How 'Oldboy' Became Responsible For Shaping Park Chan-Wook's Career

The rise and rise of the South-Korean entertainment industry have been immense over the past few years, especially how some of the best TV shows and films hail from the country. Thanks to streaming services like Netflix, some fine presentations are made available to watch catering millions of people across multiple countries.

And if there is one film that instrumental in this rise then that is Oldboy. The neo-noir thriller released back in 2003 and revolutionized the way South-Korean films are perceived. Needless to say, this also shaped the career of the director of the film, Park Chan-Wook. Recently, on the celebration of 100 years of South-Korean cinema, a screening of the film was held which was attended by Wook.

At the screening, he admitted how still gets a bit nervous when he watches or even thinks about his breakthrough success film. “I have sometimes been scared by the reaction to this movie. Like when men ask me to sign their hammers. But to be part of the program to celebrate 100 years is a great honor."

For many around the world, this piece of blood-splattered nasty-noir was a way into Korean cinema, given the fact it did win the Grand Prix at Cannes and was widely acclaimed at festivals everywhere.

“Looking back I thought a lot of my films had portrayed violent masculinity,” said Park. “That’s why I made Sympathy for Lady Vengeance [in 2005]. About 90 per cent of my fans up until then were men and this really hit me hard when I met those hammer fans. That really made me look at my film universe. I wanted to have a balance in my audience but it was really slanted to one side. I tried to change.”

Oldboy leaves its audience hanging, not knowing what the future holds for Oh Dae-su and the woman (Kang Hye-jung) he has bonded with. Park left the audience with a hint of what that was all about. 

“I leave Oh Dae-su with a conundrum,” Park said. “He loves her but he also has to face the truth. Does he discard all of society’s taboos for love? I don’t think there would be a happy ending to this story if that was the case. He is a romantic, but this is tragic and that’s what this film is – a romantic tragedy.”