Chan-wook Park Biography

Korean filmmaker Chan-wook Park’s films are stylistic marvels with sometimes controversial themes. They include Oldboy and The Handmaiden.

A philosophy student who started out as a film critic, Chan-wook made his debut as a filmmaker with 1992’s The Moon Is… The Sun’s Dream.

His first few films didn’t fare too well, but 2000’s J.S.A.: Join Security Area was a box office hit.

2003’s Oldboy was an international critical success and a hit at Cannes — an instant cult film. (With 2002’s Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and 2005’s Lady Vengeance, it’s part of “The Vengeance Trilogy”.)

Since then, Chan-wook has carved out his place as one of Korea’s most inventive directors, even if not all his movies are hits.

His other films include A Bizarre Love Triangle (2002), Stoker (2013, his first U.S. film, starring Nicole Kidman) and The Handmaiden (2016, also titled Ah-ga-ssi).