South Korea produced Parasite, the first non-English-language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Directed by Bong Joon-ho, Parasite is a South Korean black comedy thriller about two families divided by wealth, housing and social status. The film was released in 2019 and became an international critical and commercial success.
At the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020, Parasite won Best Picture, becoming the first film not primarily in English to receive that award. It also won Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film.
The film’s success followed major festival recognition, including the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2019. Its title is often interpreted through the relationships between the two families, but the movie deliberately invites broader questions about dependence, class and exploitation.