By <font color="#0070c0">Lee Kyoung Mi </font>and <font color="#0070c0">Lee Jihae </font>

Director Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite" is the first Korean movie to win the top award, the Palme d'Or Prize, at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, on the occasion of the centennial anniversary of Korean cinema this year.

"Parasite" is also the first Korean movie since 2012 to earn the highest award from one of the world's top three film festivals -- Cannes, Berlin and Venice – in a unanimous decision from the nine-member jury. Seven years ago, director Kim Ki-duk's "Pieta" earned the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. 

The movie was one of 21 in the Cannes competition, going against works such as Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" and Abdellatif Kechiche's "Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno." The black comedy is about the eldest son of an unemployed family who tries to tutor a student from an affluent household, exploring the universal clash between rich and poor.

The director said he took a major risk with this film as he wanted to create something unique and new. Bong also thanked his cast and staff, saying, "I never thought I'd see the day when I'd touch this trophy."

Jury president Alejandro González Iñárritu was quoted as saying by the U.S. entertainment site Deadline.com, "The film is such a unique experience, it's an unexpected film. It took all of us. There's an unexpected way that the film takes us through different genres, and spoke in a funny way about something so relevant and urgent and global in such a local film with efficiency."

Released on May 21 in Cannes, "Parasite" received a nine-minute standing ovation from the audience. It also received the highest movie ratings in multiple markets and saw presales in 192 countries. 

President Moon Jae-in on May 26 congratulated Bong through Twitter, saying, "'Parasite' has received recognition as the greatest film made in the world over the past year. It is a glorious honor."

km137426@korea.kr