Director Bong Joon-ho smiles on Feb. 9 as he receives the Best Picture trophy for his film "Parasite" from actor Jane Fonda at the 92nd Academy Awards at Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.

By Elias Molina and Lee Jihae

The Spanish daily El Mundo on Dec. 27 posted an interview with Bong Joon-ho, director of the film "Parasite," which won four Oscars in February this year including Best Picture at the 92nd Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

Bong said he is sometimes surprised at his own optimism and that he firmly believes COVID-19 will soon die down a step. Though many say returning to the pre-pandemic world is impossible, such a statement is an exaggeration because COVID-19 will eventually disappear and cinema will return, he added.

On what event this year left the deepest impression on him, he cited the wildfires in California and Australia, saying he wonders if nature can retaliate against humanity. He added that just seeing everything gobbled up by fire scared him.

Turning to social disparity, the director said economic polarization has worsened since he was young. While attending college, he said students from affluent families in large cities and those from poor rural households studied, drank together and overcame such inequality, but that the gap has since significantly widened.

Capitalism is not merely a social category but an extremely specific factor that affects daily life, he said. 

On "smell," an important motif in "Parasite," Bong said the smell of tear gas evokes fear in him, alluding to numerous clashes between university students and police in 1980s Korea. He said such gas was easily discernible throughout Seoul at the time and that he still vividly remembers its smell three decades later.

After the pandemic ends, the director said he plans to continue making many movies.

eliasmolina@korea.kr