee-woon, 2005)

 

10. "1987: When the Day Comes" (Jang Joon-hwan, 2017)

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July 27, 2018

 

Netflix to turn Korean sci-fi film 'Snowpiercer' into TV series

 

The poster for the film "Snowpiercer." Netflix is making the movie into a TV series.

 

By Dong Sun-hwa The Korea Times

 

Netflix will remake the science-fiction thriller film "Snowpiercer" into a television series. 

"Snowpiercer" is Korean director Bong Joon-ho's Hollywood debut movie of 2013 that sold over 9 million tickets in Korea. 

 

Hollywood celebrities including Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs will star in the series. It is expected to deal with issues such as class struggle and inequality.

 

Bong and Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook will be involved in the production. 

 

Based on the French comics of the same name, the 2013 film differentiated itself by devising fresh characters and story. The Netflix drama will have Bong's film as a reference, instead of the original work. 

 

In "Snowpiercer," Earth is frozen due to abnormal climate changes. The last survivors are on a train called the Snowpiercer ― which travels around the world for eternity ― and are divided into classes.

sunhwadong@gmail.com

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Source: Pierce Conran

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August 7, 2018

 

SNOWPIERCER TV Adaptation Headed to Netflix
Update of BONG Joon-ho SF Picked Up by Streaming Giant Outside of US and China

 

by Pierce Conran KoBiz

 

The upcoming TV adaptation of BONG Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer (2013) is headed to Netflix. The streaming giant announced that it acquired the show and will distribute it everywhere outside of the United States and China. The series is expected to air in 2019.

 

Following the plot of the original hit film, as well as the French graphic novel it was based on, Snowpiercer features Jennifer Connelly, Tony Award-winning Broadway star Daveed Diggs and others such as Alison Wright and Mickey Sumner in a story set in a post-apocalyptic near future, during which a train housing the remnants of the human race perpetually circumnavigates the planet through an ice age. With poor classes stuffed into the back carriages while the train is run by a ruling class, the series will explore themes of class warfare and social injustice within a sci-fi survival story.

 

Co-produced by Tomorrow Studios, Turner’s Studio T and CJ Entertainment, the show features James Hawes as the director with Graeme Manson serving as showrunner. The original creator, Josh Friedman, left the show in January, while Hawes replaced Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson, who shot the show’s pilot but left during reshoots, owing to the “radically different vision” of the new showrunner Manson.

 

Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements serve as executive producers of the show along with Scott Derrickson and Matthew O’Connor. Co-executive producers include BONG, as well as PARK Chan-wook, LEE Tae-hun and CHOI Doo-ho, who were all producers on the original film.

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Throwback: PCW and his Handmaiden

 

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November 9, 2018

 

THE LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL Debuts to Enthusiastic Reviews
PARK Chan-wook Mini-Series Kicks Off 6-Episode Run on the BBC

 

by Pierce Conran KoBiz

 

 

PARK Chan-wook’s hotly anticipated TV debut, the mini-series The Little Drummer Girl, premiered to enthusiastic reviews at the BFI London Film Festival, ahead of its launch on the BBC at the end of last month. Adapted from John LE CARRÉ’s classic espionage novel of the same, the series features Florence PUGH, Alexander SKARSGÅRD and Michael SHANNON.

 

PUGH leads the cast as Charlie, a young actress living in London in the 1970s who is approached by a mysterious stranger named Becker (SKARSGÅRD) while on a trip to Greece with her theater company and soon finds herself swept up in an intricate spy game as Mossad agents try to thwart Palestinian terrorists in Europe.

 

Variety, which calls the show’s first two episodes “pretty damn fabulous”, evaluates PARK’s transition to the small screen as follows: “even under the strictures of serial television, he remains an unruly sensualist, preoccupied less with traditional narrative than with tactile details of body, environment and the aesthetics of violence.”

 

The Hollywood Reporter was also quick to praise the series’ sense of style, but also offered a critical counterpoint, writing that “some of the key roles feel miscast, while the stretched-out plot drags in places.” Yet the majority of critical coverage has been very positive, as the series currently holds an 86% fresh rating on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.

 

Beyond PARK’s mise-en-scene, lead PUGH has also garnered much praise. The Guardian considers that the actress performs with such “authentic pugnacity, compressed energy and intelligence that were she not surrounded by such stalwarts as Shannon and – soon to come – Alexander SKARSGÅRD she would be in danger of making everyone else look like a bloodless cipher." 

 

Though the series is Director PARK’s first work for television and the UK, he previously made his English-language debut with the Fox Searchlight-distributed Stoker, which featured Mia WASIKOWSKA and Nicole KIDMAN and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013. PARK last stepped behind the camera for the critically acclaimed The Handmaiden (2016), which became the first Korean film to win the BAFTA for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2018 edition of the awards earlier this year.

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Source: Pierce Conran

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Photos: Chungmuro Crumb

 

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Source: Darcy Paquet

 

Here’s a link to an early short film JUDGEMENT (1998) by Park Chan-wook, considered by some to be the first film where he really achieved his distinctive style. It’s with English subtitles (though I’m not sure if it can be accessed outside of Korea)