Remakes are a dicey proposition. Hollywood's pillaging of Japanese horror flicks taught us this two years ago, and the television-inspired crop reinforced the message last year. Now, thanks to the brilliant work of Chan-Wook Park, the South Korean writer-director behind Oldboy (2003), 2006 is probably gonna teach us to watch out for remakes of Korean films. "When I started my career, Korean movies were unknown to the world," says Park. "The current situation really gives me a thousand emotions-I'm very proud that I played some part in the new wave of Korean cinema."

Johnny-come-latelies can catch the wave this March when Lady Vengeance, part three in Park's "revenge-themed" trilogy, hits American screens. "The act of vengeance is a meaningless one," Park explains of his disparate trilogy's unifying undercurrent. "Is this incomprehensive dark passion the characteristic which distinguishes mankind from other animals?"

Park has been exploring other emotions lately. He's currently making a romantic teen comedy about a girl who's committed to a mental institution for believing she's a combat cyborg, rumored to be titled I'm A Cyborg, But It's Okay, as well as a vampire film. All of the above has Hollywood begging to get down with Park, buying the remake rights to Oldboy as well as his 2000 political thriller J.S.A. "The remake deals [have] become one of the most important sources of income," admits the man who turned down Sam Raimi's invitation to redo The Evil Dead (1981) stateside. "But what the Korean movie makers really want is to introduce the original films to the American public as they are." Play it safe, peep the O.G. versions, and enjoy one of the best directors doing it right now while he's in his prime.