Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite Oscar win gives South Koreans an emotional high

Los Angeles: South Koreans reacted with rare collective joy on Monday after director Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” won the Oscar for best picture and three other awards, good news that came as their country struggles to guard against a new virus and counter North Korea’s nuclear threat.

The movie’s wins made history in both the Hollywood and South Korean film industries. The class satire is the first non-English-language film to win best picture in the 92-year history of the Academy Awards, and is the first South Korean movie to ever win an Oscar.

“Can you believe that ‘Parasite’ won the Academy best picture?” South Korea’s biggest newspaper, Chosun Ilbo, said in a headline. “It rewrote the Academy’s 92-year-old history.”

Bong, “Parasite” and other Oscarrelated news dominated search terms throughout Monday at major internet portal sites, which had been preoccupied with the outbreak of a virus in China that has killed more than 900 people and sickened tens of thousands of others, mainly in China.

Worries about the virus have been growing in South Korea, where 27 cases have been reported, though no deaths have occurred. Sales at tour agencies, restaurants, movie theaters and department stores have sharply declined, raising worries about the impact on South Korea’s already-lagging economy. Opposition parties are accusing the government of ineffectiveness in coping with the outbreak.