Fourth Korean national and first filmmaker to receive the distinction; a symbol of Korean cinema's standing in world film culture

Park Chan-wook receives the Commandeur de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres (provided by Le Parisien)

On May 17, during the 79th Cannes Film Festival, director Park Chan-wook received the Commandeur de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres — France's highest cultural honor — from French Minister of Culture Catherine Colonna. He is the first Korean film director to receive the distinction, and only the fourth Korean national overall.

Established in 1957, the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is awarded by the French Ministry of Culture to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the arts and literature, or to the promotion of French and world culture. Recipients are selected by the Ministry of Culture, and the order is divided into three grades: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), and Commandeur (Commander) — the last of which is the highest rank. Among those who have received the Commandeur are filmmakers of global stature such as Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood. Park joins three previous Korean recipients: Kim Jeong-ok, former chair of the Korea Culture and Arts Foundation (2002); conductor Chung Myung-whun (2011); and soprano Sumi Jo (2025). All three preceding recipients came from the performing arts, making Park the first Korean filmmaker — and the first from Korean cinema more broadly — to be so honored.

Park Chan-wook made his directorial debut in 1992 with The Moon Is… the Sun's Dream and first came to widespread international attention with Joint Security Area (JSA) in 2000. His relationship with Cannes began in earnest in 2004, when Oldboy received the Grand Prix — an award Park has described as "a turning point that completely changed my life." He went on to win the Jury Prize for Thirst (2009) and Best Director for Decision to Leave (2022), earning three awards at Cannes alone. He also served on the Cannes jury in 2017. This year, he was appointed president of the main competition jury — the first Korean national to hold the position — and is presiding over the selection of the Palme d'Or from among 22 competition films.

In his remarks upon receiving the award, Park expressed a longstanding wish to one day make a film in France with French actors. He spoke of being profoundly moved as a child by Julien Duvivier's Marianne of My Youth (Marianne de ma jeunesse, 1955), of immersing himself during his university years in books on the May 1968 movement and in French existentialist philosophy — particularly Sartre — as well as in the literature of Émile Zola and Honoré de Balzac. "I felt as though all the influences I had received from France were coming together within me," he said, adding that he found it deeply moving to think that he might now be, in some small way, an influence on young French filmmakers in turn. Minister of Culture and Sports Choi Hwi-young commented: "This honor definitively affirms the global standing of Korean cinema, and serves as an occasion for great pride across our entire cultural and artistic community."

Sources

• Etoday, "Park Chan-wook Receives France's Highest Cultural Honor, the Commandeur — 'My Last Wish Is to Direct a Film in France'," 2026.05.18

• Munhwa Ilbo, "Director Park Chan-wook Receives France's Highest Cultural Honor, the Commandeur — 'I Am Deeply Moved'," 2026.05.18

• Le Parisien, "Festival de Cannes 2026 : le président du jury Park Chan-wook rêve de faire un film en France avec des acteurs français," 2026.05.17

• ArtAsiaPacific, "Park Chan-wook Awarded France's Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters," 2026.05.19