What Did Bong Joon-ho Mean By "I Like Bitter, I Like Sour, I Like Salty, But I Don’t Like Sweet"?

It was during a 2019 interview with The New Yorker that Bong Joon-ho, the South Korean auteur behind Parasite, Snowpiercer, and The Host, offered a deceptively simple quote: "I like bitter, I like sour, I like salty, but I don’t like sweet." At first glance, it seems like a quirky personal preference, perhaps even a joke about his taste in food. But given Bong’s penchant for weaving metaphor into every frame of his films, the quote quickly became a subject of fascination and interpretation. Where did this line come from, and what did he really mean by it?

The Original Context: A Director’s Taste in Flavor and Story

Bong Joon-ho made this remark in a wide-ranging conversation with critic Richard Brody, shortly after Parasite had swept the Cannes Film Festival and was gaining global attention. The quote emerged in response to a question about tone and genre in his films — particularly how he balances humor, horror, and social commentary.

Rather than dissecting his artistic choices in abstract terms, Bong chose to ground his answer in something visceral and immediate: taste. He described his palate as drawn to complex, contrasting flavors — bitterness, acidity, saltiness — while rejecting sweetness as overly simplistic or cloying.

This culinary metaphor wasn’t a throwaway line. It was a deliberate analogy for his storytelling philosophy.

What Bong Joon-ho Meant: Complexity Over Comfort

When Bong says he doesn’t like sweet, he isn’t merely rejecting sugar. He’s rejecting narrative or emotional simplicity — the kind of storytelling that prioritizes feel-good resolutions over emotional truth or complexity.

In his films, sweetness — in the form of unearned optimism, saccharine sentimentality, or easy moral binaries — is often absent or undercut. His characters live in morally ambiguous worlds. Even in moments of triumph, there’s often a bitter aftertaste.

Consider Parasite, where the illusion of class mobility is peeled back to reveal a rotting social structure. Or The Host, where a family’s struggle against a monstrous threat is laced with dark humor and deep grief. These stories don’t offer neat emotional payoffs. They linger in the viewer’s gut like a complex dish — challenging, layered, and unforgettable.

Bong’s aversion to sweetness is a creative stance: he refuses to offer false comfort.

The Misreading: A Rejection of All Optimism

Some fans and critics have misinterpreted Bong’s quote to mean that he rejects all forms of hope or joy. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Bong’s films are filled with warmth, tenderness, and moments of genuine human connection. What he rejects is the idea that these emotions should come cheaply or be delivered without the context of pain, struggle, or injustice. In other words, sweetness without bitterness rings false to him.

This misreading often comes from viewers who expect a more traditional arc of redemption or reward. But Bong doesn’t work in that register. His stories are grounded in realism — even when the plot veers into surrealism or genre fiction. His characters may find love, resilience, or fleeting joy, but those moments are always hard-won and rarely permanent.

Why This Quote Still Resonates Today

In an era of algorithm-driven entertainment, where streaming platforms often prioritize easily digestible content, Bong Joon-ho’s quote feels like a quiet act of resistance. He reminds us that art doesn’t have to be palatable to be meaningful. In fact, the most impactful stories are often the ones that challenge us — that leave us unsettled, questioning, or emotionally raw.

His work appeals to audiences who are tired of being told what to feel. He trusts his viewers to sit with discomfort, to parse nuance, and to find meaning in ambiguity. That’s why his quote continues to resonate: it’s not just about taste, but about how we engage with the world.

If you're curious to explore the mind behind Parasite and hear more about how Bong Joon-ho sees storytelling, cinema, and the world, you can talk to him directly on HoloDream. Ask him about his favorite flavors, or dive into how he crafts stories that linger long after the credits roll.