Filmmaker Bong Joon-ho is getting a lot of press this year, thanks to the incredible film “Parasite.” Much like Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” from 2018, “Parasite” seems poised to be a major awards season contender, and could mark the second year in a row that a foreign-language film has the chance to dominate the Oscars. However, today, we’re not here to talk about “Parasite.” Instead, it’s 2003’s “Memories of Murder” that is garnering headlines, as Bong’s serial killer film might have just found its real-life ending.
For fans of Bong’s first films, you probably hold “Memories of Murder” in high regard. Some folks around The Playlist would even venture to say that the 2003 film is the filmmaker’s true masterpiece, even more so than the recent “Parasite.” (Those folks will remain nameless, for fear of Film Twitter upheaval.)
No matter what you think of the film, “Memories of Murder” has an interesting backstory, as it’s based on the true story of South Korea’s first serial killings that happened in the late-‘80s. And for those that have seen the film, you know that the crimes at the center of the plot remained unsolved, much like the real-life investigation. However, thanks to a new report from the Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean outlet says that police think they’ve cracked the real-life case.
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The report says that police finally found their leading suspect after DNA pulled from the crime scenes matched that of an inmate that is already incarcerated. This leads the investigators to believe that the person that is responsible for the murders decades ago is actually someone they’ve had in custody already. The actual identity of the person hasn’t been released.
As of now, the police are continuing their investigation, but the focus is on this new suspect and his relationship to the crimes from the ‘80s and early-‘90s. From 1986 to 1991, 10 women were found murdered in the South Korean city of Hwaseong. Now, it appears that those victims might receive some sort of justice and “Memories of Murder” might have a brand-new ending.