"I felt like a stranger in my own country."
- Léa Baron
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
From Jeju Island to Paris, the quest for freedom of Moon Joon Ho, South Korean producer-director, or the love of cinema.
Interview by Léa Baron 13/05/2026
The 2026 Cannes Film Festival will celebrate Korean cinema, with Park Chan-wook appointed president of the jury. The filmmaker, winner of the Grand Prix in 2004 for Old Boy, has become a major figure in the world of cinema. It was this film that profoundly influenced Moon Joon Ho and sparked his passion for filmmaking.
Now based in Paris, this thirty-something Korean producer and director has founded his own production company. He also handles film acquisitions for the Korean Film Festival in Paris, held every November. An interview with the man whose first name, meaning "extraordinary hero," seemed to foreshadow his love of cinema and his thirst for freedom.
Moon Joon Ho in brief
Born on Jeju Island, trained in the United States and graduated from Sciences Po in Paris in 2021, this 34-year-old Korean producer/director now lives in France where he develops international audiovisual projects with his production company Unobvious Films .
Hansori: Where are you from?
Moon Joon Ho: I come from Jeju Island, a small, fairly isolated island in southern Korea, with a very specific culture. They speak a dialect there that even other Koreans don't always understand. I grew up there until I was 19, then I went to university in Seoul before continuing my studies in film and history in the United States.
Why cinema?
In Jeju, I was very bored. There wasn't much to do, nor were there any truly inspiring people around me. Cinema, on the other hand, opened the doors to another world for me.
It was my mother, a teacher, who introduced me to this world. She loved a television program called “Movie of the Week” on the Korean television channel KBS (the equivalent of the Sunday night movie on Canal+). Thanks to her, I saw many films.
The real turning point came with Park Chan-wook's Old Boy . It was a shock. I understood then that Koreans could make incredible films. It was really that film that made me fall in love with cinema.
Who is Park Chan-wook?
Park Chan-wook is a South Korean director with 12 feature films to his credit, including The Handmaiden (2016), Old Boy (2003, Grand Prix at Cannes), Decision to Leave (2022, Best Director Award at Cannes), and No Other Choice (2025). At 62, he will preside over the jury of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
After studying film in New York, you returned to Korea for your military service but then went back to France. Why did you choose this country?
I had to give up on a master's degree in the United States for financial reasons. But I was also keen to discover another culture and learn a new language. French fascinated me. I was already interested in French culture, particularly through cinema and philosophers like Gilles Deleuze and Jean-Paul Sartre.
I initially considered studying philosophy, before pragmatically opting for management at Sciences Po. As a foreigner, I was afraid I wouldn't easily find my place in the job market, nor integrate.
Having graduated in 2021, I joined the advertising agency BETC, before founding my own production company, Unobvious Films, in 2023. A name that reflects my taste for what escapes the obvious: I am drawn to areas of ambiguity, to what is not revealed at first glance.
"I am looking for a form of freedom."
What are you developing with this company?
A variety of content: commercials and, above all, documentary series projects . I'm currently developing a series on opera around the world, with the first episode filmed in Korea, in collaboration with KBS. At the same time, I'm writing an American series with Studio Dragon (the leading Korean K-drama producer).
Why go back to the cinema?
Because it's my dream. I could have chosen a more stable life as an employee, but that's not what I'm looking for. I came to France to find a form of freedom. In Korea, the pressure to follow a predetermined path is very strong, and I didn't feel at home there.
How do your parents view your choice to live in France?
Deep down, I've always felt a bit like an outsider, like a stranger in my own country. My parents were always very open-minded. They never imposed their views on me and respected my desire to make films.
In Korea, stability—work, marriage, children—remains a very strong norm. My brother followed that path, but I never felt that pressure, even though they would probably like me to get married. And I know they miss me a lot! Today, they are proud of my journey, especially when I bring them back gifts from France…
"Above all, I want to be happy, wherever I am."
Since your arrival in 2017, how have you integrated into French society? Has the Hallyu (Korean cultural wave) changed anything for you?
Not really on a personal level, but primarily professionally. Since the success of the film Parasite in 2019 (Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival), Korean culture has become much more visible. French producers are now more open to projects related to Korea, which facilitates collaborations.
However, I regret that it's often the same Korean directors who are given international exposure. The new generation remains largely invisible.
Is that what you are trying to change at the Paris Korean Film Festival ?
This is precisely the ambition we have at the Korean Film Festival in Paris (FFCP), where I have been partly responsible for film acquisition since 2018. Our goal is to showcase new talent. And the audience responds enthusiastically. Every year in November, it grows in size and is increasingly younger.
What are your plans?
For now, my life is in France. But what I'm looking for above all is the freedom to choose. If my projects take me to the United States or back to Korea, I'll go. My goal remains the same: to continue producing films, telling stories that resonate with people, and, most importantly, to be happy, wherever I am.