Korean director Bong Joon-ho has been selected as one of the five jury members at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in Utah from Jan. 20 to Jan. 30.

Bong will be judging a total of 58 films in competition in four categories.

The Sundance Film Festival is the biggest independent film gathering in the U.S. Founded by American actor and Utah resident Robert Redford in 1981, the festival established itself as the premier showcase for new work from independent filmmakers from around the world.

This year, the festival will showcase a total of 118 feature-length films, representing 29 countries, by 40 first-time filmmakers, including 25 in competition.

Born in Seoul in 1969, Bong has directed highly acclaimed films including “The Host” (2006) and “Mother” (2009). “Mother” premiered at Cannes in 2009 and was selected as one of the top ten movies of 2010 by The Wall Street Journal.

By Claire Lee (clairelee@heraldcorp.com)