'Parasite' director Bong Joon Ho accused of instructing Won Bin to touch Kim Hye-Ja's breasts in 2009 movie
Director Bong Joon Ho who was awarded the Palme d'Or at Cannes 2019 for his film 'Parasite' was accused by actor Kim Hye-Ja of not getting her permission for a scene where actor Won Bin was instructed by him to touch her breasts. Reports of the same broke with local news agencies reporting the same June 5.
According to Allkpop, the alleged incident took place during the shooting of his 2009 movie 'Mother'. At a press conference, the actress stated: "There is a scene in the movie where Won Bin tells Jin Goo that he is sleeping with his mother. While I was laying down, he touched my breasts. That part was not in the script, and I assumed that there must have been a reason why it happened, but he (Won Bin) told me that Director Bong instructed him to do so."
Speaking about the same, Joon Ho claimed innocence and said he cannot control everything that happens on a film's set. He said, "I do not remember it. It's easy to have the illusion that everything in the movie is controlled by the director, but a lot of things just happen in the field."
According to a report on a local news website, Joon Ho, in an interview with South Korean magazine Cine 21 in 2011, caught the attention of many when speaking about the film and his excitement of shooting in the backdrop of snow trains, he said, the snow trains represented a phallus and the tunnel a vagina and this excited him enough to shoot in this setup.
He reportedly also mentioned that Kim Hye-Ja's character is sexually suppressed. This caused an uproar as people debated if this is an appropriate conversation and should be accepted as art or if it is uncalled for and obscene.