Na Hong-jin

Na Hong-jin was born on 20 July 1974 in Seoul, South Korea. He graduated from Hanyang University ERICA Campus Department of Crafts studying industrial arts and, at first, started in the advertisement industry, until he decided to pursue his dream as a filmmaker. He then enrolled in Korea National University of Arts.

Early work

Na began making short films before he would go on to make his large feature films. Na's debut short film was titled 5 Minutes (2003). It was until his second short film, A Perfect Red Snapper Dish (2005), that Na started to gain recognition. Na won best film in The Extreme Nightmare section at the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival. He would then go on to make his third short film, Sweat (2007) that would win the best short film director prize at the Grand Bell Awards and jury prize at the Bucheon International Film Festival awards.

Feature films

Na's debut feature film was titled The Chaser (2008), which was met with critical acclaim as well as commercial success. The Chaser became one of the most watched films in Korea, peaking at the third highest grossing film of 2008. The film was also screened at the Cannes Film Festival where reviewers hailed it as an "instant classic" in Korean thrillers. The film took home many awards such as the 16th Chunsa Film Art Awards for Best Director and Best Screenplay.

The Yellow Sea (2010) was released and entailed a more ambitious vision from Na. The Yellow Sea became the first Korean film to ever have a Hollywood studio collaboration, with the 20th Century Fox studio. Na's second film achieved positive reviews but "lacking" compared to The Chaser. The film was screened under the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and received positive critical reviews on Metacritic.

Na's critically acclaimed third feature film, The Wailing (2016). The film encompasses a deep weave of many themes such as religion, perception, comedy, and horror. The Wailing succeeded commercially and critically, again winning Na many film wards such as Best Director at the 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards, Best of Bucheon award at the Bucheon international fantastic film festival, the top film of the year of the 36th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards, and many more. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was shortly released onto streaming services.

Na co-wrote and produced Thai director Banjong Pisanthanakun's supernatural horror film The Medium. It premiered at the 25th Bucheon international fantastic film festival on 11 July 2021. When writing the story, Na explained in an interview that The Medium was initially a sequel to The Wailing with Hwang Jung-min's shaman character. However, this rendition did not come to light. As quoted by Na himself, "The Medium has no relation to The Wailing."

In 2025, Na served as the president of the Competition jury at the 30th Busan International Film Festival.

His fourth feature film, Hope (2026), started production in 2023, and spent nearly three years in post-production. It had its world premiere at the main competition of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.