The year he turned 24, he shot his first short, Baeksaekin (White Man), on 16mm film while in Yonsei University’s film club Yellow Door. In 1994 he made the short Incoherence as his graduation film at the Korean Academy of Film Arts.
In 1995 he married. In 1997 he worked on the screenplay of Motel Cactus. In 1999 he worked on the screenplay of Phantom: The Submarine. The year he turned 31, his first feature, Barking Dogs Never Bite, was released. It drew 57,469 admissions.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 34, Memories of Murder was released and 5.25 million people saw it. The film made his name.
In 2004 he made the short Influenza. In 2006, The Host was released and drew 13.01 million viewers. In 2007 he won best director at the 44th Grand Bell Awards. In 2008 he directed “Shaking Tokyo,” one segment of the anthology Tokyo!
In 2009, Mother premiered at the Cannes Film Festival before opening in Korea. In 2011 he served on the Sundance Film Festival jury and as president of the Camera d’Or jury at Cannes. In 2012 he began shooting Snowpiercer in Prague.
In 2013, Snowpiercer was released and 8.79 million people saw it. In 2014 he co-wrote and took part in producing Sea Fog. In 2015, Netflix’s investment in Okja was announced. In 2017, Okja was released in theaters and on Netflix on the same day. The large multiplex chains refused to screen it.
In 2018 he began shooting Parasite. The year he turned 50, Parasite won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, the first for a Korean film. In 2020 Parasite won the Golden Globe for best foreign language film and four Academy Awards.
In 2021 he was named president of the Venice Film Festival jury. In 2022 his plan to direct Mickey 7 became known. In 2025, Mickey 17 was released, his first feature in six years since Parasite. In 2026 his first feature animation, Ally, was confirmed.
Bong Joon Ho (born Sep 14, 1969) made his debut with his first feature, Barking Dogs Never Bite, on Feb 19, 2000, the year he turned 31, and became known with Memories of Murder on Apr 25, 2003, the year he turned 34. In 2019, the year he turned 50, Parasite won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
He spent his childhood in Daemyeong-dong in Daegu’s Nam District, attended Namdo Elementary School through third grade, then moved to Seoul. His maternal grandfather was the novelist Park Tae-won.
Source 01 · Maeil Shinmun (Korean) · Bong Joon-ho and Daegu · opens in a new tabAn 18-minute short shot on 16mm film while he was in Yonsei University’s film club Yellow Door.
Source 02 · Cultura (Korean) · Two short films by Bong Joon-ho · opens in a new tab Year and length follow the article; the release date could not be confirmed.A 31-minute short made up of three episodes and an epilogue.
Source 03 · SBS (Korean) · KAFA 40th anniversary special program · opens in a new tabSource 02 · Cultura (Korean) · Two short films by Bong Joon-ho · opens in a new tab Year follows the article; the release date could not be confirmed.His wife is a screenwriter.
Source 34 · Wikipedia (Korean) · Bong Joon-ho · opens in a new tab Year from Wikipedia; not confirmed in news reports.Before directing a feature, he worked on the screenplay of another director’s film.
Source 34 · Wikipedia (Korean) · Bong Joon-ho · opens in a new tab Year from Wikipedia; not confirmed in news reports.Worked on the screenplay of a film set on a submarine.
Source 34 · Wikipedia (Korean) · Bong Joon-ho · opens in a new tab Year from Wikipedia; not confirmed in news reports.His 106-minute debut starred Lee Sung-jae, Bae Doona and Byun Hee-bong. It drew 57,469 admissions.
Source 04 · KMDb (Korean) · Barking Dogs Never Bite · opens in a new tabSource 05 · Segye Ilbo (Korean) · Minneapolis special program · opens in a new tabSource 07 · Korean Film Archive (Korean) · A century of Korean cinema: The Host · opens in a new tabHis second feature, about the serial killings in Hwaseong in the 1980s, passed 1 million admissions in nine days and drew 5.25 million nationwide. The film made his name as a box-office director, and it was his first work with Song Kang-ho.
A short made between features.
Source 34 · Wikipedia (Korean) · Bong Joon-ho · opens in a new tab Year from Wikipedia; not confirmed in news reports.His third feature, about a creature that appears in the Han River. It ran until Nov. 8 and drew 13,019,740 viewers.
Source 08 · KMDb (Korean) · The Host · opens in a new tabSource 09 · Wikipedia (Korean) · The Host (2006 film) · opens in a new tabSource 07 · Korean Film Archive (Korean) · A century of Korean cinema: The Host · opens in a new tabWon for The Host. He also won best director at the 2006 Korean Film Awards for the same film.
Source 10 · Wikipedia (Korean) · 44th Grand Bell Awards · opens in a new tabSource 09 · Wikipedia (Korean) · The Host (2006 film) · opens in a new tab Ceremony date and awards from Wikipedia; not confirmed in news reports.One segment of an anthology made with Michel Gondry and Leos Carax. It was invited to Un Certain Regard at Cannes that year.
Source 11 · Wikipedia (Korean) · Tokyo! · opens in a new tab Release date and section from Wikipedia; not confirmed in news reports.His fourth feature, starring Kim Hye-ja and Won Bin. It premiered at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival before opening in Korea.
Source 12 · The Kyunghyang Shinmun (Korean) · Release of Mother · opens in a new tabOne of five jurors, he judged 58 competition entries.
Source 13 · Hankook Ilbo (Korean) · Sundance Film Festival jury · opens in a new tab The date is when his appointment was reported. The festival ran Jan. 20 to 30 local time.The first time a Korean filmmaker led a jury at Cannes.
Source 14 · Seoul Shinmun (Korean) · Cannes jury president · opens in a new tab The date is when his appointment was reported. The festival ran May 11 to 22.Shot over 72 days at Barrandov Studios in Prague, until July 14.
Source 15 · Wikipedia (Korean) · Snowpiercer · opens in a new tab Shooting period from Wikipedia; not confirmed in news reports.A 125-minute film with a budget of about 43 billion won. It drew 8.79 million admissions through Aug. 25.
Source 16 · KMDb (Korean) · Snowpiercer · opens in a new tabSource 15 · Wikipedia (Korean) · Snowpiercer · opens in a new tab The release date is from the Korean Film Archive. That it had been set for Aug. 1 and moved up a day is from Wikipedia.On Shim Sung-bo’s film, he co-wrote the screenplay and also took part in the production.
Source 17 · Wikipedia (Korean) · Haemoo (film) · opens in a new tab Release date and his role from Wikipedia; not confirmed in news reports.The production company announced Netflix’s investment and co-production with Plan B Entertainment. Shooting was planned for the first half of the following year.
Source 18 · Hankook Ilbo (Korean) · Netflix investment in Okja · opens in a new tabShot starting in Seoul and moving between Canada and the U.S. The cast includes Ahn Seo-hyun, Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Source 19 · Xportsnews (Korean) · Okja shooting begins · opens in a new tabOpened on 103 screens at 79 Korean theaters on the same day as its Netflix release. Three major multiplex chains refused to screen it because of the simultaneous release.
Source 20 · Hankook Ilbo (Korean) · Okja release date · opens in a new tabSource 21 · SBS (Korean) · Multiplexes refuse to screen Okja · opens in a new tabShot over 77 days, until Sept. 19.
Source 22 · Wikipedia (Korean) · Parasite (film) · opens in a new tab Shooting period from Wikipedia; not confirmed in news reports.The first time a Korean film won the top prize at Cannes. It came 19 years after his first feature.
Source 23 · The Kyunghyang Shinmun (Korean) · Parasite wins the Palme d’Or · opens in a new tab Date is local time. Wikipedia gives the award date as May 21; the article was followed.Opened five days after the Cannes win and passed 10 million admissions.
Source 23 · The Kyunghyang Shinmun (Korean) · Parasite wins the Palme d’Or · opens in a new tabSource 22 · Wikipedia (Korean) · Parasite (film) · opens in a new tab Admissions figure from Wikipedia.Won for Parasite. He was also nominated for best director and best screenplay.
Source 24 · Wikipedia (Korean) · 77th Golden Globe Awards · opens in a new tab Date is local time and from Wikipedia; not confirmed in news reports.Parasite won best picture, best director, best original screenplay and best international feature film. It was also nominated for production design and film editing.
Source 25 · iMBC Entertainment (Korean) · Parasite wins four Oscars · opens in a new tab Korean time. Local time was Feb. 9.The first Korean to lead the jury at Venice. The festival was scheduled for Sept. 1 to 11 that year.
Source 26 · The Kyunghyang Shinmun (Korean) · Venice Film Festival jury president · opens in a new tab The date is when the appointment was reported; the festival schedule is as announced then.A film based on Edward Ashton’s novel, made with Warner Bros. Robert Pattinson stars.
Source 27 · Xportsnews (Korean) · Directing Mickey 7 · opens in a new tab The date is when it was reported. The title later changed to Mickey 17.His graduation film was one of 14 shown at the Korean Academy of Film Arts 40th anniversary special program.
Source 03 · SBS (Korean) · KAFA 40th anniversary special program · opens in a new tab The date is when the article ran. The screening date could not be confirmed.Warner Bros. Korea released the trailer, after the film’s release had been postponed several times because of the Writers Guild of America strike.
Source 28 · Marie Claire Korea (Korean) · Mickey 17 release date · opens in a new tab The Korean release date announced then was Jan. 28, 2025, later changed to Feb. 28.It premiered at the festival, held Feb. 13 to 23, as a special screening rather than in competition. That was 12 days before its Korean release.
Source 29 · Dailian (Korean) · Mickey 17 at the Berlin Film Festival · opens in a new tabSource 31 · Edaily (Korean) · Mickey 17 screens in Berlin · opens in a new tabIt opened in Korea before anywhere else in the world. The North American release was moved up from April to March. It is his first feature in six years since Parasite.
Source 30 · Marie Claire Korea (Korean) · Mickey 17 opens first in Korea · opens in a new tabSource 31 · Edaily (Korean) · Mickey 17 screens in Berlin · opens in a new tabThe working title was The Valley and the budget was reported at 70 billion won. The project started from The Deep, a book Claire Nouvian published in 2006.
Source 32 · TV Report (Korean) · First feature animation · opens in a new tab The date is when the article ran.It is funded by CJ ENM, Penture Invest and France’s Pathé and produced by Barunson C&C. The story follows deep-sea creatures heading toward the human world, and production is to be finished in the first half of 2027.
Source 33 · The Kyunghyang Shinmun · Bong Joon-ho’s next project is an animated film · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 1969–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
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Film & TV · South Korea
Sep 14, 1969 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1969: the year of the event minus 1969, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.09.21 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.