South Korean film Parasite directed by Bong Joon-ho ended a stunning yearlong winning streak across the world by dominating the most conservative Academy Awards, sweeping up four major wins including Best Picture as the first non-English language film.

The tragicomedy film on Sunday (local time) grabbed four Oscars – Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best International Feature Film and Best Picture. It defeated strong contenders including Ford v Ferrari, Marriage Story, The Irishman, Joker, Little Women, 1917, Jojo Rabbit and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood to win the most prestigious honor at the 92nd Academy Awards.

While on stage to accept the Best International Feature Film, previously known as the best foreign-language film, Bong said through his translator that he was “so happy to be the first recipient under the new name,” and supported “the new direction that this change symbolizes.” He also thanked his fellow nominees and movie legends Martin Scorsese of The Irishman and Quentin Tarantino of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood when he took the stage to receive the Oscar for Best Director.

The Oscars extend the trophy counts to over 130 in major overseas film awards since the film stunned the world through the win of the Palme d’Or at Cannes film festival in May 2019. The satirical suspense thriller takes a look at the modern society’s class divide by depicting a story of an impoverished family who infiltrate the life of a very wealthy family.

The market also celebrated the Korean film feat.

Shares of Barunson E&A, the film’s producer, surged 19.25 percent to close Monday at 2,385 won ($2.01). Barunson, the cultural content producer that has the largest 32.4 percent stake in Barunson E&A soared 29.88 percent to 2,630 won. Stock price of CJ ENM, the distributor, gained 2.35 percent to 148,300 won.

By Choi Mira

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]