Bong Joon-ho accomplished what few international filmmakers ever have—he broke through to American audiences with a foreign-language film, and not just any film, but one so universally acclaimed that it became the first non-English movie to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Parasite (2019) was a singular achievement, a razor-sharp social thriller that captured the zeitgeist and solidified Bong as one of the most exciting auteurs working today.
From there, he parlayed that success into something even rarer: a $100 million Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster (Mickey 17), proving his ability to move seamlessly between Korean and English-language filmmaking. But long before Parasite, Bong Joon-ho was already building one of the most fascinating and unpredictable filmographies in modern cinema. His movies are wildly ambitious, visually inventive, and often blend genres in ways that shouldn’t work—but somehow do.
Few directors take as many big swings as Bong Joon-ho, and while not all of them connect, each film feels like an event. Across eight films, he’s tackled murder mysteries, creature features, dystopian sci-fi, and biting social satire, often balancing dark humor with deep empathy for his characters. So, which of his movies stand as his greatest achievements? Here’s how we rank Bong Joon-ho’s movies from worst to best.
8. Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000)
Bong Joon-ho’s debut feature, Barking Dogs Never Bite, is an ambitious first effort that lays the groundwork for the themes and storytelling techniques he would refine throughout his career. Known for blending sharp social critique with absurdist humor, Bong typically leans into either searing existential dread or adventurous genre storytelling. Here, he tries to fuse both approaches into a film that is at once playful, jazzy, and frenetic yet dark, meandering, and at times mismatched in tone.
Read our review of Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000)
7. Okja (2017)
6. Snowpiercer (2013)
It’s taken me multiple viewings to fully warm up to Snowpiercer (no pun intended). Bong Joon-ho’s first primarily English-language film is both brilliantly executed as a sci-fi thriller—boasting stunning set pieces and an inspired apocalyptic bullet train setting—and burdened by an overly on-the-nose allegory about class warfare that at times dulls its impact.
Read our review of Snowpiercer (2013)
5. Mickey 17 (2025)
Following up Parasite was never going to be easy for Bong Joon-ho. The 2019 film was a global phenomenon, breaking language barriers at the Academy Awards and cementing Bong as one of the most exciting directors of his generation. With Mickey 17, his first film since that historic win, he dives headfirst into sci-fi, adapting Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel Mickey7 with an all-star cast that includes Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Mark Ruffalo, and Toni Collette.
Read our review of Mickey 17 (2025)
4. Mother (2009)
3. The Host (2006)
Bong Joon-ho’s The Host is a genre-bending monster movie that blends sci-fi horror, political satire, and family drama into one of the most distinctive creature features of the 21st century. Deeply influenced by the Godzilla franchise, Bong crafts a cautionary tale about environmental recklessness and government incompetence, opening with an American scientist dumping bottles of formaldehyde into Seoul’s Han River. Years later, this reckless act results in the emergence of a massive, mutated amphibian that terrorizes the city.
Read our review of The Host (2006)
2. Parasite (2019)
Every few years, I revisit Parasite and find myself wondering if I’ve been underrating it. It’s a movie that feels so omnipresent in conversations about the best movies of the 21st century that it’s easy to take its greatness for granted. But every rewatch reminds me exactly why Bong Joon-ho’s international juggernaut remains one of the most important films of the last decade—both as a razor-sharp thriller and a scathing critique of class dynamics that continues to feel disturbingly relevant.
Read our review of Parasite (2019)
1. Memories of Murder (2003)
Memories of Murder remains my favorite of Bong Joon-ho’s films, narrowly edging out Parasite, and is a testament to his unparalleled ability to weave societal critique into gripping narratives. Few movies are as chilling, as masterfully constructed, or as deeply affecting as Memories of Murder. Not just Bong’s best, but one of the best films ever made.
Read our review of Memories of Murder (2003)
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