Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
Cannes-winning director Park Chan-wook brings cinematic style to ad
Director Park Chan-wook / Courtesy of Kukje Gallery
By Kwak Yeon-soo
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Cannes-winning filmmaker Park Chan-wook has directed a commercial for Hey Dealer, a mobile app for used-car buyers, starring actress Han So-hee. This non-feature film work, bearing his signature directing style, has gone viral garnering close to 230,000 views on the company's YouTube channel just two days after its release.
“[It is] quite impressive. It is like a very short but engaging film, which makes me watch it again and again,” a fan commented.
The cinematic short film is characterized by Park's signature cinematography and is packed with beautiful scenery.
It pays homage to his critically acclaimed films, including “Oldboy” (2003) “Sympathy For Lady Vengeance” (2005), “Thirst” (2009) and “Decision to Leave.”
“I became interested in the project after I heard the company would like to make a commercial inspired by my films,” he said in a video released by Hey Dealer.
Han, best known for her role in Netflix's “My Name” (2021), said working with the acclaimed director was a special experience because she was a Park Chan-wook fan. “I always hoped to collaborate with Park, whom I have admired for a long time,” she said.
Park, who won the Best Director award at the 2022 Cannes International Film Festival for “Decision to Leave,” is one of the most unique artistic voices in contemporary cinema. Last year, he also directed a short film “Life is But a Dream” as part of Apple's “Shot on iPhone” marketing campaign.
Next up, Park will unveil a seven-episode series “The Sympathizer,” starring Robert Downey Jr., on HBO, next year. Based on Vietnamese-American author Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, the story tells of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy who flees to the U.S. near the end of the Vietnam War.