The Host (2006 film)

The Host
Theatrical release poster
Korean name
Hangul	괴물
Hanja	怪物
Revised Romanization	Gwoemul
McCune–Reischauer	Koemul
Directed by	Bong Joon-ho
Written by	Bong Joon-ho Ha Joon-won Baek Chul-hyun
Produced by	Choi Yong-bae
Starring	Song Kang-ho Byun Hee-bong Park Hae-il Bae Doona Go Ah-sung
Cinematography	Kim Hyung-koo
Edited by	Kim Sun-min
Music by	Lee Byung-woo
Production company	Chungeorahm Films
Distributed by	Showbox
Release date	July 27, 2006 (2006-07-27) (South Korea)
Running time	119 minutes
Country	South Korea
Languages	Korean English
Budget	₩11.8 billion (US$11 million)
Box office	US$90 million[1]

The Host (Korean: 괴물; Hanja: 怪物; RR: Gwoemul; lit. Monster) is a 2006 South Korean epic monster film directed and co-written by Bong Joon-ho. Starring Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doona and Go Ah-sung, it tells the story of a monster that kidnaps a man's daughter, and his attempts to rescue her.

In 2000, Bong began conceptualizing a new monster movie inspired by a widely reported scandal, in which an American commanded his Korean employees to dispose of formaldehyde down a drain, which ended up in the Han River. He proposed the film roughly two years later and started writing the script with Ha Joon-won in 2003; Baek Chul-hyun joined the pair to revise scripting for the film in December 2004. The film was shot on a budget of ₩11.8 billion (US$11 million), with most sequences filmed on location near the Han River. New Zealand company Wētā Workshop modeled the film's creature and the American studio The Orphanage handled its visual effects.

The Host premiered on a record number of screens in its home country on July 27, 2006, and became the highest-grossing South Korean film in history upon its release. The film obtained critical acclaim, grossed US$90 million worldwide, and won several awards, including Best Film at the Asian Film Awards and the Blue Dragon Film Awards. Thus, a sequel and American remake were put forward, but neither ultimately ever came to fruition.