LOS ANGELES, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- South Korean director Bong Joon-ho took home the award for Best Director for the black comedy thriller "Parasite" at the 92nd Academy Awards ceremony held at the Dolby Theatre here Sunday night.
Bong became the first South Korean filmmaker to win the award, beating out Sam Mendes, Todd Phillips, Martin Scorsese, and Quentin Tarantino.
"Parasite" made history by becoming the first non-English language film to win the Oscar for Best Picture. The South Korean film to win Oscar's Best International Feature Film as well as Best Original Screenplay.
"After winning Best International Feature, I thought I was done for the day and ready to relax," Bong quipped in his acceptance speech.
Bong paid tribute to his fellow nominees, particularly Scorsese and Tarantino.
"When I was young and studying cinema, there was a saying that I carved deep into my heart, which is 'the most personal is the most creative.' That quote was from our great Martin Scorsese. When I was in school, I studied Martin Scorsese's films," he said.
"Just to be nominated was a huge honor," he added. "I never thought I would win."
"When people in the U.S. were not familiar with my film, Quentin always put my films on his list. He is here, thank you so much," he added.
The humble Asian director went on to acknowledge the rest of his fellow nominees by saying "If the Academy allows, I would like to get a Texas chainsaw, split the Academy Award into five, and share it with all of you."
The commercially-viable and adroitly-written drama on the weighty subject of class warfare follows the members of a poor household scheming to become employees of a much wealthier family by posing as unrelated, highly-qualified individuals.
