The year he turned 31, he won best film at the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival for A Perfect Red Snapper Dish, a 10-minute short he made at the Korea National University of Arts film school. In 2007 he won the best short film award at the Grand Bell Awards for the short Sweat.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 34, in February 2008, his feature debut The Chaser opened and drew 5,071,619 admissions. That year he won the Baeksang best new director award and the Grand Bell best director award, and in May the film was invited to the Cannes Midnight Screenings.
In December 2009 he began shooting his second feature, The Yellow Sea. The Yellow Sea opened in December 2010. In 2011 The Yellow Sea was invited to Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival.
In the summer of 2014 his third feature, The Wailing, began shooting in Gokseong, South Jeolla. In 2016 The Wailing drew 6,879,989 admissions, premiered at Cannes and won him the Blue Dragon best director award that year.
In 2017 he won best director at the Asian Film Awards for The Wailing. In 2020 he announced The Medium with Thailand’s Banjong Pisanthanakun. In 2021 The Medium, which he conceived, produced and wrote the original story for, opened.
In 2023 the investment and distribution deal and cast for his fourth feature, Hope, were set, and shooting began that summer. In 2025 he served as jury president of the competition section of the 30th Busan International Film Festival.
The year he turned 52, Hope was invited to the Cannes competition and received a standing ovation of about seven minutes. After its July release in Korea it opened in September on 1,560 screens in North America.
Na Hong-jin (born Jul 20, 1974) drew attention in 2005, the year he turned 31, for the short A Perfect Red Snapper Dish, and became known on Feb 14, 2008, the year he turned 34, when his feature debut The Chaser opened. In 2026, the year he turned 52, his fourth feature, Hope, was in the Cannes competition for the first time.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
02 / QUICK ANSWERS
Q & AFrequently asked
- How old was Na Hong-jin when he made his debut?
- His feature debut came on Feb 14, 2008, the year he turned 34, when The Chaser, which he wrote and directed, opened. Earlier, in 2005, the year he turned 31, he won best film at the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival for A Perfect Red Snapper Dish, made at the Korea National University of Arts film school.
- How old was Na Hong-jin when he became famous?
- In 2008, the year he turned 34. The Chaser drew 5,071,619 admissions in all, and Seoul Economic Daily tallied that it won awards in 15 categories at Korea’s four major film awards that year.
- How many films has Na Hong-jin directed?
- Four features: The Chaser (2008), The Yellow Sea (2010), The Wailing (2016) and Hope (2026). In 2021 he took part in The Medium in planning, production and the original screenplay, but did not direct it.
- How many times has Na Hong-jin been to the Cannes Film Festival?
- All four of his features have been invited. The Chaser was in the Midnight Screenings in 2008, The Yellow Sea in Un Certain Regard in 2011 and The Wailing out of competition in 2016. In 2026, the year he turned 52, Hope was in the competition for the first time.
- How old is Na Hong-jin?
- Born in 1974, he turns 52 in 2026 (52 as of Sep 22, 2026). The birth month and day are from Wikipedia and were not confirmed in news reports.