Kim Ki-duk, one of the best known Korean directors overseas, said on Thursday he has realized that filmmaking makes him happy, in his first appearance before local media in four years.

"It will be my first feature film to be shown in four years,"

Kim said during a news conference in Seoul to promote his new film "Pieta." "I haven't worked on any movie for many reasons so far.

This time, I surely felt that I'm happy when I make films."

"Pieta," named after the title of a masterpiece sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti, is Kim's first since the release of "Dream" in 2008 and his 18th in total. The Italian word pieta means "mercy" in English.

Kim, the director and screenwriter of the film, said the movie, set to open at local theaters next month, depicts the tragedy of capitalism through a story of a merciless villain who happens to fall into confusion after meeting a mysterious woman claiming to be his birth mother.

"I think everybody who lives in these modern times are accomplices and sinners," Kim said at the news conference. "All of us are beings who should wait for God's mercy."

Debuting in 1996 with "Crocodile," Kim won prizes at Venice and Berlin for "3-Iron" and "Samaritan Girl" both in 2004. He is also known for his 2003 film, "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring."

(Yonhap News)