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Academy invites five Korean filmmakers, actors to membership for the first time

June 29, 2015
Director Bong Joon-ho arrives at the Los Angeles Film Festival Opening Night Gala - "Snowpiercer" on Wednesday, June 11, 2014 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Yonhap)

Director Bong Joon-ho arrives at the Los Angeles Film Festival Opening Night Gala – “Snowpiercer” on Wednesday, June 11, 2014 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Yonhap)

Five South Korean filmmakers and actors have joined the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for the first time in history.

Directors Bong Joon-ho, Kim Sang-jin and Im Kwon-taek, and actors Choi Min-sik, Song Kang-ho will join the ranks of those with a vote in the Oscar race, according to Hwang Soo-jin, head of the Korean Film Council USA.

The Academy, in what Variety calls a “push for diversity,” invited 322 new members this year.

The organization invites new members annually in March; last year, it welcomed 271 new members.