After receiving a master's degree in social sciences from the University of Yonsei, Bong Joon-ho made a 16mm independent film, White Man, which won a prize at the Shin-Young Movie Festival. In 1995, he graduated from the Korean Academy of Film Arts. His graduate film, Incoherence, was a satire on Korean society, which was selected for the Vancouver and Hong Kong film festivals. In 2000, he directed his first 35mm film, Barking Dogs Never Bite, the script of which he worked on during the several years he served as an assistant director. In 2003, he made Memories of Murder, inspired by the crimes of a real serial killer. The film was a critical and commercial success.