Contents
Park Chan-wook
Stylised thrillers including Oldboy, The Handmaiden and Decision to Leave.
Oldboy · The Handmaiden
- Born
- 23 August 1963
- Birthplace
- Seoul, South Korea
More people
Park Chan-wook
Park Chan-wook is a South Korean filmmaker whose stories combine moral ambiguity, dark humour and elaborate visual design.
Early life
Artistic interests
He initially considered painting and art criticism.
University
He studied philosophy at Sogang University and became involved in its film culture.
Career
- 1990s
Early films and criticism
He directed two features while also writing about cinema.
- 2000
Breakthrough
Joint Security Area brought major domestic success.
- 2000s onward
International filmmaking
Oldboy’s Cannes recognition preceded work in English-language film and television.
Selected work
Oldboy
A man searches for the reason behind his long imprisonment.
The Handmaiden
A deception plot unfolds in Japanese-occupied Korea.
Decision to Leave
A detective’s investigation becomes entangled with desire.
Beyond work
Photography
He exhibits still photographs alongside his film work.
Artist collaboration
He has made projects with his brother, artist Park Chan-kyong.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Biographical dates and identifiers ↗Photo: YantsImages. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
