Colin Bartlett has overcome the shortcomings of the London Film Festival website search engine by diligently reading the 100 page festival brochure for films with Korean connections. Here are the results of his labours. First, the two main films we already know about: Hong Sang-soo’s Like you know it all (18, 19 Oct) www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/433 Bong … [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
Bong Joon-ho film season at the BFI
The British Film Institute (BFI) has announced that it will be screening a Bong Joon-ho Film Season at the National Film Theatre (NFT), London, in early November 2009. The Season will feature all of his previous films and a special screening of his new film ‘Mother’, followed by an in-person Question & Answer session with … [Read More]
Quentin Tarantino’s K-film watchlist
Three Korean films are among Quentin Tarantino’s top 20. Two by Bong Joon-ho, and not the Park Chan-wook you might expect: #. The full list: Battle Royale | Anything Else | Audition | Tsui Hark’s The Blade | Boogie Nights | Dazed & Confused | Dogville | Fight Club | Fridays | The Host | … [Read More]
Memories of Murder (살인의 추억, 2003) review: a masterpiece of tone and tension
Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder is a masterful blend of black humor, procedural intensity, and poignant social commentary. Based on Korea’s first serial killer case, the film follows a bumbling local detective and a focused Seoul investigator. With subtle direction, haunting cinematography, and exceptional acting, it transcends the genre to deliver a deeply sincere, atmospheric experience. [Read More]
Barking Dogs screens at the KCC
The Korean Cultural Centre completes its retrospective of Bong Joon-ho’s works this month with his first feature, the entertaining Barking Dogs Never Bite (플란다스의 개) (2000), starring Lee Seong-jae and Bae Doo-na. As with Bong’s subsequent films, there’s plenty of humour amid the drama, and this one is well worth checking out, particularly for the … [Read More]
Bong Joon-ho month at the KCC
This month gives you an opportunity to see two of the best films to have come out of Korea – or anywhere – this century. Both star Song Kang-ho, both are by director Bong Joon-ho, who debuted in 2000 with the amazing Barking Dogs Never Bite. On 9 October, there’s the film which provided koreanfilm.org.uk … [Read More]
The London Korean Links Awards 2006
In the year-end spirit of reviewing the highlights and lowlights of 2006, here are the winners of the first LKL Awards – a personal and unscientific selection. The awards are in the following categories: Man of the Year Woman of the Year Best cultural promotion: Briton in Korea Best cultural promotion: Korean in Britain Best … [Read More]
Careful not to try earning a little cash on the side
The Marmot has picked up a little news item from the Korean press: a couple of foreigners were caught out earning a little but of cash by getting bit-parts in Bong Joon-ho’s The Host, and they now face deportation. One of them was only in Korea on a 90 day tourist visa. Good news for … [Read More]
Korean film at the Firecracker Showcase
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]
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]