Jung Jae-il

Jung Jae-il (Korean: 정재일,Korean pronunciation: [tɕʌŋ tɕɛ il]; born May 7, 1982) is a South Korean composer known for writing the scores of the 2019 Academy Award-winning film Parasite^[2] and the television series Squid Game, which earned him a nomination for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music at the 74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

In this Korean name, the family name is Jung.

Jung Jae-il
Jung in 2017
Born	(1982-05-07) May 7, 1982 (age 43)[1] Seoul, South Korea
Education	Seoul Jazz Academy (ko)
Occupations	Composer musician
Years active	1997–present
Musical career
Genres	New-age contemporary jazz ballad folk
Instruments	Piano guitar bass guitar
Formerly of	Giggs Puri
Korean name
Hangul	정재일
Hanja	鄭在日
RR	Jeong Jaeil
MR	Chŏng Chaeil

Biography

Jung Jae-il was three years old when he first played piano, and he picked up the guitar at nine. When he was 13, he posted an ad in the magazine Hot Music,^[3] "to find bass drums and vocals to do a style of music that is similar to the British heavy metal band Carcass".^[4] Jung graduated from Seoul Jazz Academy (ko).^[1]

In 1999, he joined the band Gigs (which Jung Won-yong (ko), vocalist Lee Juck, and guitarist Han Sang-won (ko) were also part of) on bass guitar.^[5][6] He released his first solo album, Tear Flower (눈물꽃), in 2003.^[4] In 2007, he played with the band Puri on their second album.^[7][8]

Jung performed on the piano during the April 2018 inter-Korean summit.^[9]

In 2021, he won the Hollywood Music in Media Awards for Best Score in a TV Show for Squid Game.^[10]

Partial discography

Studio albums

• Tear Flower (눈물꽃) (2003)

Film

Year	Title	Director	Studio
1997	Bad Movie[11]	Jang Sun-woo	Miracin Korea Film Company
2001	Flower Island[12]	Song Il-gon	C&Film Production
2002	Resurrection of the Little Match Girl[13]	Jang Sun-woo	Kihwik Cine
2003	Wonderful Days[14]	Kim Moon-saeng	Palisades Tartan
2004	Temptation of Wolves[15]	Kim Tae-kyun	Showbox
2007	Venus and Mars[16]	Han Ji seung	Cinema Service
2009	Marine Boy[17]	Yoon Jong-seok	CJ Entertainment
2009	Baram (Wish)[18]	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
	Mickey 17	Bong Joon-ho	Warner Bros. Pictures

Television

Year	Title	Director	Original network
2021–2025	Squid Game[19]	Hwang Dong-hyuk	Netflix

Video games

Year	Title	Developer	Publisher
TBA	Woochi the Wayfarer[20]	LoreVault	Nexon Games

Awards and nominations

Award	Year	Category	Nominated work/nominee	Result	Ref.
Baeksang Arts Awards	2022	Technical Award (Music)	Squid Game	Won	[21]
Buil Film Awards	2019	Best Score	Parasite	Won	[22]
Grand Bell Awards	2020	Best Original Music Score		Won	[23]
Hollywood Music in Media Awards	2019	Best Original Score – Feature Film		Nominated	[24]
	2021	Best Original Score for a TV Show or Limited Series	Squid Game	Won	[25]
		Best Main Title Theme for a TV Show (Foreign Language)		Nominated	[10]
Korean Music Awards	2004	Best New Artist	Jung Jae-il	Won	[26]
		Song of the Year	"Tear Flower"	Nominated	[27]
	2010	Best Jazz & Crossover Performance	The Methodologies (with Kim Chaek)	Won	[28]
		Best Jazz Album		Nominated	[29]
	2015	Best Crossover Album	bari, abandoned (with Han Seung-seok)	Won	[30]
	2018		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	[31]
Chanel Next Prize	2021	Winners of the Chanel Next Prize	Jung Jae-il	Won	[32]