When Bong Joon Ho parasite After winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2019, Mickie Lee, vice president of CJ Group, the powerful Korean conglomerate behind the film, called an emergency meeting among its executives.
“She gathered the entire senior management team and said, ‘It’s time for us to go after the Oscars,'” recalls Jerry Kuo, head of global films at CJ ENM. “We were preparing to go global in many ways, but we had never campaigned for an Oscar before — and no Korean film had ever been nominated. It seemed like a tall order for us.”
Oscar glory came faster and bigger than anyone at the studio expected, Ko says. parasiteOf course, it would go on to dominate the 2020 Academy Awards, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best International Feature. The film’s triumph quickly became a watershed moment in the global rise of Korean pop culture, having arrived only a year earlier. Squid game It became the most watched series on Netflix ever.
But CJ ENM’s awards ambitions and global expansion strategy have always been more than just a one-time Oscars phenomenon. parasite Off to a triumphant start, but unnoticed by the industry, the studio soon returned to the Oscars as co-producer of Celine Song’s acclaimed romantic drama. Past life (2023), which is partly narrated in Korean. This year, CJ ENM will compete again with Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone Bugoniawas nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Score. Remake of the cult Korean film Save the green planet! From 2003, Bugonia It was developed and produced by CJ ENM and distributed globally by Focus Features – an effort that the Korean company saw as its own answer to A24’s hit series with its offbeat, seductively packaged arthouse cinema.
In recent years, CJ ENM has also managed to overcome several near-miss nominations from some of Asia’s top auteurs, such as Japanese Oscar nominee Hirokazu Kore-eda with his Korean-language drama. mediator (2022), and Park Chan-wook’s latest brilliant, critically acclaimed feature, The decision to leave (2022) and There is no other choice (2025).
But already, the recent track record makes CJ ENM the most decorated studio in Asia at the Oscars — and one of the most consistent contenders among non-U.S. studios, including European ones.
“Each of these projects had a distinct strategy and positioning to win in the international market,” Ko explains. “Past life It was an A24 film that we could come on board as a co-producer and add a lot of value because of the Korean cultural elements and settings of the film. Bugonia It was about taking the amazing Korean storytelling in our library and reimagining it for global audiences with world-class talent. to mediator“Even though it didn’t make it to the Oscars, we worked with a great Japanese director to make a Korean film with a universal story that can travel.”
While park The decision to leave and There is no other choice Only shortlisted – it narrowly missed out on nominations in the Best International Film category, maintaining the venerable director’s unfortunate streak of snubs – Ko says the latest film was a major commercial success for CJ, having achieved one of the “strongest overseas pre-sales numbers ever for a Korean film” before its Venice release. Neon subsequently performed strongly in North America, bringing in over $10 million during the holiday season.
As astute an observer of the media industry as any of his Hollywood counterparts, Ko recognizes that the timing of CJ ENM’s global rush was fortuitous, arriving just as social media and streaming were revealing and exciting a new generation of culturally diverse pop culture content consumers. He says the shift began in the late 2010s, with younger audiences increasingly discovering films and series through globalized digital ecosystems rather than traditional country-by-country media pipelines.
“The flow of information around content has completely changed,” Ko explains. “Before, audiences discovered films through traditional media in their country. Now everything is spreading through social media, and younger audiences are collecting recommendations and discovering content from all over the world, instantly.”
At the same time, streaming platforms have further changed the reach and reception of traditional film and TV content. In the pre-streaming era, even popular foreign films faced significant logistical and commercial barriers to overseas distribution. Netflix quickly helped viewers around the world overcome the “one-inch translation barrier” that Bong mentioned in his famous Oscar speech for Best Director, urging American viewers to embrace more world cinema.
Together, these shifts—boundless digital discovery and seamless global distribution—have created the conditions for Korean storytelling to emerge around the world. Younger audiences, already accustomed to subtitles and dubbing during the global rise of K-pop, anime, and other international media, have proven particularly receptive. parasiteWe’ve arrived at just the right cultural moment, says Ko. “I touched that threshold,” he says.
And the Academy’s recent efforts to diversify by inviting more international members into the fold have unequivocally reinforced the global nature of the tastes on offer at the Oscars.
For CJ ENM, these changes effectively leveled the playing field with traditional Hollywood dominance. “These trends have made it easier for foreign players like us to produce international films,” Ko adds.
The Korean studio’s upcoming slate indicates that its awards ambitions and international goals are growing. in Bugonia In the same vein, Ko’s team is working with Michael Mann to reimagine the hit classic Korean crime film veteran (2015), as well as developing a star-based English reimagining of Park Chan-wook’s film. Lady Vengeance (2005) and thirst (2009), and the 2021 psychological thriller from director Kwon Oh-seong midnight. The company is also preparing to begin production on the long-gestating baseball project Super vanwhich tells the story of a Korean fan of the Kansas City Royals who becomes a minor celebrity due to his passionate fanbase. Like somewhat Past lifethe project features a mixed Hollywood and Korean cast and will begin filming early next year.
CJ ENM may soon be campaigning again alongside the character who started the Oscars trail at the studio as well. The company is once again supporting director Bong Joon Ho’s upcoming Korean film, Valley. The director’s first animated film, Valley It explores the relationship between humans and creatures of the deep sea and will feature a musical score composed by John Carpenter.
“Director Bong’s new film will be finished in the second half of this year and we expect to present it at a major festival in 2027 – we hope to embark on another exciting journey together,” Ko adds.
