Academy Museum Presents Park Hae-il Retrospective, Screening 8 Films From His 20-Year Career, Including ‘Decision to Leave’

‘A master of subtle, versatile performances’ meets U.S. audiences

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is presenting a special screening series spotlighting acclaimed Korean actor Park Hae-il. The Los Angeles museum officially announced that the program will run from Oct. 29 through Nov. 14, screening eight of his feature films for local audiences.

The series opens with his debut, ‘Waikiki Brothers’ (2001), followed by his first starring role in ‘Jealousy Is My Middle Name’ (2002) and ‘Memories of Murder’ (2003), which marked the beginning of his distinctive character work. The lineup also includes ‘Moss’ (2010), ‘Eungyo’ (2012), ‘The Last Princess’ (2016), ‘Hansan: Rising Dragon’ (2022) and ‘Decision to Leave’ (2022), spanning a total of eight films and showcasing the breadth of Park’s acting over two decades.

The Academy Museum praised him as “a master of subtle, versatile performances,” adding, “There is both strength and gentleness in the inner lives of the characters he plays. A ruthless killer may lurk behind a gentle gaze, and an elegant gesture may stem from contempt.”

From ‘Hansan’ to ‘Decision to Leave,’ a boundless range of roles

To mark the nearly two-week screening series, Park will also meet with local audiences in Los Angeles for three conversations. At a discussion before the opening-day screening of ‘Hansan: Rising Dragon’, he said he was glad to be back in Los Angeles, four years after ‘Decision to Leave.’

Opening the series, ‘Hansan: Rising Dragon’ is an epic about Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s victory at the Battle of Hansando. Recalling his casting, Park said, “The public probably wouldn’t see me as a general, so when director Kim Han-min first proposed it, I thought he was joking.” He added that he “wanted to bring out Admiral Yi’s scholarly temperament and literary sensibility,” and detailed how he shaped a strategist Yi Sun-sin distinct from Choi Min-sik’s portrayal in ‘The Admiral: Roaring Currents’ and Kim Yun-seok’s in ‘Noryang: Deadly Sea.’

Addressing the historical context, which may be unfamiliar to some American audiences, Park said, “You can fully enjoy it even if you don’t know the history in depth,” adding, “It builds tension from the start, and the final hour is filled with an overwhelming naval battle.” Having played a wide range of roles—from a general and a serial killer to an elderly poet—he said his criteria for choosing a project are “first, curiosity; second, the potential for a challenge and enjoyment.”

As Korean cinema has gained prominence on the global stage, the Academy Museum has continued to introduce Korean master filmmakers and actors. Following Song Kang-ho in 2023 and Youn Yuh-jung in 2024, Park is the third honoree in the series. A special exhibition devoted to ‘Parasite’ director Bong Joon-ho is also running through 2025. The programs attest to the firm place Korean filmmakers hold in world cinema.