Quotes from Park Chan-wook

I believe there are more films that involve love and forgiveness than violence, but they often seem fake and are almost embarrassing to watch.

I love Philip Glass' work, not only as a film composer but also as a musician. The film score work that he does always amazes and shocks me.

I believe 'love' is very nice to hear, but it's used so much that it's come to a point where it's almost meaningless.

There's a humble beauty about listening to period instruments that I like.

It is not possible for a person to be completely free of sin and be squeaky clean.

When we are confronted with extreme situations, we forget about moral issues; we simply act and must then accept the consequences.

Certain subjects may no longer be taboo in cinema. But there are ways to treat them that still create shock.

Whether it's trivial or important, every choice has a moral aspect to it to a certain degree.

I'm not the kind of director who aims to send a message out.

I don't usually watch a lot of TV, but 'Mad Men' changed my perspective. I admire Matthew Weiner who came up with the idea and wrote such a great TV series, and the broadcasting company for being bold enough to air such a series.

When you first hear Mozart's music, your first impression is that it's very alive, but if you peel away the layers, you can hear sorrow and sadness behind it, and that's what I try to be: multi-layered.

I do like musical films more than big Hollywood films, especially those by Jacques Demi and Vincent Minelli.

I hate jeans for no reason.

When I was growing up, we were taught in school that North Koreans, and especially the North Korean leadership, were all devils.

When I was going through puberty, I had all these feelings of being unstable through those years, and being uncontrollably drawn to things of beauty and things that are bad.

If your work requires you to travel, you will understand that there's no vacation destination like home.

I am not going to do a film based on a bad scenario just to make a big Hollywood film or work with Hollywood stars.

In our lives, we have good things and bad things, happiness and pain.

I've always had an interest in vampire films - not just 'Nosferatu,' but there are many others that I have enjoyed: Abel Ferrara, Coppola, Neil Jordan.

Becoming a vampire means completely changing your identity.

A film set is a workplace for me; it's my office, and nobody really wants to be in a stressful work environment.

All of the characters in my films, they share one commonality. It doesn't matter whether they are good or bad, it doesn't matter whether they are smart or stupid, these characters all take responsibility for their own behavior. I'm much the same.

Lots of people think the violence in the films I make is overwhelming, but they think they're seeing something that they aren't seeing.

In my opinion, all relationships between people have some sort of violence, and it is central.