| Bong Joon-ho and his son Hyo-min. |
By Park Si-soo
The Oscars have made film director Bong Joon-ho the talk of the town and thrust his family into the limelight, whether they like it or not.
Most attention falls on his wife and son. In an acceptance speech for the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, Bong extended his gratitude to his wife, saying she is "always being an inspiration to me."
His wife is Jung Sun-young. In an interview, Bong said he met her at a cinema club and she is "always the first reader of his new script."
"The most anxious moment is when I finish writing a script and show it to my wife," said Bong, who won Oscars for Best Original Screenplay, Best Picture, Best Director and Best International Feature Film on Monday (KST). Jung is a screenwriter and they married in 1995
Their son, Hyo-min, is also a filmmaker. He directed the web movie "Wedding Ceremony" in 2017 with the support of YG K Plus, an affiliate of K-pop label YG Entertainment.
Bong's father is Bong Sang-gyun, one of the country's first-generation graphic designers who taught students at Seoul National University of Science & Technology.
His maternal grandfather is novelist Park Tae-won, who has several hit titles under his belt, including "A Day in the Life of Mr. Gubo, Novelist."
His elder brother, Bong Joon-soo, is an English literature professor at Seoul National University. His elder sister, Bong Ji-hee, is a fashion design professor at Yeonsung University.