Because of phonetic differences between English and Korean, both "Mother" and "Murder" are spelled the same when translated to Korean characters. The movie title, "Madeo", is a play on this similarity, suggesting both "Mother" and "Murder".
While filming the opening sequence of Mother's dancing, director Joon-ho Bong danced together with Hye-ja Kim to make her feel less nervous.
Meeting Kim Hye-ja was the chief inspiration for director Bong Joon Ho. He met with her frequently over the development of the script to make sure it suited her skills.
Bong Joon Ho originally conceived the idea for the film long before he made The Host (2006). He wrote his first synopsis in 2004, which was around about the time he met Kim Hye-ja for the first time.
South Korea's official submission to the 82nd Academy Award's Foreign Language category in 2010.