I have a complex feeling about genre. I love it, but I hate it at the same time. I have the urge to make audiences thrill with the excitement of a genre, but I also try to betray and destroy the expectations placed on that genre.
Bong Joon-ho
There is a lot of extreme emotion in Korean film. It's because there are a lot of extremes in Korean society.
No matter where I am working, I cannot make a film without 100% creative control and final cut. If there is such a guarantee, I can work anywhere.
The mother's love for her child is very strong in Korean society - almost on the borderline of being an obsession.
My favourite genre lies inside myself, and as I follow my favourite stories, characters and images, it sums up to a certain genre. So at times even I have to try to guess which genre a film will be after I've made it.
I really hate the creature film convention that says you have to wait until the end to see the monster. One hour and all you've seen is just the tip of the creature's tail.
The multilevel, the conscious and the unconscious, is natural when I write scripts, when I come up with ideas and stories.
I love the Japanese director Shohei Imamura. His masterpiece in 1979 called, the English title was 'Vengeance is Mine.'
I don't write any kind of sequel or remake.
I don't intentionally make my films with the express goal of surprising the viewer.
I have a group of cafes and coffee shops that I go to regularly. They usually have an area where I can plug in my computer and have a corner seat where I can do a couple hours of writing or whatever, even the noise of the surrounding people walking by. Those things are the things that stimulate me into writing.
People have said, 'Why don't you make your own company like Chan-wook Park has his own company,' but my head is full of writing and directing and I don't feel like I want to run a company. That's not really within my personality as well.
In the mid 1990s the Korean film industry was really open-minded.
In Korean films there is only really a strong tradition of melodramas.
I think each film should be regarded as its own specific text.
When I was a kid, I was always watching genre movies on TV.
I regard remaking a film as creating something again.
I like to draw my storyboards myself.
Until the end of elementary school, I lived in a suburban area, so the type of village I used to live in is borderline between village and the city, so I'm familiar with the rustic environment.
I am a fan of the monster and horror genre but that's not my style as a director.
I always write the script by myself.
I think when one becomes very close to another person, it can mean loving and intimacy, but on the other hand, there's also the danger of one destructing another under the name of love. I think that is the scariest thing for me in various relationships.
When you first think of making a monster movie you have to realize that a lot of people may be down on you because there is a big prejudice against such films.
The superhero is a really popular figure in the West. In Asia or Korea, the young viewers are amused by the figure, but it is not really so sensational.
I'm sure mothers are important across every culture, but particularly in Korean society, the role of the mother is of great importance.
I really love 'The Thing.'
There's hardly any governmental censorship in Korea.
As a director, or just a film fan who wants to enjoy the festival, Cannes is the worst place to be. But it must be a paradise for distributors and importers.
