SONG & PARK MAKES HISTORY AT CANNES

[Anchor Lead]

A new chapter has been written in the 103-year history of Korean cinema. At the renowned Cannes Film Festival, Song Kang-ho won the Best Actor award and Park Chan-wook was named Best Director.

[Pkg]

Korean award winners, who showed the world the excellence of Korean cinema at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, came to the press room. Best Actor recipient Song Kang-ho still remembers vividly the moment his name was announced.

[Soundbite] Song Kang-ho(Lead Actor in 'Broker') : "When I stood up, Director Park ran over and gave me a hug. It was so emotional. I could see it in his eyes that he was very happy for me."

Song plays Sang-hyun who steals babies from baby boxes and sells them to couples who want children. He was praised for his authentic character portrayal and detailed expression of emotions. “Decision to Leave” is a romantic thriller about the suspicion and attraction forming between a detective investigating an unnatural death and the widow. Park Chan-wook won Best Director for “Decision to Leave.” This is his third award at Cannes, following the Grand Prix with “Oldboy” and the Jury Prize for “Thirst.” He was particularly excited to win an award with Song Kang-ho, his partner in many films, including “Thirst.”

[Soundbite] Park Chan-wook(Director, 'Decision to Leave') : "We wouldn’t have won if we worked on the same movie, because both Best Director and Best Actor are not given to the same film. I think we won because we worked on different movies. It’s more interesting this way."

Korean cinema has grown immensely since the mid-1990s. Movie experts say that the accolades at this year’s Cannes can be attributed to the vast experiences accumulated over the years by each area of film making, from directing and acting to production. Park Chan-wook and actor Park Hae-il who starred in “Decision to Leave” are to arrive in Korea Monday and start promoting their movie on June 2nd. Song Kang-ho is to arrive on the same day with his co-stars Kang Dong-won and Lee Ji-eun. They'll participate in press screenings starting Tuesday.