Abstract

Background: In today’s global cinema, Bong Joon-ho is often discussed through the concept of auteur theory or as a representative of South Korean cultural export. Such perspectives tend to overlook the concrete formal techniques he uses to transform genre conventions into tools for cross-cultural social critique. Purpose: This study aims to examine how Bong Joon-ho reworks genre forms through narrative, spatial, and visual strategies to make class antagonism and structural inequality understandable to transnational audiences. Methods: Using qualitative textual analysis and case study methods, this research examines selected films directed by Bong Joon-ho. Using postmodern genre theory, cinematic space theories, and psychoanalytic film criticism, the study analyzes narrative structure, spatial organization, visual style, and genre hybridity to clarify how social meaning is created through cinematic form. Results: The analysis shows that Bong Joon-ho’s films consistently highlight class division, wealth inequality, and institutional violence. Rather than abandoning genre formulas, his films strategically reshape conventions associated with thriller, dark comedy, monster film, and disaster cinema. Spatial strategies such as vertical hierarchies, enclosed interiors, and restricted thresholds create social divisions and guide spectator focus toward marginalized subjects. These formal operations translate South Korean experiences of modernization into narratives influenced by global capitalism, enabling cross-cultural intelligibility while preserving local specificity. Conclusion: This study suggests that Bong Joon-ho’s filmmaking exemplifies a successful blend of auteurist expression and genre-based address, offering insight into how national cinemas can achieve international circulation through formally grounded social critique.