South Koreans reacted with joy and stunned disbelief Monday to the historic best picture Oscar for “Parasite”, with one film fan suggesting the feat should be recognised with a public holiday.
Director Bong Joon-ho’s film about the widening gap between rich and poor, became the first non-English-language film to win Hollywood’s biggest prize, prompting celebrations in South Korea.
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Even President Moon Jae-in got in on the act, saying he was overjoyed to see South Korean cinema receive world recognition. In his words:
“I extend my gratitude especially for giving a sense of courage and pride to the (Korean) people, I am very proud of director Bong Joon-ho and the cast, as well as the staff members.”
“Parasite” won four awards; best picture, best director, best international feature and best original screenplay defying the received wisdom that the Academy would overlook a subtitled Asian movie.
South Korean film fans were overjoyed.
“I am in tears,” one wrote on Twitter. “I’m so proud of Bong Joon-ho. It’s amazing to hear acceptance speeches in Korean.” Another joked: “Shouldn’t today be declared a public holiday?”
Along with a congratulatory tweet, US ambassador Harry Harris posted a photo of what looked like jjapaguri, an instant noodle dish featured in “Parasite”, where it was unusually garnished with sirloin steak.
“Wow! Congrats Director Bong, Team #Parasite & ROK cinema!” Harris wrote.
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The success of “Parasite” comes despite the global dominance of the English language in the 92-year-history of the Academy Awards.
Actor Sandra Oh, the Canadian-born daughter of South Korean immigrants, who was among the award presenters in Los Angeles, tweeted her congratulations, saying: “So so proud to be Korean”.
Darcy Paquet, a Seoul-based film critic who wrote the English-language subtitles for “Parasite” said:
“I’m so happy, this isn’t real. I hope that all Korean filmmakers can share at this moment and be proud because it’s the tremendous hard work and professionalism of the industry as a whole that makes a movie like ‘Parasite’ possible.”
South Korean filmmaker and scholar Kim So-young, who introduced Bong’s early comedy “Barking Dogs Never Bite” to programmers at San Sebastian Film Festival back in 2000, said the win was “well deserved”.
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