Director Bong Joon Ho scripted history by becoming the first Asian and South Korean filmmaker to bag the best director Oscar for his class satire "Parasite" at the 92nd Academy Awards where it also walked away with the best picture, screenplay and international feature film trophies.
In his speech, the director gave a shout-out to fellow nominees, singling out "The Irishman" director Martin Scorsese and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" director Quentin Tarantino.
"I thought I was done for the day and was ready to relax," Bong quipped.
"When I was young and studying cinema, there was a saying that I carved deep into my heart, which is 'the most personal is the most creative'. That quote was from our great Martin Scorsese. When I was in school, I studied Martin Scorsese's films. Just to be nominated was a huge honor; I never thought I would win.
"When people in the US were not familiar with my film, Quentin always put my films on his list. He is here, thank you so much. Quentin, I love you. And Todd and Sam, great directors that I admire. If the Academy allows, I would like to get a Texas chainsaw, split the Oscar trophy into five and share it with all of you," he said through his interpreter Sharon Choi.
He joked that after the win, which culminates a busy award season for the director, he would "drink till the next morning".
Bong, 50, is not new to the western audiences and first broke on the international scene with his second South Korean language feature "Memories of Murder", based on a real incident and still considered to be his best by many fans.
The rich-poor divide has been a recurring theme in his films, be it monster movie "The Host" or his first full-fledged English-language film "Snowpiercer", starring Hollywood star Chris Evans and his favourite Song Kang Ho.
"Parasite", a cleverly crafted class satire, is his seventh film.
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