Among the masterpieces that Korean cinema produced in 2003, a year of fierce competition, the film that delivered the most shocking impact—reverberating far beyond Korea to shake the world—was, without question, Old Boy. The second installment in Park Chan-wook’s ‘Vengeance Trilogy,’ the film is based on a Japanese manga of the same title but reinvents it into a wholly unprecedented revenge drama. Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik), an ordinary salaryman who muddled through life day by day, is suddenly abducted and imprisoned for fifteen years. Just as abruptly as he was captured, he is released, thrown back into the world. Teaming up with a young woman named Mi-do, whom he meets by chance, Daesu sets out to track down his captor, Lee Woo-jin (Yoo Ji-tae). Park Chan-wook’s unique visual style—sensuous and striking—seduces the viewer, while the unpredictable narrative tightens its grip on the heart. From the legendary 2-minute 40-second single-take hammer fight to countless other unforgettable sequences, the film dazzles with brilliance at every turn. A masterpiece that feels at once archetypal and exemplary, yet in every scene utterly extraordinary—Old Boy has become nothing less than mythic.
Park Chan-wook achieved both commercial and critical success with Joint Security Area (JSA) (2000), which drew approximately 5.83 million admissions and became the highest-grossing Korean film at the time. He went on to direct his Vengeance Trilogy: Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), Oldboy (2003), and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005). He won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival for Oldboy, the Jury Prize for Thirst (2009), and Best Director for Decision to Leave (2022), cementing his status as one of the leading figures in Korean cinema.
From Busan International Film Festival 2025, No. 30
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