CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 1/22/2026

The groundbreaking films of Bong Joon Ho

In honor of the 2026 Oscar nominations, announced today, we are featuring a few spreads from Bong Joon Ho: Director's Inspiration—a recently released staff favorite, published by DelMonico Books and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Featuring stills and materials from Okja (2017), Parasite (2019) and Mickey 17 (2025), these spreads only hint at the treasures within, gathered from the director’s personal archive and elucidated upon by Bong himself. “The absurdity of Korean society in itself excites me cinematically,” he writes. “It’s bewildering. When you depict it cinematically, it may look like comedy at first, but it’s actually the most realistic portrayal.” Further along, he is quoted, “My films generally seem to have three components: fear, anxiety and a sense of humor.… At least when we laugh, there’s a feeling that we’re overcoming some kind of horror.”