Park Chan-wook receives Order of Arts and Letters

Park Chan-wook received France’s Order of Arts and Letters in Cannes on Sunday, adding a French state honor to a festival run in which he is presiding over the 79th Cannes Film Festival jury. The South Korean director was honored on May 17 during the festival in Cannes, France, according to festival coverage and photo reports. The award came from France’s Ministry of Culture and was presented while Park was serving as jury president at this year’s edition. Park is the first Korean cinema figure to chair the Cannes competition jury, the festival has said. ### Which honor did Park Chan-wook receive in Cannes? The French Ministry of Culture’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is a ministerial order created in 1957 to recognize people distinguished by artistic or literary creation, or by contributions to the influence of arts and letters in France and worldwide. The order has three grades — chevalier, officier and commandeur — according to the ministry. Korea JoongAng Daily reported that Park was named a Commandeur on May 17, identifying it as the highest rank in the three-tier order. Photo captions distributed from Cannes the same day showed Park posing after receiving the medal during the festival. (culture.gouv.fr) ### Why was the ceremony held during the Cannes festival? Cannes named Park jury president for its 79th edition in February, making him the first South Korean filmmaker to lead the main competition jury, according to the festival. The event is running from May 12 to May 23 in Cannes. (koreajoongangdaily.joins.com) AP-distributed imagery from May 17 described Park as being honored with the Order of Arts and Letters by the Ministry of Culture during the Cannes festival in southern France. That places the ceremony inside the festival’s official run rather than as a separate Paris event. (festival-cannes.com) ### What is Park Chan-wook’s Cannes record? Park first broke through at Cannes with “Oldboy,” which won the Grand Prix in 2004. The festival said he later won the Jury Prize for “Thirst” in 2009 and the best director award for “Decision to Leave” in 2022. (alamy.com) The festival described Park’s selection as jury president as a first for Korean cinema. Festival President Iris Knobloch and Director Thierry Frémaux said in February that Park’s films had given contemporary cinema “some truly memorable moments,” according to the festival’s press release. (festival-cannes.com) ### How rare is this distinction for a Korean artist? Korea JoongAng Daily said Park is the fourth Korean recipient of the honor at the Commandeur level, after Kim Jong-ok in 2002, conductor Chung Myung-whun in 2011 and soprano Sumi Jo in 2025. The same report said Park is one of Korean cinema’s best-known international directors. (festival-cannes.com) France’s Culture Ministry says the order is overseen by the culture minister, who makes nominations after reviewing the council’s recommendations. The ministry says one promotion for foreigners is made in the spring. (koreajoongangdaily.joins.com) ### Was Park already on the 2026 list of honorees? A French Culture Ministry decree published on Feb. 11 lists the winter 2026 promotions for French recipients, including figures such as George Clooney, Jeanne Balibar and Emmanuelle Béart at the commandeur level. Park’s name does not appear in the portion of that decree covering French nominees. (culture.gouv.fr) The ministry’s guidance says foreign recipients are handled in a separate annual promotion in the spring. That fits the timing of Park’s May 17 ceremony in Cannes, though the ministry page viewed for this report did not list his individual spring 2026 decree by name. (culture.gouv.fr) ### What happens next at Cannes? Saturday, May 23, is when Park and the eight other members of the 2026 Cannes competition jury are scheduled to award the Palme d’Or on the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière, according to the festival. The jury lineup announced by Cannes includes Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao, Stellan Skarsgård, Ruth Negga, Paul Laverty, Laura Wandel, Isaach De Bankolé and Diego Céspedes. (culture.gouv.fr) (festival-cannes.com)