Korean Cultural Centre UK and BFI to host a Special Forum on Bong Joon Ho’s Creative Collaborations
Korean Cultural Centre UK and BFI to host a Special Forum on Bong Joon Ho’s Creative Collaborations
The Korean Cultural Centre UK (KCCUK) will co-host a special forum titled The Creative Collaborations of Bong Joon Ho in partnership with the British Film Institute (BFI). The event will take place at BFI Southbank on 24 April 2025 and forms part of the BFI Southbank’s season celebrating the works of Bong Joon Ho.
The forum will feature Parasite production designer Lee Ha-jun and film translator Darcy Paquet, who will both attend in person. Together, they will share insights into their collaborative processes with director Bong, offering audiences a behind-the-scenes look at the production design of Parasite and the process of translating the film.
As part of the BFI Southbank Bong Joon Ho season, Lee Ha-jun will also introduce the screening of Okja, while Darcy Paquet will present an introduction to The Host.
Korean Cultural Centre UK Director Seunghye Sun commented: "Creative collaboration is at the heart of Korean culture’s success in forging new cultural frontiers on the global stage. The international recognition of Bong Joon Ho’s work is a testament to his ability to bring together the diverse creative talents of his collaborators, weaving them into a cohesive and extraordinary cinematic vision. It is particularly meaningful to introduce Korea’s collaborative creative processes here in the UK, a nation renowned for its leadership in the creative industries. True creative discovery happens not in isolation, but when ideas and practices are shared and connected. It is through these collaborative processes that we uncover new futures for Korean aesthetics."
The British Film Institute (BFI) Southbank will present this Bong Joon Ho season from 1-29 April, coinciding with the upcoming release of Bong’s latest film, Mickey 17. The season will showcase Bong’s entire filmography, including his early short films.
The programme will feature Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000), Memories of Murder (2003), The Host (2006), Mother (2009), Snowpiercer (2013), Okja (2017), and Parasite (2019), alongside Bong’s early short Incoherence (1994). Both Mother and Parasite will be shown in colour and black-and-white versions, offering audiences the chance to experience the films through different visual interpretations.
Director Bong Joon Ho attended Bong Joon Ho in Conversation, a special talk event held at BFI Southbank on 12 February, 2025. During this in-depth discussion, Bong reflected on the inclusion of the black-and-white versions in the upcoming season, noting: "As a cinephile, I’ve always had a desire to create black-and-white versions of my films. There’s a unique beauty that only black-and-white cinema can convey. Together with cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo, we worked on monochrome versions of Mother and Parasite”.