Bong Joon-ho on Jan. 5 receives the award for best foreign-language film for “Parasite” at the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. (Yonhap News)

By Kim Eun-young and Lee Hana

"Parasite" by director Bong Joon-ho has won Korea's first Golden Globe for film.

On Jan. 5, he received the award for best foreign-language film at the 77th Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

Other nominees in the category included Lulu Wang's "The Farewell" (U.S.), Pedro Almodovar's "Pain and Glory (Spain), Celine Sciamma's "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" (France) and Ladj Ly's "Les Miserables" (France).

"Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you'll be introduced to so many more amazing films," the director said in his acceptance speech, which was through an interpreter and mostly in Korean.

"Just being nominated along with fellow, amazing international filmmakers like Pedro Almodovar was a huge honor," he said, adding, "I think we use only one language: cinema."

"Parasite" was also nominated for best screenplay and best director.

This year's Golden Globe for best director went to Sam Mendes for "1917" while that for best screenplay went to Quentin Tarantino for "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."

Launched in January 1944, the Golden Globes are awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for outstanding achievement in motion pictures, both American and international, and U.S. television.

eykim86@korea.kr