# Jung Jae-il

Jung Jae-il (Korean: 정재일,Korean pronunciation:; born 7 May 1982) is a South Korean composer. He notably composed the score of critically acclaimed works: the 2019 Academy Award-winning film Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho, and the television series Squid Game, which he earned a nomination for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music in 74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

## Biography

He was three when he first sat on a piano, played the guitar at nine, and at age 13, he posted an ad on a music magazine called Hot Music "to find bass drums and vocals to do a style of music that is similar to the British heavy metalband Carcass." He graduated from Seoul Jazz Academy [ko].
He debuted as the bassist of the band gigs (which Jung Won-yong [ko], vocalist Lee Juck and guitarist Han Sang-won [ko] were also part of) in November 1999. He released his first solo album "tear flower(눈물꽃)" in 2003. He also was a member of band Puri in their second album in 2007.
He went to serve the military when he was at the age of 30 (around 2012 or 2013). He played the piano at the April 2018 inter-Korean summit.
In 2021, he won the Hollywood Music in Media Awards for Best Score in a TV Show for Squid Game.

## Discography
### Film composing

| Year | Title | Director | Studio |
| 1997 | Bad Movie | Jang Sun-woo | Miracin Korea Film Company |
| 2001 | Flower Island | Song Il-gon | C&Film Production |
| 2002 | Resurrection of the Little Match Girl | Jang Sun-woo | Kihwik Cine |
| 2003 | Wonderful Days | Kim Moon-saeng | Palisades Tartan |
| 2004 | Temptation of Wolves | Kim Tae-kyun | Showbox |
| 2007 | Venus and Mars | Han Ji seung | Cinema Service |
| 2009 | Marine Boy | Yoon Jong-seok | CJ Entertainment |
| 2009 | Baram(Wish) | Lee sung han | Sidus F&H |
| 2014 | Sea Fog | Shim Sung-bo | Next Entertainment World |
| 2017 | Okja | Bong Joon-ho | Netflix (International), Next Entertainment World (South Korea) |
| 2019 | Parasite | Bong Joon-ho | Barunson E&A |
| 2022 | Broker | Hirokazu Kore-eda | CJ Entertainment |
| 2025 | Twinless | James Sweeney | Republic Pictures |
| 2025 | Mickey 17 | Bong Joon-ho | Warner Bros. Pictures |

### Television composing

| Year | Title | Director | Original network |
| 2021–present | Squid Game | Hwang Dong-hyuk | Netflix |

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Year | Category | Nominated work/Nominee | Result |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2022 | Technical Award (Music) | Squid Game | Won |
| Buil Film Awards | 2019 | Best Score | Parasite | Won |
| Grand Bell Awards | 2020 | Best Original Music Score | Parasite | Won |
| Hollywood Music in Media Awards | 2021 | Best Original Score for a TV Show or Limited Series | Squid Game | Won |
| Hollywood Music in Media Awards | 2021 | Best Main Title Theme for a TV Show (Foreign Language) | Squid Game | Nominated |
| Korean Music Awards | 2004 | Best New Artist | Jung Jae-il | Won |
| Korean Music Awards | 2004 | Song of the Year | "Tear Flower" | Nominated |
| Korean Music Awards | 2010 | Best Jazz & Crossover Performance | The Methodologies (with Kim Chaek) | Won |
| Korean Music Awards | 2010 | Best Jazz Album | The Methodologies (with Kim Chaek) | Nominated |
| Korean Music Awards | 2015 | Best Crossover Album | bari, abandoned (with Han Seung-seok) | Won |
| Korean Music Awards | 2018 | Best Crossover Album | And There, The Sea At Last (with Han Seung-seok) | Won |
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music | Squid Game | Nominated |