“I would rather die than doing something fake.”
In a May 2022 interview with The New Yorker, Hong Sang-soo discussed his teaching philosophy: "I tell them [the students], ‘I want you to be sincere about making films. And work with true interest. If you find true interest, then you can overcome stupid temptations to copy something or to boast.’ […]"
The interviewer later pressed him on his own creative origins:
- When did you find your true interest?
- Adolescence. I said to myself, I would rather die.
- Than what?
- Than doing something fake.
“I believe in a certain happening between people.”
In 2024, Hong Sang-soo won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the Berlinale. Joking that he wasn’t sure what the jury saw in his film, he thanked them and expressed trust in working with Isabelle Huppert: "This might sound very, very irresponsible but I don't know what I am doing, really... I have some objective and I have a kind of a recognized working method that I like, I have developed and I believe in a certain, how can I say, happening between people." In a 2017 interview Sabzian, when asked about directing actresses, he said: “ What matters is to have the right cast, the correct perception of what they are, and the right dialogue that I wrote that morning. When it all fits together, you don’t have to say much."
“They say that working with me is like taking three weeks’ vacation”
In the same 2017 Sabzian interview, discussing funding, Hong Sangsoo said: “They say that working with me is like taking three weeks’ vacation. (laughs) Yes! Yes! That’s what they tell me! I give them very little money, so our budget is reduced. I don’t make a lot of profit; but out of that profit, I can make a new film. That way, I can do whatever I want.”
“I keep returning to the same elements.”
While his work may appear repetitive, it is precisely this repetition that lends it its power — allowing him to capture the delicate intricacies of human psychology. As he remarked in Libération nearly a decade ago, what may seem like mere recurrence is, in fact, the ground of inner evolution: “I keep returning to the same elements while at the same time revealing the transformations I’ve undergone. […] What matters is what I make of those recurring elements.”
"In Korea, drinking is not just drinking—it’s a way to communicate.”
Hong Sangsoo enjoys a daily drink, and his films naturally reflect this habit. Why shy away from a part of life deeply woven into everyday rhythm? In a press conference at the 2020 Berlinale, he explained: “In Korea, drinking isn’t just drinking — it’s a form of communication. In my films, characters reveal themselves when they drink. But I don’t force my actors to get drunk! (Laughter) Some can’t drink at all, so I adapt: a splash of real alcohol to start, then water or tea. The truth lies somewhere in between.”
