{"id":220851,"date":"2025-06-28T08:24:24","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T08:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/220851\/"},"modified":"2025-06-28T08:24:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T08:24:24","slug":"book-top-off-the-pages-why-these-novels-park-chan-wooks-literary-anchors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/220851\/","title":{"rendered":"(book top) [Off the Pages] Why these novels? Park Chan-wook\u2019s literary anchors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Celebrated filmmaker Park Chan-wook is widely known to be an avid reader.<\/p>\n

Many of his acclaimed films were adapted from novels, making his appearance at last week\u2019s Seoul International Book Fair all the more fitting. Park shared his \u201cliterary anchors,\u201d offering personal anecdotes and insights into the books that have inspired him. The following are some of the highlights from his talk.<\/p>\n

\""Joint “Joint Security Area” (CJ ENM) <\/p>\n

‘Joint Security Area’ (2000)<\/p>\n

In a 2023 reissue of Park Sang-yeon’s novel “DMZ,” Park Chan-wook wrote, \u201cI don\u2019t even want to imagine what my life would look like if I hadn\u2019t encountered this novel.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Joint Security Area” was his first literary adaptation and the breakout hit that changed everything.<\/p>\n

After two earlier films flopped, “JSA” was a box-office sensation, drawing over 5.8 million viewers and setting a record for Korean cinema.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve made many films since then,\u201d Park reflected, \u201cbut none have matched its box-office success. ‘JSA’ gave me the courage to make more daring films afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Set in Korea\u2019s uniquely tense and symbolic space of the Demilitarized Zone, the crime mystery follows a fatal shooting involving North and South Korean soldiers, investigated by the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission. The investigation gradually unravels an unexpected truth.<\/p>\n

\""Joint “Joint Security Area” (CJ ENM) <\/p>\n

Park credited the novel’s humanizing portrayal of North Koreans. \u201cAt the time, it was still shocking to show them not as villains, but as ordinary people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Among the changes he made, Park said he is particularly proud to gender-swap the investigator into a woman, which he described as “an additional layer.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThe investigation already confronts an ideological wall. By introducing a female officer who faces barrier from the male soldiers she questions, I was able to add another layer. That\u2019s an aspect I take great pride in,\u201d he said<\/p>\n

\""Oldboy" “Oldboy” (CJ ENM) <\/p>\n

‘Oldboy’ (2003)<\/p>\n

A man is kidnapped without knowing who took him, or why. He is locked away with no explanation, and the worst part is, he doesn\u2019t know if, or when, he\u2019ll ever get out.<\/p>\n

This premise of “Oldboy,” the noir thriller that won Park a Grand Prix at Cannes, is loosely based on a Japanese manga.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, it felt like a perfect metaphor for life itself,\u201d Park said. \u201cWe don\u2019t know why we were born, how our future will unfold, or when we\u2019ll die. We know death is inevitable, but not when or how. We have to live with that uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n

The film follows Oh Dae-su, imprisoned in a small hotel room for 15 years with no idea who his captor is, or why is kept imprisoned. When he\u2019s abruptly released, he sets on a brutal quest for revenge.<\/p>\n

Another element Park found especially compelling was Oh\u2019s only contact with the outside world was watching television.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found that idea fascinating. He starts off as a reckless, pitiful man \u2014 more so than in the original manga. Locked away, watching only TV, he has nothing but time to think,” he said. “Over the years, that leads to painful self-reflection. Whether he wants it or not, he becomes more mature \u2014 just by watching TV.”<\/p>\n

\""Thirst" “Thirst” (CJ ENM) <\/p>\n

‘Thirst’ (2009)<\/p>\n

For “Thirst,” another Cannes-winning film, Park drew inspiration from Emile Zola\u2019s “Therese Raquin,” a novel about a young woman coerced by her overbearing aunt into a loveless marriage.<\/p>\n

Initially, there were separate plans to adapt the novel and to make a vampire film but the two ideas eventually merged, after co-producer Ahn Soo-hyun read Park\u2019s vampire synopsis and Zola’s novel, spotting a thematic bridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are vivid descriptions focused on the neck in the book,\u201d Park noted. \u201cThe neck biting and the wounds worsening over time \u2014 the imagery is quite intense.\u201d<\/p>\n

The original synopsis, just three or four pages long, had a priest as the protagonist and a detailed climactic blood-drinking scene. Park felt that as long as that scene remained, the story and characters could be adapted freely around it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I ever had the ability to be a novelist, I think I would have written exactly like Zola,” said Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a merciless view of humanity. He\u2019s uncompromising and honest. There\u2019s no romanticizing, no intention to vilify. It\u2019s simply an observation. Because of that honesty, whether making films or anything else, I feel there\u2019s much to learn from him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\""The “The Handmaiden” (CJ ENM) <\/p>\n

‘The Handmaiden’ (2016)<\/p>\n

Literary critic Shin Hyoung-cheol described Park\u2019s approach to adaptation through metaphor thus: “Oldboy” replaced the spine of its source; “Thirst” gave it wings. And “The Handmaiden”? \u201cIt\u2019s as if he gave it a new pair of legs \u2014 like in the scene where the two women run across the open field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adapted from Sarah Waters\u2019s “Fingersmith,” a historical crime novel set in Victorian-era Britain, “The Handmaiden” transposes the setting to colonial-era Korea under Japanese rule. The story follows a young Korean woman hired as a maid to a Japanese heiress.<\/p>\n

In the original novel, each woman deceives the other, and only in the third part do they discover the full extent of the betrayal. Park\u2019s version reimagines this dynamic: The women build trust, form an alliance and ultimately turn the tables to take revenge on the \u201cGentleman.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I read the book, I found myself hoping it would turn out that way,\u201d Park said. \u201cThey meet under false pretenses, but what if they open up to each other, become allies, and pull off a clever scheme to punish the count and escape together. Such anticipation became the basis for my adaptation,\u201d Park said.<\/p>\n

\""The “The Little Drummer Girl” (BBC) <\/p>\n

‘The Little Drummer Girl’ (2019)<\/p>\n

Park has often named British espionage master John le Carre as his favorite novelist. He read “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold” as a teenager and he considers himself part of a rare minority of fans who \u201cdare say ‘The Little Drummer Girl’ is his best.”<\/p>\n

Park reached out to le Carre directly, and the two met in person to discuss adapting the novel into a six-part television series \u2014 an “unforgettable memory” for Park.<\/p>\n

Le Carre made a cameo in the show, appearing as a waiter in the cafe where Charlie walks in. In fact, le Carre was fond of making cameo appearances in screen adaptations of his novels.<\/p>\n

Set in 1979, “The Little Drummer Girl” follows Charlie, a young English actress recruited to infiltrate a Palestinian group plotting a terrorist attack in Europe. But it was the novel\u2019s ending \u2014 particularly the protagonist\u2019s motivations \u2014 that troubled Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough I call it a masterpiece, I was disappointed at that moment,\u201d he said. \u201cShe risks her life as a spy because she ‘fell in love’ with one of the male agents, after pretending to be in love as part of her cover. I thought it made Charlie almost foolish,\u201d Park said.<\/p>\n

Park knew he needed a new line \u2014 a moment that would redefine her choices. He learned that the character of Charlie had been inspired by a real person \u2014 le Carre\u2019s own sister, a theater actress active in the 1970s. Park said the line \u201cI\u2019m an actress\u201d came directly from a conversation with her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat line carries so much,\u201d Park said. \u201cWe had long discussions about it. Even during table reads, it was my favorite. We shot that scene with all of its weight in mind. I\u2019d rather leave its meaning open to interpretation,\u201d Park said.<\/p>\n

\"Park Park Chan-wook (right) speaks during a session at the 2025 Seoul International Book Fair held at Coex on June 20. (Yonhap) <\/p>\n

‘No Other Choice’ (2025) and Park’s reading list<\/p>\n

Park is currently in post-production on his upcoming film “No Other Choice,” starring Lee Byung-hun and Son Ye-jin. Set for release in October, the film is adapted from Donald E. Westlake\u2019s horror thriller “The Ax.”<\/p>\n

It follows Man-soo, who, after being laid off from a job, begins a desperate and dark hunt for new employment. Park has hinted that the film will veer into black comedy.<\/p>\n

Before the talk came to an end, the director offered a list of book recommendations.<\/p>\n

His recent favorites included Geoff Dyer\u2019s “The Ongoing Moment,” a meditation on photography, and “But Beautiful,” a philosophical exploration of beauty in jazz.<\/p>\n

Of Vladimir Nabokov\u2019s works, Park singled out “Pnin” as a personal favorite: \u201cIt\u2019s filled with absurd humor, and the protagonist might come off as unlikeable at first — but he becomes utterly lovable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Park also expressed his recent admiration for W.G. Sebald, after reading “Austerlitz.”<\/p>\n

\"Director Director Park Chan-wook (right) with actor Hua Xuande on the set of “The Sympathizer” (HBO) \"Park Park Chan-wook (right) speaks during a session at the 2025 Seoul International Book Fair held at Coex on June 20. (Yonhap)
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