In 1988, the year he turned 25, he entered the film world as the most junior crew member on Kkamdong. After working as assistant director on Kwak Jae-yong’s debut, he worked at a foreign-film importer while saving money to make a film. The year he turned 29, he made his directing debut with The Moon Is... the Sun’s Dream, which he wrote himself. Apart from the first showing, the seats were empty, he says.
In 1994 he published a book of criticism, Yeonghwa Bogiui Eunmilhan Maeryeok – Videodrome. He got by running a video store and writing criticism while his directing work stopped. In 1997 his second feature, Trio, was released, and it failed at the box office too. In 1999 he shot the short Judgement.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 37, his third feature, Joint Security Area, was released and drew 5.83 million. Yonhap News Agency called it the breakout work that made his name widely known.
In 2002, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance was released. In 2003, Oldboy was released. In 2004, Oldboy won the Grand Prix at Cannes. It was the first time a Korean film won this prize at one of the world’s three major film festivals.
In 2005 he completed the vengeance trilogy with Lady Vengeance. In 2006, I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK was released. In 2007 that film won the Alfred Bauer Prize at the Berlin Film Festival. In 2009, Thirst was released and won the Jury Prize at Cannes.
In 2011, Night Fishing, the short he shot on an iPhone 4 with his brother Park Chan-kyong, won the Golden Bear for best short film at the Berlin Film Festival. In 2013, Stoker, made in Hollywood, opened in Korea first. In 2016, The Handmaiden was released and invited to the Cannes competition. In 2018, The Handmaiden won the BAFTA for film not in the English language.
In 2019, his first TV drama as director, The Little Drummer Girl: Director’s Cut, was released. In 2022, Decision to Leave won him best director at Cannes, his third Cannes trophy. In 2024, HBO’s The Sympathizer won the Golden Bird Prize at the Seoul Drama Awards.
In 2025, No Other Choice had its first showing in the Venice competition and was then released, and that year it won six categories at the Blue Dragon Film Awards. The year he turned 63, he served as president of the competition jury at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, the first Korean to do so.
Park Chan-wook (born Aug 23, 1963) made his directing debut with The Moon Is... the Sun’s Dream in 1992, the year he turned 29, and became known with Joint Security Area on Sep 9, 2000, the year he turned 37. In 2004, the year he turned 41, Oldboy won the Grand Prix at Cannes.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.