Skip to content
The Host
Drenched in rain and murky river silt, this satirical creature-horror weaves absurd tragicomedy through a family’s desperate embrace, exposing state negligence as a shadow cast across Seoul’s cold, industrial waterways.
The Host
The Host

괴물

"Man has made his newest predator."

27 July 2006 South Korea 120 min 7.0 (3,193)

Director: Bong Joon Ho

Cast: Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doona, Ko A-sung

Drama Science Fiction Horror Institutional Incompetence and Bureaucratic Apathy Familial Love and Solidarity Environmental Degradation and Ecological Retribution Foreign Geopolitical Hegemony and Neocolonial Critique Class Marginalization and Socioeconomic Inequality
Budget: $11,000,000
Box Office: $88,489,643

The Host — Movie Quotes

Memorable Quotes

새끼 잃은 부모 속냄새를 맡아본 적 있어? 부모 속이 한 번 썩어 문드러지면 그 냄새가 십 리 밖까지 진동하는 거여.
— Park Hee-bong

Context

Spoken to his adult children as they hide out in an abandoned building.

Meaning

Captures the profound, agonizing grief (han) of Korean parenthood and sets the emotional core for their quest.

사망잔데요... 사망을 안 했어요...
— Park Gang-du

Context

Gang-du trying to explain to indifferent authorities over the phone that his daughter is alive in the sewer.

Meaning

Highlights the Kafkaesque absurdity of bureaucratic systems that prioritize paper records over real human lives.

아~ 조국에 몸 바쳤건만, 취직도 안 시켜주고 말야.
— Park Nam-il

Context

Spoken bitterly by Nam-il while trying to trace phone signals through a former university friend.

Meaning

Reflects the disillusionment of the "386 Generation" in South Korea—students who fought for democracy in the 1980s only to face unemployment during the post-IMF economic shifts.

No virus? 바이러스가 없단 말이죠? 그죠? 바이러스 없다잖아!
— Park Gang-du

Context

Exclaimed by Gang-du inside the medical facility as he overhears an American doctor admit to a Korean doctor that the "virus" was manufactured as a cover story.

Meaning

Exposes the false premise of the global panic.

그만 좀 투덜거려! 그 시간에 하수구 하나라도 더 뒤져봐 좀...
— Park Nam-joo

Context

Spoken to her complaining brother Nam-il during their weary trek through Seoul's dark underground conduits.

Meaning

Emphasizes pragmatic action over idle complaint.

Explore More About This Movie

Dive deeper into specific aspects of the movie with our detailed analysis pages

Similar Movies