Names and faces

• Director Bong Joon-ho smiled and waved at the crowd Sunday as he arrived home in South Korea, his first trip back since he won four Oscars for his movie Parasite, including the award for Best Picture. The crowd clapped and cheered as Bong walked out of the arrivals gate at Incheon International Airport. “It’s been a long journey in the United States and I’m pleased that it got wrapped up nicely,” Bong said, speaking in Korean. “Now, I am happy that I can quietly return to creating, which is my main occupation.” He also joked that he would wash his hands to join the movement to defeat the virus that has sickened tens of thousands of people, mostly in China. “I’ll diligently wash my hands from now on and participate in this movement to defeat coronavirus,” he said. As of Sunday, South Korea had 29 confirmed cases of the virus, which the World Health Organization has named covid-19, referring to its origin late last year and the coronavirus that causes it. Parasite was the first non-English-language film to win Best Picture in the 92-year history of the Academy Awards, as well as the first South Korean movie to ever win an Oscar, stunning moviemakers and fans around the world. Bong plans to hold a news conference with the staff and cast of Parasite on Wednesday in Seoul.

• Justin Bieber admits getting back in the studio to record his first album in five years wasn’t easy. “I was dealing with a lot of fear,” the singer told Zane Lowe in an interview with Apple Music on Saturday. “Just was afraid of, at that point, just even the process; what am I going to talk about again, is it gonna be received? I’m starting to compare with other artists.” Bieber released his first album of new music since 2015 on Friday with Changes, the follow-up to his Grammy-winning, multiplatinum album Purpose. While he married Hailey Baldwin last year, Bieber has also talked about enduring several challenges in the past few years, including dealing with depression, recovering from past drug use and contracting Lyme disease, which he says seriously affected his health. Bieber says it wasn’t until he performed with Ariana Grande last year at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and received an ovation that he got a boost of confidence. “It kind of reminded me … this is what I do, this is what I’m good at, and I don’t need to run away from it,” he said. “When something’s hard,” he added, “it’s almost like we need to run towards the pain and run toward the hurt rather than run away from it. I think you get kind of healing when it comes to that.”

Bieber

Bong