Director Bong Joon Ho Opens up About the Time He Suffered Suicidal Thoughts

On the most recent episode of MBC’s documentary special, director Bong Joon Ho opened up about how he went from an aspiring film director to receiving the Palme d’Or for Parasite.

Bong Joon Ho started off by explaining that he was once a poor student aspiring to become a film director.

But one day, he received a call from director Park Chan Wook for his movie, Incoherence, which he thought was innovative, silly, creative, and outstanding.

After that movie, Bong Joon Ho directed Memories of Murder which turned out to be a big success.

But Bong Joon Ho revealed that it wasn’t always so smooth for him and that he was so miserable while working on The Host that he even thought about ending his own life.

Bong Joon Ho explained, “We were negotiating with Weta Digital when the deal fell through due to our budget. At that point, we had already reported that we were filming ‘The Host’.”

He continued, “I didn’t know what to do at that point. I felt like I was a con artist. I thought about killing myself pretty often during that time.”

Luckily, he didn’t give up but rather overcame many obstacles to make The Host not only happen but succeed, and continued to strive and become the world-renowned director that he is today.