Bong Joon-ho (Korean: 봉준호, Korean pronunciation:[poːŋ tɕuːnho → poːŋdʑunɦo]; born September 14, 1969) is a South Korean filmmaker. The recipient of three Academy Awards, his work is characterised by emphasis on social and class themes, genre-mixing, dark comedy, and sudden tone shifts. He first became known to audiences and achieved a cult following with his directorial debut film, the black comedy Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000), before achieving both critical and commercial success with his subsequent films: the crime thriller Memories of Murder (2003), the monster film The Host (2006), the science fiction action film Snowpiercer (2013), which served as Bong's English language debut, and the acclaimed black comedy thriller Parasite (2019), all of which are among the highest-grossing films in South Korea, with Parasite also being the highest-grossing South Korean film in history. All of Bong's films have been South Korean productions. However, Snowpiercer, Okja (2017) and Mickey 17 (2025) are Hollywood co-productions with significant use of the English language. Two of his films have been screened in competitions at the Cannes Film Festival — Okja in 2017 and Parasite in 2019; the latter earned the Palme d'Or, the first for a South Korean film. Considered an immediate favourite by the Academy Awards, Parasite became the first South Korean film to receive Academy Award nominations, with Bong winning Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, making Parasite the first film in the award's history not in English to win Best Picture. In 2017, Bong was included on Metacritic's list of the 25 best film directors of the 21st century. In 2020, Bong was included in Time's annual list of 100 Most Influential People and Bloomberg 50.
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Biography from TMDB.
- September 14, 1969 (57)
- Daegu, South Korea
- Writer, director, actor and producer
- 13 on MovieCove · 40 credits in all
What are Bong Joon Ho's films like?
Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Society.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 3 · Earnest 10
Light 3 · Serious 6 · Dark 6
A split, not a type: Grounded 7 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 6
A split, not a type: Gentle 3 · Charged 4 · Intense 8
A split, not a type: Steady 4 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 8
Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 7 · Funny 1
Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 3
Casual 4 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 3
Easy watch 4 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 5
Resolved 5 · Open-ended 8 · Ambiguous 2
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet7
- Ambiguous6
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Bong Joon Ho's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 10 of their 13 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (6).
Subscription and free streaming for Bong Joon Ho's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
40 credits, 13 with a MovieCove page; 26 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Incoherence (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Mickey 17(2025)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Kultur-King Korea (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
보는 것을 사랑한다 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Snowpiercer(2020)
Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all shows
봉준호, 장르가 되다 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Parasite(2019)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Okja(2017)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Sea Fog(2014)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
Snowpiercer(2013)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Doomsday Book(2012)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
A Brave New World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Mother(2009)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Can I Borrow a Light? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Crush and Blush (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Tokyo!(2008)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
The Host(2006)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Antarctic Journal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Influenza (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Jeonju Digital Project 2004 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Sink & Rise (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Memories of Murder(2003)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
No Blood No Tears (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Barking Dogs Never Bite(2000)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
Phantom: The Submarine (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Motel Cactus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
7 Reasons Why Beer Is Better Than a Lover (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Sounds from Heaven and Earth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
The Memories in My Frame (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
White Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
2001 Imagine (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
The Love of a Grape Seed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
Looking For Paradise (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Ally (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Ally (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
The Host : Histoires de famille (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
The Host 2 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Untitled Bong Joon-ho Horror Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Untitled Lee Isaac Chung Project (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 40 titles, 34 of them dated from 1992 to 2025.
Film career
- 2002Screen debut· No Blood No Tears
By role
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
3 Oscars, 2 BAFTA Awards and 4 other major awards from 22 major nominations, 2006–2020.
- Oscar, won · Best Achievement in Directing
- Oscar, won · Best Motion Picture of the Year
- Oscar, won · Best Original Screenplay
- Golden Globe, nominated · Best Director - Motion Picture
- Golden Globe, nominated · Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
- BAFTA Award, won · Best Film Not in the English Language
- BAFTA Award, won · Best Screenplay (Original)
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Director
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Film
+5 other major bodies · 3 wins and 3 nominations
- Directors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film
- Writers Guild Award, won · Original Screenplay
- Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
- Critics Choice Award, won · Best Director
- Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Original Screenplay
- Independent Spirit Award, won · Best International Film
- Cannes award, won
- Cannes award, nominated
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Foreign Film
- Cannes award, nominated
- Cannes award, nominated
- Cannes award, nominated · Directors' Fortnight
- Cannes award, nominated
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Bong Joon Ho's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 82nd percentile, the median of all 12; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 77th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up9
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th3
Shape of the crowd
7 of their 13 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Crowd Pleaser7
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the dialogue 56/100 and the plot and story 55/100 in their films, across 11 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Bong Joon Ho's work okay for kids?
Across up to 9 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Bong Joon Ho work with?
People who share at least 2 of Bong Joon Ho's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Song Kang-ho shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Catherine CadouShared titles: 3.11 A Sense of Home Films (2011), Kurosawa's Way (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Catherine Cadou
Writers
- Sung-bo ShimShared titles: Sea Fog (2014), Memories of Murder (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Sung-bo Shim
Actors
- Song Kang-hoShared titles: Parasite (2019), Snowpiercer (2013), The Host (2006), Memories of Murder (2003)See all 4 shared titles with Song Kang-ho
- Byun Hee-BongShared titles: Okja (2017), The Host (2006), Memories of Murder (2003), Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000)See all 4 shared titles with Byun Hee-Bong
- Bae DoonaShared titles: Doomsday Book (2012), The Host (2006), Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000)See all 3 shared titles with Bae Doona
- Park Hae-ilShared titles: Doomsday Book (2012), The Host (2006), Memories of Murder (2003)See all 3 shared titles with Park Hae-il
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Jung Jae-ilShared titles: Mickey 17 (2025), Parasite (2019), Okja (2017), Sea Fog (2014)See all 4 shared titles with Jung Jae-il
- Hong Kyung-pyoShared titles: Parasite (2019), Sea Fog (2014), Snowpiercer (2013), Mother (2009)See all 4 shared titles with Hong Kyung-pyo
- Yang Jin-moShared titles: Mickey 17 (2025), Parasite (2019), Okja (2017)See all 3 shared titles with Yang Jin-mo
- Byung-woo LeeShared titles: Mother (2009), Tokyo! (2008), The Host (2006)See all 3 shared titles with Byung-woo Lee
Producers
- Dooho ChoiShared titles: Mickey 17 (2025), Okja (2017), Snowpiercer (2013)See all 3 shared titles with Dooho Choi
- Miky LeeShared titles: Parasite (2019), Snowpiercer (2013), Mother (2009)See all 3 shared titles with Miky Lee
- Lewis Taewan KimShared titles: Sea Fog (2014), Tokyo! (2008), The Host (2006)See all 3 shared titles with Lewis Taewan Kim
- Neung-yeon JohShared titles: Sea Fog (2014), The Host (2006), Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000)See all 3 shared titles with Neung-yeon Joh
Mixed roles
- Pil-sung YimShared titles: Doomsday Book (2012), The Host (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Pil-sung Yim
