I dont think I ever had that comprehensive look back at my career.
Its always more of a case by case and day by day assignment, getting it day by day.
But I do remember worrying about how this film has less violence and portrayals of sex.
Park Chan-wook.Michael Tran/Getty
So I was a bit concerned about whether the audience would be disappointed by that.
DEADLINE:But it looks like you hit a nerve.
So many films have been made with such kind of mystery.
Tang Wei and Park Hae-il inDecision to Leave.MUBI/Everett Collection
DEADLINE:The film has a very dreamlike quality.
Are you inviting people to share your dream, so to speak?
What I meant is what you mentioned: this daydream like quality of the film.
Read the digital edition of Deadline’s The Best of 2022 magazinehere.
That was the influence, subconscious influence ofVertigoon the film.
That kind of psychological state, where youre still searching for something, youre still searching for clarity.
That was the kind of dreamlike state that I intended to create here.
A directors job is to put the puzzle pieces together, but also to create those puzzle pieces themselves.
DEADLINE:Do you see yourself in the detective?
Do you ever lose sleep about what it is that you do and what you might be looking for?
I think that is connected onto the job that I do.
I think this is the attitude that a creator or an artist should have.
DEADLINE:Are you an artist thats influenced by dreams?
Your films to me seem to have become more dreamlike, from Thirst onwards.
DEADLINE:How do your dreams influence your work?
Is it a visual influence or a narrative influence?
Some of those are influences from my dreams.
So, those are some examples of visuals.
But also when youre awake in the day, youre thinking about these story elements all day.
But I cant think of a specific example.
DEADLINE:When you were starting out, how was the film industry in Korea?
For instance, if you think aboutJ.S.A., it actually had the potential to go against government laws.
And if the government wanted to sue the film, they could definitely go ahead and do that.
DEADLINE:But then you found your style very quickly.
PARK: To some extent, I do believe it was inevitable because I did not graduate film school.
So, I had to watch movies on these different paths that came up at the time.
Ive always had that thirst for something that could satisfy me in that way.
So, I want to call my style a self-studied kind of style.
Its not influenced by a particular directors work or included in a particular school of work.
Its a style that kind of does whatever it wants to do.
Was it a curse as well as a blessing?
Ive just been making the things that I want to make.
DEADLINE:I just meant that people had a preconception of what kind of director you would be.
DEADLINE:Youve only made one film in America and its often forgotten.
Its framed by the typical narrative of an outsider who goes to Hollywood.
But even though I wasnt credited, I actually made a lot of revisions on the script myself.
So [it was] just like my other films where I wrote the script myself, likeOldboyorJ.S.A.
these works are actually adapted from an original work.
So you could kind of see it in a similar way, as an adaptation.
For instance,Handmaidenwas adapted from a novel, but I made that creative adaptation myself.
So it was actually one of the happiest times that I spent making a film.
And Im equally highly satisfied with the final product.
Using a minimal setting to create maximum tension I think that is the purest form of cinema.
I wonder if you think the humor in your films is sometimes overlooked.
PARK: Thats true, because in that film theres a lot of that sarcastic kind of humor.
And even people who love the film rarely mention the humor in it.
So that actually really hurts my feelings.
So there were some dangerous elements in regards to releasing the film in Korea.
DEADLINE:But Im also thinking in terms of your own [financial] involvement.
It was a big-budget movie that could have perhaps bankrupted you if it had not worked.
So you wouldnt have that fear of using such a big budget.
So that wouldve been the concern in regards to the film.
DEADLINE:Were you surprised it was such a success?
To me its probably your wildest film.
And the plot is entertaining.
Its filled with tension and it never bores you.
And we also had the opportunity to offer this deep exploration of our villain as well.
So all of these I felt like already gave the movie an entertainment value.
So I wasnt too surprised to see its commercial success.
DEADLINE:A few years ago you ventured into streaming with the late-70s-set spy story The Little Drummer Girl?
How has that worked out for you?
But I couldnt quite find the right opportunity to do so.
And thats when I ran into the conception of this work.
It almost felt like a story written for me.
Thats how much the story has all of these elements that I really like.
The Little Drummer Girlis a work that Im highly satisfied with.
All these supporting characters have the chance to be expressed in great detail.
So those kind of upsides made me feel better about not having this shown in a theater.
DEADLINE:What are you working on now?
Ive been working as the showrunner of the HBO seriesThe Sympathizer.
These are elements that I can empathize with as a Korean.
So Im very fortunate to have found a project that interests me like this.
DEADLINE:When will we see that?
PARK: Early 2024.
DEADLINE:And in the meantime, what are your hopes for 2023?
