Bong Joon-Ho's 2003 Korean crime drama "Memories of Murder" might be having an actual closure in store, but the filmmaker is having "complicated" feelings and needs time to process it.
The critically-acclaimed film was inspired by South Korea's then-unsolved Hwaseong serial murders that occurred between 1986 and 1991. During that time, 10 women were found raped and murdered in Gyeonggi province.
But now, after 30 years, the South Korea police seems to have found the killer, who was once dubbed as the Korean Zodiac killer.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Korean authorities recently announced that a DNA match had been made linking evidence from some of the crime scenes to a suspect who is already serving a life sentence in Busan for the rape and murder of his sister-in-law in 1994.
Joon-ho, who is currently promoting his Palme-d'Or winner "Parasite", opened up about the film during a session at Beyond Fest.
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"It felt very complicated to hear that news. These serial killings, they were a horrendous incident that happened in Korea. In Korea, this incident was a big trauma to our society.
"When I made the film, I was very curious, and I also thought a lot about this murderer. I wondered what he looks like," the filmmaker said.
Joon-ho then discussed the extensive research process for the film that included discussions with journalists, authorities, and others.
"The only one who I could not meet was, of course, the murderer," the filmmaker said, adding, "Finally last week, I was able to see a photo of his face. And I think I need more time to really explain my emotions from that, but right now I'd just like to applaud the police force for their endless effort to find the culprit."
"Memories of Murder" marked the director's first collaboration with Song Kang-ho, who went on to feature in his 2006 movie "The Host" and "Snowpiercer" (2013).
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