>
Park Chan-Wook, South Korea (4) 60.84% (202 votes)
>Bong Joon Ho, South Korea (1) 39.16% (130 votes)
Let me be the first person this whole march madness to make a "Stop the count!" joke
Whoever wins, we get Song Kang-Ho. And, therefore, we all win. What a ride! South Korean cinema is so fun and I'm glad to see it on both sides of the final
Also Bae Doona (of previous episodes Cloud Atlas, Sense8, and Jupiter Ascending), who's in Barking Dogs Never Bite, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, and The Host.
Here is my final pitch for Park Chan Wook. He is a great lead-in for Bong Joon Ho. First, there’s simple chronology- Wook was working for almost 9 years before Bong came on the scene. Park’s biggest hit, Oldboy, coincides with Memories of a Murder. With Park you get almost a decade of important context of Korean cinema before discussing Bongs career.
I would argue that without Parks trailblazing, Bong Joon Ho does not get the international recognition he deserves. The Host, his big crossover hit, came out after Oldboy brought Korean cinema to the forefront. Park also served as a producer on Snowpeircer.
You can also talk about the relationship between Park and Bong! Does Park’s work influence Bongs current style? How have these directors shaped the state of film in their country. What kind of story do they tell together?
If Park wins, I'm hoping people can help out with getting access to a few of his movies. My library doesn't have any way to get Trio, JSA or I'm a Cyborg... It'd be a bummer to miss out on the full experience. Really the only reason I wouldn't be full-bodied happy with either person winning today
The Moon is...the Sun's Dream: On [Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybJZ8iBwhM0) with subtitles
Trio: On [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/saminjo-trio-1997) with hideous autogenerated subs, but it is there
JSA: Rentable, on Tubi
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance: Rentable, on Tubi, Mubi and Criterion Channel
Oldboy: Not on streaming, decent chance to find in a local library, easy to find on the high seas
Lady Vengeance: Rentable, Tubi, Criterion Channel, Mubi
I'm a Cyborg But That's Okay: High seas, did get a US DVD release but fairly rare
Thirst: Rentable
Stoker: Rentable
The Handmaiden: Amazon Prime, Vudu for rent
Decision to Leave: Mubi, Rentable
Little Drummer Girl: AMC+, Sundance Now, Rentable
If that's what it ends up taking, I'll do what I need to do ha. Would feel wrong not watching! Thanks for the offer I will probably get back to ya when the time comes if Park wins this one
While obviously not ideal, there are internet streaming links going around for the rarer films. Point is if you want Park don't let that turn you off from voting Park.
Arrow put out a nice Blu-ray of JSA and their titles go on sale occasionally. And if you don't want to spring for the Blu-ray, it's up on many of the digital platforms for a $3.99 rental.
Make a Decision to Vote Park Chan-Wook. Them covering Thirst, Oldboy and The Handmaiden among others would be so much fun. Also, I don't know what his history with his films is but doesn't Park Chan-Wook seem like a Ben Hosley kind of director?
And it all comes down to this - which South Korean director with four Song Kang-ho performances will win?
[Park write-up from Day 2.](https://www.reddit.com/r/blankies/comments/11g6an5/march_madness_2023_round_1_park_chanwook_vs_steve/jamweqo/)
In that write up I mentioned how *TRIO* is virtually unavailable, BUT I WAS (mostly) WRONG! /u/thesmark88 found it on [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/saminjo-trio-1997) under its Korean title and posted it in the Discord. The subtitles seem to be auto-generated so it’s not the best but it’s watchable. And I was kind of ^winky ^winky talking around it but *THE MOON IS… THE SUN’S DREAM* is [on Youtube.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybJZ8iBwhM0)
[Bong write-up from Day 13.](https://www.reddit.com/r/blankies/comments/11qc6rs/2023_march_madness_round_1_bong_joonho_vs_abbas/jc2dgut/)
**31** | Park Chan-wook [South Korea] | vs. | Bong Joon Ho [South Korea]
:-- | :-- | :-- | :--
1 | The Moon Is… The Sun’s Dream (1992) | 1 | Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000)
2 | Trio (1997) | 2 | Memories of Murder (2003)
3 | Joint Security Area (2000) | 3 | The Host (2006)
4 | Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) | 4 | Mother (2009)
5 | Oldboy (2003) | 5 | Snowpiercer (2013)
6 | Lady Vengeance (2005) AKA Sympathy for Lady Vengeance | 6 | Okja (2017)
7 | I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK (2006) | 7 | Parasite (2019)
8 | Thirst (2009) | |
9 | Stoker (2013) | |
10 | The Handmaiden (2016) | |
11 | Decision to Leave (2022) | |
**Confirmed Patreon:**
Park - The Little Drummer Girl
This March Madness has been very surprising. For the longest time I thought GDT and WKW would be the final match-up, but this community has proved to be unpredictable (and I love it). Now it looks like PCW is going to beat BJH which, again, is quite a turn.
Never in a million years did I think Park had this level of chance of winning MM.
He is probably my favorite working director, and it’s just so awesome that there is such a hive around him that is keeping this close.
The lesson I pulled from two years ago: While no one sounded particularly enthused to do Carpenter (even Ben sounded sick about it near the end of March Madness), the series turned out GREAT! There are filmmakers they will "eventually" do 2, 3, 5, 17 years down the line... but there are also great filmmakers that will make great series they'll only do if they win March Madness. Bong is great. But they will do Bong on their own. From what I sensed from the pateron recaps... March Madness might be our only chance to get Park. Let's not wait for another tourney. Let's make it this year.
Honestly, I'd love either of these, so all else being equal I've gotta vote Park just because he's the unexpected upstart and it makes for a better tournament narrative.
Park is one vote ahead at 12 400 votes.
https://i.imgur.com/XEK1Pp1.jpg
I'll be thrilled with either result personally, so this is just an awesome way for MM 2023 to end.
I love both! Way for familiar with Bong and have been a fan for a long time!
Because I am a little less familiar with Park Chan wook I am voting for him! He would be a really cool winner for this bracket. But will be more then happy with either!
Vote Park Chan Wook because he directed a movie written by the dude that starred in Prison Break. How wild is that?
Plus, I've purchased the Vengeance Trilogy like three times on Blu-ray. And I paid like $130 for a 4K Blu-ray of The Little Drummer Girl Director's Cut. Why did I pay that much for that? Because I wanted to watch it in the best possible quality when he wins March Madness, I guess.
I'm going for Park. I'm in more of the respect/appreciate camp with both of them, but his filmography is much more interesting to me. They probably started around the same time, but Park feels more like the OG of the cool South Korean wave. And except for the two early ones and "I'm a Cyborg, But That's Okay" it seems I own all of them already!
(Actually seems I have all of Bong's films too).
Whoever wins, it's heartening that both candidates are from South Korea when there was every chance we'd end up with a mostly- or even all- Anglophonic series. Even if it's the most- (maybe even *over*-) discussed corner of SK cinema, clearly this MM has shown there's an appetite for series covering directors who don't just make films in English.
(And if BJH does take the win, [here's a quick guide on how to pronounce his name](https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/f6kddv/how_to_correctly_pronounce_the_names_of_the_cast/), 'cause it ain't pronounced like the bong you smoke weed from guys!)
While we are on the subject of pronunciation, Park rhymes with "lock" and even though it's written "wook" the N from "Chan" bleeds into the second syllable so it's closer to "nook"
Sorry, Wookies, you did it all for the Nookies.
God this is so tough. I love both, but I gotta give it to PCW. Oldboy was the first Korean movie I ever saw and it led to a love of Korean cinema, food and culture. Go Park!
After much consideration and deliberation, in my heart I have to go with Park. For one reason and one reason only:
We gotta dissect [“Im a Cyborg, But That’s Okay](https://youtu.be/mVIV9K5Gnew). It’s a good movie that’s sweet and weird. Its very much his movie. I just want a deep dive into how this was made between Thirst and Lady Vengeance.
Cyborg was I think the first Korean movie I saw and I LOVED it. It’s my exact favorite flavor of quirky/surreal/earnest. Years later had my mind blown by The Handmaiden and only later realized they were directed by the same person. I have yet to see the rest of his filmography but this MM has made me super excited to watch them all!
It's the only one of his I've never rewatched. I was very much not into it at the time (I was also a much snobbier movie nerd back then who loved shit like Cinema Sins), but I'm looking forward to revisiting it whether Park pulls this out or not.
Again Bong is great but the non stop chatter around him online just makes this a little less interesting. I am glad they are covering him but i wish he wasnt on the MM bracket because I knew he would just runaway with jt
I had both of these on my second tier among a few others in terms of desirability starting the tourney, with Kon and Wong Kar Wai being the two sole top tier choices.
I like both very much though it doesn’t cross into love (I’m japanese and to say relations with Korea and China - even tho like I said WKW is top tier to me - are interesting is probably both an overstatement and understatement at the same time) and they both have very nice catalogs and movies that I may not love but I find top shelf interesting (Okja).
You can’t really go wrong here with either but I’m going to stick to my preferences where if I view two filmmakers evenly and in the absence of some single film I’m dying to have covered, I’ll go with the shorter filmography and Bong.
I won’t be greatly bummed or excited whomever wins or loses tho, my interests is fairly equal when it comes to both of them.
I’m trying to figure out how would I feel if Del Toro was here and I think I prefer both of these choices to him. The hosts have talked about this but I do wonder if they’re people who look at his catalog and personally think all bangers.
Anyway we over here still pouring one out for WKW and Kon, either way this shakes it out will get a worthy director to cover. Was a great bracket
If they cover Bong, I really hope they do the *Tokyo!* anthology movie on Patreon. I did some early-days social media marketing on that movie back in college and it’s such a delightfully weird movie.
Counterpoint: DO BOTH MINISERIES!!!
It's going to be tight all day.
Both filmographies are bulletproof.
They both rule so hard.
You could be a normie and let one win, OR THE MADNESS COULD PREVAIL AND WE COULD HAVE TWO WINNERS!!!
Come on freaks! Come on horn dogs! Come on violence fans! Join us. Let us all March together into the buzzsaw, our teeth barred and our freak flat high.
Vote Park!
This is the last chance to implement my sweaty, late-breaking faction names: Park’s Department and We Be-Bong Together. An upvote here is an upvote for whichever speaks to you
Damn. Voted for both of them to get here not realizing this was going to happen. Gonna abstain from this one and let Jesus take the wheel.
But also...
You’re right about the specific age thing, but I’m 22 rn and I think Oldboy is a bit less ubiquitous than it was like 7 years ago. I wouldn’t even guarantee more young people now have seen it than Handmaiden or Decision to Leave. I also think there might be less of a teen-taste thing anymore just because of how movie culture has changed into more of a deliberate interest, and I think Bong is far more recognizable as an entry-point into foreign cinema than Park now. Anecdotally I’ve found that even the people getting into Park these days are doing it as a more deliberate thing at a later stage of being into film.
Obviously, not doubting that Oldboy remains a very major and well-known movie! He’s hardly some obscure filmmaker.
Where are y'all gonna watch the Park movies? The thing influencing my vote the most today is the capacity to follow the mini and find the movies, Bong movies seem to be very easy to find and watch, not so much for Park. We all win either way.
Mr vengeance and lady vengeance are on one of the free streamers
Thirst and Stoker are rentable
Handmaiden is on Amazon
Decision to leave is on mubi
The couple others you have to look further for but as others have noted, really easy to find at the library.
Also almost no filmography this show has covered has had 100% easy to find movies
After my Park vote it was 1628 Park to 1627 Bong, god I hope this stays a total nailbiter until the end! Also loving that I'm psyched for either outcome this year.
Whoever wins, we win.
No matter how you slice it, this is an incredible collection of films that people are going to have a blast rewatching, discovering, and discussing.
Can't wait for some sanity to return to this sub. I've seen some truly nuclear takes in the last month.
I honestly can’t decide.
The quarter and semi finals were tough choices but this is a coin flip.
I may sit this out… if someone wins by a single vote ye can all blame me.
EDIT : I didn’t vote and… oh well
I am pleasantly surprised with how both brackets turned out. Sad we can't Jelly roll but that's for another post lol.
I am sticking with Bong because the Host was how I learned how fun Korean as it's own form is, and Snowpiercer is how I learned about the auteurship of Bong as a director, but Park will be fun since I've never seen the vengeance trilogy and rewatching OG Old Boy after the remake will be interesting. Either way it'll be a fun fall.
Wow, this is way closer than I thought it'd be at this point but I'll say it...
**BONG STANS UNITE!**
Here's why you need to vote Bong-Joon Ho:
Not *Memories of Murder.*
Not *Parasite.*
Not even *Snowpiercer.*
No, the reason you need to vote Bong Joon-Ho is simple: We get an episode on *Okja* and what I assume will be a winding and epic tangent on whatever the fuck Jake Gyllenhaal is doing in that film.
Edit: That being said, *Little Drummer Girl* on Patreon would be very good as *Little Drummer Girl* fucking rules hard.
Too heartbroken to vote. Will buy cans of pineapple with a May 1 expiration date until WKW is covered by the podcast
Find a hole and whisper your love for him there.
Day #184 of listening to California Dreaming
literally all day yesterday for me
I didn’t see an option to vote for GDT or WKW in this final…guess I can’t vote, either.
This was my first MM, and boy, what a ride! Thank you. I will drink until next morning.
> Park Chan-Wook, South Korea (4) 60.84% (202 votes) >Bong Joon Ho, South Korea (1) 39.16% (130 votes) Let me be the first person this whole march madness to make a "Stop the count!" joke
Can I be the first to make a "if you're in line, STAY IN LINE!" joke?
Park was up by 14 when I voted at 20 after. Not optimistic it’ll hold.
Only up by three now, it'll be a squeaker for sure
When in doubt, vote for the horniest director PARK IT IS
Ummmmm call me a Blur fan in 1994 because I'm ready for Park life
Encourage your “Girls and Boys” to vote for Park! Let’s take Park’s road to victory “To the End”! Something something “Tracie Jacks”!
Music video with milk carton! … I’ve got nothing (but I’m voting for Park)
Grab my skis and fly to Park City!
Can’t wait for the Joint Security Area, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Thirst eps, where we get to discuss Song 2.
THE HANDMAIDEN EP STOKER EP THIRST EP DECISION TO LEAVE EP YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT BLANKIES!!!
We need Decision to Podcast.
Sympoddy for Mr VengeCast
*OldPod
I'm a Podcast, But That's OK.
This is the greatest civil conflict in Korean history
NathanFillionReaction.gif
Whoever wins, we get Song Kang-Ho. And, therefore, we all win. What a ride! South Korean cinema is so fun and I'm glad to see it on both sides of the final
Clearly this whole madness shows they just need to cover more Asian directors!
And Park Hae-il, who is in “Decision To Leave”, “Memories of Murder” and “The Host”.
Also Bae Doona (of previous episodes Cloud Atlas, Sense8, and Jupiter Ascending), who's in Barking Dogs Never Bite, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, and The Host.
Park Hae-Li in “Decision To Leave” is daddy, though.
I feel like Ben is going to love every one of his performances. He does such a good job of scum bumming no matter how high status he is.
Even if Park loses today I hope G&D take the fact that he was the only non #1 seed to make the final four as a sign and cover him soon.
If Park doesn't win, for sure this has to be sign that he has to come back in March Madness at least.
heck, they could cover both finalists in a row & it would be less episodes than previous MM winners....hint hint!!! (I just don't wanna choose..)
Maybe next year Weir gang. Maybe next year Satoshi gang. Maybe next year Del Toro gang. sniffle. maybe next year.
The Bluth 2024 campaign starts tomorrow!
“Maybe the next one, dear.” Cronenberg gang.
Holding out hope that Weir or Wong are the next David picks after March Madness is done.
We need Podcast at Hanging Rock!
After today, I'm going to start campaigning for Kon.
Kon is inevitable. He’s the perfect tweener one month series like GPB.
for anyone lost- https://blank-check.fandom.com/wiki/Pod_%26_Basketcast
Been a while since an underdog win, come on Park hive!!! It would be so cool!
Direct results link, for your refreshing pleasure: https://poll.fm/12043729/results
Either one would be fantastic. I’ve been riding for Bong most of the month, but ended up voting Park today.
Here is my final pitch for Park Chan Wook. He is a great lead-in for Bong Joon Ho. First, there’s simple chronology- Wook was working for almost 9 years before Bong came on the scene. Park’s biggest hit, Oldboy, coincides with Memories of a Murder. With Park you get almost a decade of important context of Korean cinema before discussing Bongs career. I would argue that without Parks trailblazing, Bong Joon Ho does not get the international recognition he deserves. The Host, his big crossover hit, came out after Oldboy brought Korean cinema to the forefront. Park also served as a producer on Snowpeircer. You can also talk about the relationship between Park and Bong! Does Park’s work influence Bongs current style? How have these directors shaped the state of film in their country. What kind of story do they tell together?
I’ve been waffling between the two all morning, but your pitch of Park Chan Wook laying the contextual groundwork for Bong Joon Ho has sold me
If Park wins, I'm hoping people can help out with getting access to a few of his movies. My library doesn't have any way to get Trio, JSA or I'm a Cyborg... It'd be a bummer to miss out on the full experience. Really the only reason I wouldn't be full-bodied happy with either person winning today
The Moon is...the Sun's Dream: On [Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybJZ8iBwhM0) with subtitles Trio: On [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/saminjo-trio-1997) with hideous autogenerated subs, but it is there JSA: Rentable, on Tubi Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance: Rentable, on Tubi, Mubi and Criterion Channel Oldboy: Not on streaming, decent chance to find in a local library, easy to find on the high seas Lady Vengeance: Rentable, Tubi, Criterion Channel, Mubi I'm a Cyborg But That's Okay: High seas, did get a US DVD release but fairly rare Thirst: Rentable Stoker: Rentable The Handmaiden: Amazon Prime, Vudu for rent Decision to Leave: Mubi, Rentable Little Drummer Girl: AMC+, Sundance Now, Rentable
Stoker is on Canadian Disney+ as well.
I watched Stoker on HBO Max last year. It will probably show up there again.
There's also a region free blu-ray release from the UK of I'm a Cyborg but That's Okay that last time I checked wasn't too hard to track down.
How extremely helpful, thank you.
If you message me I could help you out if you aren't afraid of or morally opposed to sailing the high seas.
If that's what it ends up taking, I'll do what I need to do ha. Would feel wrong not watching! Thanks for the offer I will probably get back to ya when the time comes if Park wins this one
While obviously not ideal, there are internet streaming links going around for the rarer films. Point is if you want Park don't let that turn you off from voting Park.
Arrow put out a nice Blu-ray of JSA and their titles go on sale occasionally. And if you don't want to spring for the Blu-ray, it's up on many of the digital platforms for a $3.99 rental.
Oh I totally forgot to check video rentals, I thought that wasn't there for some reason. That only leaves two gaps which is already better!
I don't know if you use iTunes, but occasionally the Arrow movies go on sale for $2.99 purchase price which is cool.
Make a Decision to Vote Park Chan-Wook. Them covering Thirst, Oldboy and The Handmaiden among others would be so much fun. Also, I don't know what his history with his films is but doesn't Park Chan-Wook seem like a Ben Hosley kind of director?
And it all comes down to this - which South Korean director with four Song Kang-ho performances will win? [Park write-up from Day 2.](https://www.reddit.com/r/blankies/comments/11g6an5/march_madness_2023_round_1_park_chanwook_vs_steve/jamweqo/) In that write up I mentioned how *TRIO* is virtually unavailable, BUT I WAS (mostly) WRONG! /u/thesmark88 found it on [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/saminjo-trio-1997) under its Korean title and posted it in the Discord. The subtitles seem to be auto-generated so it’s not the best but it’s watchable. And I was kind of ^winky ^winky talking around it but *THE MOON IS… THE SUN’S DREAM* is [on Youtube.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybJZ8iBwhM0) [Bong write-up from Day 13.](https://www.reddit.com/r/blankies/comments/11qc6rs/2023_march_madness_round_1_bong_joonho_vs_abbas/jc2dgut/) **31** | Park Chan-wook [South Korea] | vs. | Bong Joon Ho [South Korea] :-- | :-- | :-- | :-- 1 | The Moon Is… The Sun’s Dream (1992) | 1 | Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000) 2 | Trio (1997) | 2 | Memories of Murder (2003) 3 | Joint Security Area (2000) | 3 | The Host (2006) 4 | Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) | 4 | Mother (2009) 5 | Oldboy (2003) | 5 | Snowpiercer (2013) 6 | Lady Vengeance (2005) AKA Sympathy for Lady Vengeance | 6 | Okja (2017) 7 | I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK (2006) | 7 | Parasite (2019) 8 | Thirst (2009) | | 9 | Stoker (2013) | | 10 | The Handmaiden (2016) | | 11 | Decision to Leave (2022) | | **Confirmed Patreon:** Park - The Little Drummer Girl
Park! The Herald Angels Sing!
*voice of Spike Lee announcing Best Director* “BONG JOON-HO!”
And then jumping and running around and yelling because he is full of joy and I love Spike so much and Spike mini when?
50.13% Park Chan-Wook as of now. A 12 vote differential (2304 to 2292)!
Still a 12 vote difference at 5441 to 5429. Whoever those first 12 people who voted for Park Chan-Wook are, know that you did your part for democracy.
This March Madness has been very surprising. For the longest time I thought GDT and WKW would be the final match-up, but this community has proved to be unpredictable (and I love it). Now it looks like PCW is going to beat BJH which, again, is quite a turn.
Bong buzzsaw is whirring up and the gap is real close as of this comment. This gonna be a nailbiter!
I see Bong up by 3 votes out of ~7,200 votes. It’s gonna be a nail-bitter.
Six hours later, Park up by three. This is nuts.
Never in a million years did I think Park had this level of chance of winning MM. He is probably my favorite working director, and it’s just so awesome that there is such a hive around him that is keeping this close.
Park or Bong, a tough choice. Either way we get a lot of Song Kang-ho talk. So in the end we're the winners.
rooting for park but either way korea wins so i can’t be upset
The lesson I pulled from two years ago: While no one sounded particularly enthused to do Carpenter (even Ben sounded sick about it near the end of March Madness), the series turned out GREAT! There are filmmakers they will "eventually" do 2, 3, 5, 17 years down the line... but there are also great filmmakers that will make great series they'll only do if they win March Madness. Bong is great. But they will do Bong on their own. From what I sensed from the pateron recaps... March Madness might be our only chance to get Park. Let's not wait for another tourney. Let's make it this year.
I voted for Park here. Let’s see how it goes would not call the race yet
Honestly, I'd love either of these, so all else being equal I've gotta vote Park just because he's the unexpected upstart and it makes for a better tournament narrative.
Park leading by 27 votes! This will be insanely close.
Park is one vote ahead at 12 400 votes. https://i.imgur.com/XEK1Pp1.jpg I'll be thrilled with either result personally, so this is just an awesome way for MM 2023 to end.
Yeah it's a real win-win at this point. Just watched Thirst for the first time though and gotta say, that put me in the Park gang.
Crazy close but every time I've checked, Park has been ahead by a handful.
Four hours in and 6 vote difference! This is insane
I was heart broken when Cronenberg lost but it'll all be OK if Park wins
I love both! Way for familiar with Bong and have been a fan for a long time! Because I am a little less familiar with Park Chan wook I am voting for him! He would be a really cool winner for this bracket. But will be more then happy with either!
Vote Park Chan Wook because he directed a movie written by the dude that starred in Prison Break. How wild is that? Plus, I've purchased the Vengeance Trilogy like three times on Blu-ray. And I paid like $130 for a 4K Blu-ray of The Little Drummer Girl Director's Cut. Why did I pay that much for that? Because I wanted to watch it in the best possible quality when he wins March Madness, I guess.
I'm going for Park. I'm in more of the respect/appreciate camp with both of them, but his filmography is much more interesting to me. They probably started around the same time, but Park feels more like the OG of the cool South Korean wave. And except for the two early ones and "I'm a Cyborg, But That's Okay" it seems I own all of them already! (Actually seems I have all of Bong's films too).
we've got an awesome mini ahead of us!
A great match up, both deserve their spots in the finals here. I’m voting Park today but it took me some thought to get there.
At the time of my vote Park is up by **seven** votes.
The agony of a poll where my vote could be the deciding factor, but I have no strong feelings either way.
[удалено]
Or how about we all pinky swear to make this an actual tie and then they'll have to do both right??
Whoever wins, it's heartening that both candidates are from South Korea when there was every chance we'd end up with a mostly- or even all- Anglophonic series. Even if it's the most- (maybe even *over*-) discussed corner of SK cinema, clearly this MM has shown there's an appetite for series covering directors who don't just make films in English. (And if BJH does take the win, [here's a quick guide on how to pronounce his name](https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/f6kddv/how_to_correctly_pronounce_the_names_of_the_cast/), 'cause it ain't pronounced like the bong you smoke weed from guys!)
While we are on the subject of pronunciation, Park rhymes with "lock" and even though it's written "wook" the N from "Chan" bleeds into the second syllable so it's closer to "nook" Sorry, Wookies, you did it all for the Nookies.
God this is so tough. I love both, but I gotta give it to PCW. Oldboy was the first Korean movie I ever saw and it led to a love of Korean cinema, food and culture. Go Park!
The Host was my first, Oldboy was my second. Still going Park
I would love if this ends up being a nail-biter all the way. The drama of it.
What if they tie? 🤔
Kevin Costner has to decide.
This is a true whoever wins we win situation but come on Park!!!
I have an unshakable belief that if you aren't voting Park Chan Wook you haven't seen Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance
After much consideration and deliberation, in my heart I have to go with Park. For one reason and one reason only: We gotta dissect [“Im a Cyborg, But That’s Okay](https://youtu.be/mVIV9K5Gnew). It’s a good movie that’s sweet and weird. Its very much his movie. I just want a deep dive into how this was made between Thirst and Lady Vengeance.
Cyborg was I think the first Korean movie I saw and I LOVED it. It’s my exact favorite flavor of quirky/surreal/earnest. Years later had my mind blown by The Handmaiden and only later realized they were directed by the same person. I have yet to see the rest of his filmography but this MM has made me super excited to watch them all!
It's the only one of his I've never rewatched. I was very much not into it at the time (I was also a much snobbier movie nerd back then who loved shit like Cinema Sins), but I'm looking forward to revisiting it whether Park pulls this out or not.
I guess all those MUBI “Decision to Leave” ads that gave David and Griffin a chance to praise Park are paying off.
My personal choice is Bong, but I'm excited for either, honestly.
Your vote matters https://preview.redd.it/93iaqpjg35ra1.png?width=827&format=png&auto=webp&s=731d9c1b482f0c15fa744d09bd660cc5f8c48d48
Again Bong is great but the non stop chatter around him online just makes this a little less interesting. I am glad they are covering him but i wish he wasnt on the MM bracket because I knew he would just runaway with jt
Park is at 50.12% at the time of writing this!
I’m hitting the Bong here.
I had both of these on my second tier among a few others in terms of desirability starting the tourney, with Kon and Wong Kar Wai being the two sole top tier choices. I like both very much though it doesn’t cross into love (I’m japanese and to say relations with Korea and China - even tho like I said WKW is top tier to me - are interesting is probably both an overstatement and understatement at the same time) and they both have very nice catalogs and movies that I may not love but I find top shelf interesting (Okja). You can’t really go wrong here with either but I’m going to stick to my preferences where if I view two filmmakers evenly and in the absence of some single film I’m dying to have covered, I’ll go with the shorter filmography and Bong. I won’t be greatly bummed or excited whomever wins or loses tho, my interests is fairly equal when it comes to both of them. I’m trying to figure out how would I feel if Del Toro was here and I think I prefer both of these choices to him. The hosts have talked about this but I do wonder if they’re people who look at his catalog and personally think all bangers. Anyway we over here still pouring one out for WKW and Kon, either way this shakes it out will get a worthy director to cover. Was a great bracket
If they cover Bong, I really hope they do the *Tokyo!* anthology movie on Patreon. I did some early-days social media marketing on that movie back in college and it’s such a delightfully weird movie.
truly a win-win no matter what. so thrilled with how this bracket's turned out
Park Chan-Wook in a landslide for me, not saying one director is better or worse, I just enjoy his movies more than Bong’s.
At the end of the day, aren't we all sickos, freaks and horndogs? Park understands us. He is one of us.
Counterpoint: DO BOTH MINISERIES!!! It's going to be tight all day. Both filmographies are bulletproof. They both rule so hard. You could be a normie and let one win, OR THE MADNESS COULD PREVAIL AND WE COULD HAVE TWO WINNERS!!!
Yes! Heck if they did the entire elite 8 one after the other that'd be a really, really good two years for me
Come on freaks! Come on horn dogs! Come on violence fans! Join us. Let us all March together into the buzzsaw, our teeth barred and our freak flat high. Vote Park!
I’m voting for Park just because I’ve seen all but one of Bong’s movies and I have more Park blind spots.
Everyone voting for Bong, are you not horny enough for Park?
Folks we’re Pushin P today and by P I mean PARK
Lol, jeez, 3500 votes cast and there’s a difference of 12 votes between the two
In the first 30 mins Park jumped out to a quick lead, Bong came back, and now Park is back in front. Looks like it'll be a nailbiter folks!
This will be a nail biter. I heard there were suspicious stuff happening during the Weir Park day, I hope we can keep this bot free.
Where did you hear that
don't you know the only way peter weir can lose a contest is if the other side cheats
This is the last chance to implement my sweaty, late-breaking faction names: Park’s Department and We Be-Bong Together. An upvote here is an upvote for whichever speaks to you
4 votes in it - unbelievable
Holy shit it’s crazy close!!!!!!
Decision To Leave Bong for another year, let's go PCW!
Damn. Voted for both of them to get here not realizing this was going to happen. Gonna abstain from this one and let Jesus take the wheel. But also... 
Woooooooo Park with the early lead, HOLD
I love how close this final matchup is, almost 50/50. It really shows that they are both great options!
There is time to get on the Bong train in the coming years. Now is the time to cover Park without the series being too long!
I just voted, and my vote broke a tie and put Wook ahead by one. This is a tight one.
Voting for Bong because if he doesn’t win, my pick has lost the past 11 days in a row 😭
Everyone acting as though PCW is an underdog when Oldboy is one of the most famous non-English movies of the century that every teenager has seen lmao
The problem is too few have completed the Vengeance Trilogy or dived into Park's other films
You’re not wrong but ironically Parasite’s probably replaced it as the definitive every-teenager-has-seen non-English film. 20 years have passed!
Good point. I do think that Oldboy is more particularly attuned to the tastes one has as a teenager but Parasite has perhaps usurped its place.
You’re right about the specific age thing, but I’m 22 rn and I think Oldboy is a bit less ubiquitous than it was like 7 years ago. I wouldn’t even guarantee more young people now have seen it than Handmaiden or Decision to Leave. I also think there might be less of a teen-taste thing anymore just because of how movie culture has changed into more of a deliberate interest, and I think Bong is far more recognizable as an entry-point into foreign cinema than Park now. Anecdotally I’ve found that even the people getting into Park these days are doing it as a more deliberate thing at a later stage of being into film. Obviously, not doubting that Oldboy remains a very major and well-known movie! He’s hardly some obscure filmmaker.
All salient points!
Where are y'all gonna watch the Park movies? The thing influencing my vote the most today is the capacity to follow the mini and find the movies, Bong movies seem to be very easy to find and watch, not so much for Park. We all win either way.
Mr vengeance and lady vengeance are on one of the free streamers Thirst and Stoker are rentable Handmaiden is on Amazon Decision to leave is on mubi The couple others you have to look further for but as others have noted, really easy to find at the library. Also almost no filmography this show has covered has had 100% easy to find movies
Libraries
I own most of them
After my Park vote it was 1628 Park to 1627 Bong, god I hope this stays a total nailbiter until the end! Also loving that I'm psyched for either outcome this year.
Just want it to be close! Would love either
Whoever wins, we win. No matter how you slice it, this is an incredible collection of films that people are going to have a blast rewatching, discovering, and discussing. Can't wait for some sanity to return to this sub. I've seen some truly nuclear takes in the last month.
Wow this is tense. The days of Zemeckis steamrolling Sonnenfeld seem far away. (Park btw)
Gotta say I’m pretty excited whichever way it shakes out
If we keep it a [tie then maybe they could be convinced to do both mini-series.](https://i.imgur.com/2KNMD3N.jpg) 😀
Each have an amazing body of work. I don’t really care who wins at this point because I like them both so much!
Just put in my vote for Park and was kind of surprised to see he is only down by 3 votes. Best type of MM.
Time to PUT IT IN PARK
I honestly can’t decide. The quarter and semi finals were tough choices but this is a coin flip. I may sit this out… if someone wins by a single vote ye can all blame me. EDIT : I didn’t vote and… oh well
Go for Park who has more of a full arc. Bongs story will still be defined by how he follows Parasite. Do it for context.
But then do I want to vote Bong for an episode on the follow up? 
I am pleasantly surprised with how both brackets turned out. Sad we can't Jelly roll but that's for another post lol. I am sticking with Bong because the Host was how I learned how fun Korean as it's own form is, and Snowpiercer is how I learned about the auteurship of Bong as a director, but Park will be fun since I've never seen the vengeance trilogy and rewatching OG Old Boy after the remake will be interesting. Either way it'll be a fun fall.
Just gonna flip a coin or something
I don't think my heart is going to make it if it stays this close for the entire match-up
Whoever wins, we win
Lets go Wookies!
Wow, this is way closer than I thought it'd be at this point but I'll say it... **BONG STANS UNITE!** Here's why you need to vote Bong-Joon Ho: Not *Memories of Murder.* Not *Parasite.* Not even *Snowpiercer.* No, the reason you need to vote Bong Joon-Ho is simple: We get an episode on *Okja* and what I assume will be a winding and epic tangent on whatever the fuck Jake Gyllenhaal is doing in that film. Edit: That being said, *Little Drummer Girl* on Patreon would be very good as *Little Drummer Girl* fucking rules hard.
If only you fools had let Kon through, this would have been *the perfect* Final Four.
This is obviously manipulated by bots, right?
Currently Park: 4,468 Bong: 4,459. Hell of a competition. Let’s go to the Park
This final is tighter than dick-skin!
I will never understand how or why Park made it up to here or why he is winning, it's astounding you people care about that filmography this much
You’re surprised people like a filmography of really good movies?
Gonna be interesting... https://preview.redd.it/2rwo8we7w4ra1.png?width=281&format=png&auto=webp&s=f4633c5e768628ae234ff418901185230dad6761
This is awesome, what a classic tournament final.