This list details South Koreans working in the film industry who have been nominated for, or won, Academy Awards (also known as Oscars). These include artists and filmmakers, both naturalized and diaspora, or South Korean film production companies. North Korea has never sought to participate in the awards due to tensions between the United States and South Korea.
Bong Joon-ho (pictured in 2017) has won three Academy Awards, the most out of all South Koreans. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Totals[a] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Wins | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nominations | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Note
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South Koreans had not received any nominations for almost six decades following the inauguration launch of Academy Award, until Christine Choy was nominated in 1988. In 2004, Sejong Park was the second.
In the late 2010s, South Korean consecutive entrants Chang-dong's Burning and Joon-ho's Parasite shortlisted the International Feature Film category: The former became the first to make it to the final nine-film shortlist of the 91st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film but it didn't make for the nomination.[1] The latter became the first South Korean film to earn a nomination for Best International Feature Film, but not limited to; it also was the first South Korean film to be nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Production Design; it won all the first four including Best Picture.
Out of eleven non-English international films who have been previously nominated for, Parasite is the first non-English language film ever to win Best Picture, established in 2019/2020; this led to local recognition and global phenomenon at the start of the 2020s, boosted popularity by rising the form of a new wave of South Korean films.[2][3]
As of 2024, Bong Joon-ho, Kwak Sin-ae, Han Jin-won and Youn Yuh-jung are the only competitive winners appeared on the list; Joon-ho is currently only person to win more than once.
Production
editBest Picture
editBest Picture | |||||
Year | Film | Nominee | Status | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 (92nd) |
Parasite | Bong Joon-ho Kwak Sin-ae |
Won | First East Asians to win Best Picture. First non-English language film to win Best Picture. | |
2020 (93rd) |
Minari | Christina Oh | Nominated | South Korean-American. |
Best Documentary Feature
editDocumentary Feature | |||||
Year | Name | Film | Status | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1988 (61st) |
Christine Choy | Who Killed Vincent Chin? | Nominated | Choi is American born of Korean and Chinese descent. | |
2018 (91st) |
Su Kim | Hale County This Morning, This Evening | Nominated | Kim is American born of Korean descent. (Shared with RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes.) |
Best Documentary Short Subject
editDocumentary Short Subject | |||||
Year | Name | Film | Status | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 (92nd) |
Yi Seung-Jun | In the Absence | Nominated | ||
Gary Byung-Seok Kam | Nominated |
Best Animated Feature
editBest Animated Feature | |||||
Year | Name | Film | Status | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 (84th) |
Jennifer Yuh Nelson | Kung Fu Panda 2 | Nominated | [4] | |
2023 (96th) |
Peter Sohn | Elemental | Nominated |
Best Animated Short Film
editAnimated Short Film | |||||
Year | Name | Film | Status | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 (77th) |
Sejong Park | Birthday Boy | Nominated | Australian born of Korean descent.[5] (Shared with Andrew Gregory.) | |
2011 (84th) |
Minkyu Lee | Adam and Dog | Nominated | ||
2020 (93rd) |
Erick Oh | Opera | Nominated | American born of Korean descent. |
Best International Feature Film
editNOTE: In this category is awarded to countries, not individuals. This list contains directors of nominated films, who typically accept the award on behalf of their country.
International Feature Film | |||||
Year | Film | Director | Status | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 (92nd) |
Parasite (Gisaengchung) 기생충 |
Bong Joon-ho | Won | First South Korean film to be nominated for Best Foreign Language Film and to be simultaneously nominated for Best Picture.[citation needed] First South Korean film to win for Best Foreign Language Film and the first non-English language film to win Best Picture.[citation needed] |
Performance
editBest Actor
editBest Actor in a Leading Role | ||||||
Year | Name | Film | Role | Status | Milestone / Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 (93rd) |
Steven Yeun | Minari | Jacob Yi | Nominated | First East Asian and Asian American actor to be nominated for Best Actor. |
Best Supporting Actress
editBest Actress in a Supporting Role | ||||||
Year | Name | Film | Role | Status | Milestone / Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 (93rd) |
Youn Yuh-jung | Minari | Soon-ja | Won | First Korean actress to win an acting award.[6] |
Craft
editBest Director
editDirector | |||||
Year | Name | Film | Status | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 (92nd) |
Bong Joon-ho | Parasite | Won | First Korean to be nominated and win. Second director to win for a non-English language film. | |
2020 (93rd) |
Lee Isaac Chung | Minari | Nominated | South Korean-American. |
Best Original Screenplay
editOriginal Screenplay | |||||
Year | Name | Film | Status | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 (92nd) |
Bong Joon-ho Han Jin-won |
Parasite | Won | First Asian writers to win any screenwriting Academy Award.[7][8] | |
2020 (93rd) |
Lee Isaac Chung | Minari | Nominated | South Korean-American. | |
2023 (96th) |
Celine Song | Past Lives | Nominated | South Korean-Canadian. |
Best Film Editing
editFilm Editing | |||||
Year | Name | Film | Status | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 (92nd) |
Yang Jin-mo | Parasite | Nominated |
Best Production Design
editProduction Design | |||||
Year | Name | Film | Status | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 (92nd) |
Lee Ha-jun Cho Won-woo |
Parasite | Nominated |
Best Original Song
editOriginal Song | ||||||
Year | Name | Film | Song | Status | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013 (86th) |
Karen O | Her | "The Moon Song" | Nominated | O is an American of Polish and South Korean descent. (Shared with Spike Jonze.) |
References
edit- ^ "Academy Unveils 2019 Oscar Shortlists". The Hollywood Reporter. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
- ^ Seo, Jessie Yeung,Yoonjung (2020-02-10). "'Parasite' Oscar win cements South Korea's influence abroad". CNN. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Parasite: What the Oscar win means for Korean cinema". BBC News. 2020-02-11. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
- ^ Chang, Momo (January 25, 2016). "Q&A with Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Director of Kung Fu Panda 3". Center for Asian American Media. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ Baillie, Rebecca (January 26, 2005). "Can Birthday Boy make it an Aussie animation Oscar double". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on March 24, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
- ^ "Oscar-nominee Youn Yuh-jung reaches career peak at age of 73". The Korea Herald. March 15, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
- ^ Oscars: Bong Joon Ho's 'Parasite' Wins South Korea's First Oscar|Hollywood Reporter
- ^ Joyce Eng (2020-02-07). "'Parasite's' Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won would be the first Asian writers to win an Oscar – GoldDerby". Goldderby.com. Retrieved 2020-02-16.