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Park Chan-wookΒ (Korean:Β λ°μ°¬μ±;Β pronouncedΒ [pakΜtΙΚ°anukΜ]; born 23 August 1963) is a South KoreanΒ filmmakerΒ and formerΒ film critic. Widely regarded as a leading figure inΒ South KoreanΒ and 21st-centuryΒ world cinema, he is known for films that blendΒ crime,Β mystery, andΒ thrillerΒ elements with other genres. His films are noted for their cinematography, framing,Β black humour, and often brutal subject matter.
After two unsuccessful films in the 1990s, which he has since largely disowned, Park came to prominence with his acclaimed third directorial effort,Β Joint Security AreaΒ (2000), which became theΒ highest-grossing film in South Korean historyΒ at the time and which Park himself prefers to be regarded as his directorial debut.Β Using his newfound creative freedom, he would go on to direct the films forming his unofficialΒ The Vengeance Trilogy:Β Sympathy for Mr. VengeanceΒ (2002), a financial failure that polarised critics, followed byΒ Oldboy (2003) andΒ Lady VengeanceΒ (2005), both of which received critical acclaim and were financially successful.Β OldboyΒ in particular is regarded asΒ one of the greatest films ever made, and helped establish Park as a well-known director outside his native country.
Most of Park's work followingΒ The Vengeance TrilogyΒ was also commercially and critically successful both in South Korea and internationally, such asΒ ThirstΒ (2009),Β The HandmaidenΒ (2016), which earned Park theΒ BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language, andΒ Decision to LeaveΒ (2022), which won theΒ Best DirectorΒ award at theΒ 2022 Cannes Film Festival. He directed the English-language miniseriesΒ The Little Drummer GirlΒ (2018) andΒ The SympathizerΒ (2024). His 2025 filmΒ No Other ChoiceΒ was nominated for theΒ Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language FilmΒ and shortlisted for theΒ Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
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