South Korea registers major wins at Cannes 2022

South Korean cinema registered significant wins at Cannes by bagging two major awards at the film festival's closing award ceremony.

The first is the Best Director award for celebrated South Korean master, Park Chan-wook, for Decision to Leave, an erotic crime thriller. He became the second filmmaker to bag the trophy after Im Kwon-taek won in the category for his historical 2002 film, Chihwaseon.

Song Kang-ho, who gained international fame for his performance in Parasite, was awarded the Best Actor trophy for Broker. The win made him the first South Korean actor to bag the award at Cannes. 

“I’m so moved as an actor who has worked with director Park and joined hands with him in winning a prize with Thirst. I’ll not forget the moment when he ran to me and embraced me,” the actor said in his acceptance speech.

Notably, Song's Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho won the coveted Palme d’Or in Cannes, before going on to sweep Oscars, including Best Picture in 2020.