People From Seoul

"Korea’s perception on gender has not yet reached an advanced level."

"Nowhere do we see in the last year’s process the denuclearization of North Korea. We only see denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula on the North’s terms."

"One of the things I envy while watching American television dramas is an office with a sense of openness. The offices of senior executives are made of glass and are transparent. Here (in South Korea), the higher the status, the more closed the space they have – even as far as a personal bedroom."

"Discipline and abuse are different, but there is a culture (in Korea) that identifies them and says they are a family issue."

"After House of Hummingbird got released, the ticket sales were amazing. It was very overwhelming to see its success. Whenever I had Q&As with the audience, a lot of the audience – they raised their hand and while they were asking questions, they started to cry. It wasn’t just once. So many people – they couldn’t even finish their sentence because they were so emotional. I also cried. My actors cried. Because it was so touching and it was a very deep, human connection between the filmmakers and the audience."

"From my understanding, there is already quite a lot of independent films with adolescent girls as protagonists. Women have been telling such stories all this time. Couldn’t it be that this period has become more visible as our society is changing? Most of the film markets all over the world are dominated by white men’s stories, and after them come white women, and then Asian men, in this order. Still, I think the reason other female directors are now getting noticed, like with House of Hummingbird, is that Korean society is finally ready to embrace women’s narratives. It might also be that it has finally come to people’s attention not for the particular narratives, but because we are at a special moment."

"Cinema takes me to another world. That world is authentic, real, and welcoming. Cinema doesn’t belong to the winner but to the loser/loner. The blissful loser. I like that world."

"Growing up as a woman in Korea was tough, but was also a gift at the same time. If I were a Korean man, or a white male in the States, I would not have been able to make this film. You got to experience complex human emotions because you were going through a lot of things."

"I wanted to produce something that would resonate strongly with the audience. When we showed it to the Korean audience, they said it was a good mix of both the personal and political aspects of that era."

"When you create something, it becomes a fictional story, but in the beginning, I was very true to the emotions that I went through in middle school. It’s a creation in the end, but I also wanted to bring the emotions I went through and my growing pains and what it was like to grow up there. I wanted to bring my own memories to the film, so that people could bring their own memories while watching."

"The movie wasn't quite suitable for Korean viewers, but here in LA and Cannes, I guess critics had an open mind."

"I thought that the acting talent is something that you are born with. But now I have realized, with this drama, that acting is something that requires you to pour endless efforts on each piece."

"I didn't expect such a big award, it's a surprise. It makes me feel proud to be an actress, receiving this prestigious award."

"I love both acting and meeting children around the world. But I think that meeting children is something I should do for the rest of my life."

"When I heard I was nominated, I thought an actress should only focus on acting, and I didn't want to feel anxious wondering if I will get awarded."

"Like the French, Koreans aim for a subtle and effortless look - while actually paying a lot of attention to the details."

"I moved to New Jersey when I was five, and I lived there for about six years. My dad was allocated to the New York branch of his company. Looking back, I'm so grateful because I got to learn both English and Korean at the same time, and it was just so natural for me, and it made it so much easier to study English afterwards."

"Diversity has definitely been increasing, but still we have the issue of inclusion, and that is why I am so grateful about playing the role of Nagini in the 'Fantastic Beasts' franchise."

"There was no intention of differentiating genres or fields. I was always involved in a variety of projects—depending on timing and circumstance. I’d like to continue challenging myself in various ways, such as movies, dramas and plays."

"I saw the musical Grease as a freshman in high school. The actors looked so happy. That’s when I started thinking that maybe I would like to become a musical actor. My parents were fervently against it. They wanted me to live an ordinary life. I didn’t really have a dream before acting. I think I just lived without meaning. So I counseled my younger siblings to think carefully about what they want to do, and study hard to go to a college that will support their dreams. Sometimes I wonder what I would have done if I had not found acting."

"It was an experience that gave me a lot of pride in Korean culture and art. And because that memory is so unforgettable, it’s become a driving force for me to work even harder as an actor."

"I began to learn who I was, what exactly I wanted to do, and started running toward this goal from that moment."

"There’s a side of me that seeks a stable life, but I tend to not fear change. And as time passes, rather than settle for one thing, I’m growing more inclined to challenge myself and try new things."

"Having the opportunity to play Ki-Jung in Parasite has been a dream. Every moment I’ve felt fortunate to be a part of this journey. And most importantly, I’ve just met so many great people along the way, not only Bong [Joon-ho] but the crew, other actors. I’m still processing the year in a lot of ways; I’m checking Instagram regularly to see how the world is receiving the film."

"In the US, my makeup artist was an elderly lady. She would put on my eyeliner using reading glasses. It’s something unimaginable in Korea."

"I think it's so important for really young Asians growing up in America to have those positive images of themselves."

"There have been times when casting directors were talking loudly on the phone right outside the room where I was auditioning. I didn’t know what to do."

"I think it was the only way to wrap the show up. I mean, I know that not everyone was thrilled about it – some people were really angry about the ending. It just shows you how much people put in their time and their passion for the show. You know a show like Lost is not going to [be like] every other show that I do – it’s a rare experience and I treasure it."

"Again, I said it before, but I’m always surrounded by amazing female friends and they’re the ones who are with me and kind of slap me around when I’m doing something wrong. And to do a show about all these characters I can relate, sympathize and really care about, it’s great. I mean, I see my friends in all of the characters, all of the female characters, which is really nice."

"At the same time, I think something like Lost is bringing something very different to the table, and I'm really proud to be a part of the first time in American television when they took the chance of writing Korean characters in to begin with -- but to have them speak Korean for thirty minutes in a one-hour show and have it subtitled? I think that was pretty gutsy of them. And it was received well; it wasn't like we dropped out of the ratings. People loved it, and this was the first time in American television, and hopefully this will bring a lot more different ethnic backgrounds to mass media like television or film -- because that's what America is all about, isn't it? It's like a mixed pot."

"People want to see it because although it’s not a pretty scene that the movie is reflecting; it still is the reality that we live in, and it just portrays and exemplifies the life that we live in as it is. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I'm just going to continue to think about what kind of films I want to do and what's out there for me to audition for, and I love trying."

"I personally love auditioning. It's not just about that part: it's about getting to meet new people and really introducing myself to them - getting my name out there more than getting just that project."

"Some people suggested that I should try something else. It was a lot of things, but nothing really stood out for me. Nothing felt right, and this job as an actor happened by coincidence."

"I'm not sure if it's just my pride, but I think I was able to bring out a different vibe as a Korean in Hollywood where there are many Korean Americans."

"Growing up, Karuna Shinsho on CNN was one of my idols, so I wanted to become either an anchorwoman or an international lawyer."

"Not all the roles that I've gotten were stereotypical, but in Korea, especially for TV, it's a bit limited for women in their twenties and thirties. There aren't enough female roles."

"I think flashbacks are important. I mean, each episode - that's what I love about watching Lost is every episode, you have your new favorite character. We take turns and that's where we get to look a little different, show different sides to that character. It's like peeling an onion. So I find flashbacks really useful, really crucial to the show. I hope that doesn't ever go away."

"Really, it’s the reality that we live in, and the society that we live in, especially in Korea, but also anywhere in the world. Even my own brother and sisters, I’ve been on their side seeing them trying to look for a job. I myself had to prepare for the college entrance exams, and go through auditions in addition to building portfolios. It’s a lot. It’s not just about having a talent. And yes, there are a lot of amazing talents out there with hopes and dreams to become amazing actors and actresses, but the reality isn’t that easy."

"During those months of living in their world, I often wondered if the truth would, in fact, improve their lives. I wanted so much to tell them the truth, of their country and of the outside world, where Arab youth were turning their rotten regime inside out, using the power of social media, where everyone except them was connected through the world wide web, which wasn't worldwide after all. But for them, the truth was dangerous. By encouraging them to run after it, I was putting them at risk -- of persecution, of heartbreak. When you're not allowed to express anything in the open, you become good at reading what is unspoken."

"The erotic is never free of secrecy."

"The pornographic face says nothing. It has no expressivity or mystery."

"Pornography completes the deritualization of love."

"Happiness is the proof that time can accommodate eternity."

"Whatever is merely positive is lifeless. Negativity is essential to vitality."

"What is obscene about pornography is not an excess of sex, but the fact that it contains no sex at all."

"The inner music of things sounds only when you close your eyes."

"Eros, erotic desire, conquers depression. It delivers us from the inferno of the same to the utopia, indeed utopia, of the wholly other."

"Eros and depression are opposites."

"Catastrophic fatality abruptly switches over into salvation."