This year’s Firecracker Showcase has four Korean films: Another chance to see Bong Joon-ho’s record-breaker The Host (Friday 22 September, 9:00pm, Renoir) Jang Jin’s fun assassin flick Guns & Talks (Monday 18 September, 4:00pm, Curzon Soho | Friday 22 September, 6:45pm, Renoir) Kim Ki-duk’s The Bow (Wednesday 20 September, 9:15pm, Curzon Mayfair) and Lee Chang-dong’s … [Read More]
Director: Bong Joon-ho (page 3)
Selected publications
- Anthony Curtis Adler: Bong Joon Ho: Philosopher and Filmmaker, Bloomsbury 2025
- Joseph Jonghyun Jeon: Bong Joon Ho, University of Illinois Press 2024
- Karen Han: Bong Joon-ho: Dissident Cinema, Abrams 2022
- Nam Lee: Films of Bong Joon Ho, Rutgers University Press 2020
- Bong Joon-ho: Parasite: A Graphic Novel in Storyboards, Hachette USA 2020
- Anthology: The Korean Popular Culture Reader ed Kyung Hyun Kim, Youngmin Choe, Duke University Press 2014
Is The Host anti-American (spoilers)?
The packed performance of The Host at Frightfest on Monday went down well. We were told by the organisers that we were watching the longest possible print. Whether that means there are cuts in other theatrical versions I don’t know. One of the things about The Host is that it’s generated a lot of noise … [Read More]
Countdown to the Host (2)
The London debut of the Host is one week away. And it’s still breaking box office records. It’s sold out at the Edinburgh Festival, where Bong Joon-ho will be making a personal appearance, while in Korea, after one week according to the Chosun, the film brought in some 2.7 million viewers in just four days, … [Read More]
Countdown to London premiere of The Host
Tickets for Frightfest go on sale on Tuesday 1 August at 11 am. Make sure you get in early. There’s a very slim possibility that Bong Joon-ho himself might be there, but don’t get your hopes up. To whet your appetite, have a listen to the Metropolitician’s latest podcast: it’s a discussion with Darcy and … [Read More]
Bong Joon-ho’s The Host acclaimed at Cannes
Breaking news, but I hear Bong Joon-ho’s film The Host has met with great critical acclaim at Cannes, receiving a standing ovation (which doesn’t surprise me, as Bong’s previous film, Memories of Murder, is the only film I can think of where I felt like applauding at the end). Here’s a quote from the New … [Read More]
London Korean Festival + Film Festival 2004
A press release announcing the launch of the 2nd London Korean Festival. The festival comprised a series of cultural lectures in conjunction with Asia House (not mentioned in the press release), a rock concert, a classical music concert and a film festival. The latter contained three of the top Korean movies of the decade (2003 … [Read More]