Na Hong-jin

Na began in making short films before he would go on to make his large feature films. Na first debut short film was titled 5 Minutes (2003). It was only until his 2nd short film where Na started to gain some recognition; with the release of his short film A Perfect Red Snapper Dish (2005), Na managed to win best film in The Extreme Nightmare section at the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival. He would then go on to make his third short film, Sweat (2007) that would win the best short film director prize at the Grand Bell Awards and jury prize from the Bucheon International Film Festival awards.

Na’s first feature and debut film was titled The Chaser (2008) that was met with critical acclaim as well as commercial success. The Chaser became one of the most watched films in Korea, peaking at third best selling films of 2008.[8] The film was also screened at the Cannes Film Festival where reviewers hailed it as an “instant classic” in Korean thrillers and took home many awards such as the 16th Chunsa Film Art Awards for best director and screenplay.[7] The Yellow Sea was released and entailed a more ambitious vision from Na. The Yellow Sea became the first Korean film to ever have a Hollywood studio collaboration, with the 20th Century Fox studio. Na’s second film achieved positive reviews but “lacking” compared to The Chaser.[9] The film was invited to screen in the Un Certain Regard of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. The follow up to The Yellow Sea was Na’s critically acclaimed third feature film, The Wailing. The film encompasses a deeper and weave of a combination of many themes such as religion, perception, comedy, and horror.[10] The Wailing succeeded commercially and critically, again winning Na many film wards such as best director of the 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards, Best of Bucheon award at the Bucheon international fantastic film festival, the top film of the year of the 36th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards, and many more. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was shortly released onto streaming services.

Na teamed up with Thai director Banjong Pisanthanakun, most known for the films Shutter (2004) and Alone (2007). Na acted as the producer and screenwriter for the Pisanthanakun's The Medium, a supernatural horror film mockumentary. The film premiered at the 25th Bucheon international fantastic film festival on 11 July 2021.[10] When writing the story, Na explained in an interview that The Medium was initially a sequel to The Wailing with Hwang Jung-min’s shaman character. However this rendition did not come to light, as quoted by Na himself, “The Medium has no relation to The Wailing.” [11]

Na has claimed to have written many scripts during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. In an interview, Na has described his working flow best summed in his own words, “Whenever I finish a film, I don’t want to go anywhere near another one.” Which words have echoed throughout his slow release of films despite being in the film industry for over 15 years and 3 films to his name.[11] In March 2023, it was announced that his next project Hope will be released in 2024.[12]