Bong Joon-ho Family Tree: The Story Behind Parasite's Director

Bong Joon-ho (Korean: 봉준호), born 14 September 1969 in Daegu, South Korea, won the 2020 Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film with Parasite — the first non-English-language film ever to win Best Picture.

The Family's Roots: A Literary South Korean Family

The Bong family has deep literary roots.

His Parents

Father: Bong Sang-gyun — graphic designer; design professor; co-founded the Korean graphic design industry's modern era.

Mother: Park So-young — homemaker; daughter of the celebrated novelist Park Tae-won.

His Maternal Grandfather: Park Tae-won

Park Tae-won (1909–1986) — Korean modernist novelist, regarded as one of the most-important Korean writers of the early 20th century (A Day in the Life of Novelist Kubo, 1934).

His Brother and Sister

Bong Joon-soo — Bong's elder brother; English literature professor at Seoul National University.

Bong Ji-hee — Bong's elder sister; fashion designer; professor.

His Wife: Jung Sun-young

Jung Sun-young married Bong Joon-ho in 1995.

Their Son

Bong Hyo-min, born 1996 — son; works in film/screenwriting.

The Bong Family Tree at a Glance

Family Origins: Daegu, South Korea; literary-design family.

Father: Bong Sang-gyun — design professor.

Mother: Park So-young.

Maternal Grandfather: Park Tae-won (1909–1986) — celebrated modernist novelist.

Brother: Bong Joon-soo — English literature professor at Seoul National University.

Sister: Bong Ji-hee — fashion designer / professor.

Wife: Jung Sun-young (married 1995).

Son: Bong Hyo-min (b. 1996) — filmmaker.

Bong Joon-ho:

  • Born 14 September 1969, Daegu
  • Yonsei University (Sociology); Korean Academy of Film Arts
  • Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000); Memories of Murder (2003); The Host (2006); Mother (2009); Snowpiercer (2013); Okja (2017); Parasite (2019); Mickey 17 (2025)
  • Cannes Palme d'Or: 2019 (Parasite)
  • Academy Awards 2020: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best International Feature Film — the first film to win in both Best Picture and Best International Feature in the same year, and the first South Korean film ever to win an Academy Award.

What the Bong Family Story Teaches Us

A design-professor father. A homemaker mother. A celebrated novelist grandfather. A brother who is a Seoul National University professor. A sister who is a fashion designer-professor. A wife of 30+ years. A son who works in film. A career that put South Korean cinema on the global map.

For every family — large or small, famous or otherwise — the Bong story carries the same lesson. Literary and artistic families produce literary and artistic children. The Park Tae-won novel-writing line connects to Bong Joon-ho's screenplay-writing line. Write down the artistic forebears — even when they aren't famous outside one country. The lineage shapes the descendant.

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