Lee Chang-dong

Lee Chang-dong (Template:Korean; born July 4, 1954)<ref name=":0" /> is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, and novelist.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He has directed six feature films: Green Fish (1997), Peppermint Candy (1999), Oasis (2002), Secret Sunshine (2007), Poetry (2010), and Burning (2018). Burning became the first Korean film to make it to the 91st Academy Awards' final nine-film shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film. Burning also won the Fipresci International Critics' Prize at the 71st Cannes Film Festival, Best Foreign Language Film in Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and Best Foreign Language Film in Toronto Film Critics Association.

Lee has won Silver Lion for Best Director and Fipresci International Critics' Prize at the 2002 Venice Film Festival and the Best Screenplay Award at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. He also won the award for Achievement in Directing at the 4th Asia Pacific Screen Awards in 2017,<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> Jury Grand Prize at the 2018 Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Best Director and Lifetime Achievement Award at the 13th Asian Film Awards in 2019,<ref name="Chow">Template:Cite web</ref> and he has been nominated for the Golden Lion and the Palme d'Or. Lee served as South Korea's Minister of Culture and Tourism from 2003 to 2004.

Early life

Lee Chang-dong was born in Daegu, South Korea. He graduated in 1981 with a degree in Korean Literature from Kyungpook National University in Daegu, where he spent much of his time in the theater, writing and directing plays. He went on to teach high school Korean and established himself as a novelist with his first novel Chonri in 1983.<ref name=":0" />

Career

Lee had no formal training in filmmaking. He was approached by Park Kwang-su to write the screenplay for To the Starry Island. Lee negotiated an assistant director (AD) position as part of the deal and was promoted to first AD on the first day of the shoot when the original first AD failed to show up. The film was released in 1993.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="역사속의 오늘 이창동 베니스영화제 감독상">Template:Cite web</ref> He later wrote A Single Spark in 1995, which won Best Film at the 1995 Blue Dragon Film Awards.<ref name="역사속의 오늘 이창동 베니스영화제 감독상"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After his contemporaries encouraged him to finally step behind the director's chair, Lee made Green Fish, a "critique of Korean society told through the eyes of a young man who becomes enmeshed in the criminal underworld",<ref name="NY Times">Template:Cite news</ref> in 1997. Green Fish won Best Film at Blue Dragon Film Awards, Dragons and Tigers Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival and NETPAC Award's Special Mention at the Rotterdam International Film Festival.

In 2000, Lee made Peppermint Candy, chronicling a single man in reverse chronology through 20 years of South Korean history—from the student demonstrations of the 1980s to the film's 2000 release. The movie won the Special Jury Prize at Bratislava International Film Festival and three awards at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival including the Don Quixote Award, Special Jury Prize and NETPAC Award. The film also won Best Film at the Grand Bell Awards of Korea.

In 2002, Lee released Oasis about a mentally ill man and a woman with cerebral palsy, winning the Silver Lion for Best Director at the 2003 Venice Film Festival. Oasis was the Korean entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 75th Academy Awards. In 2003, it got the Chief Dan George Humanitarian Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival and the Venice International Film Festival's Special Director's Award, FIPRESCI Prize and SIGNIS Award. Lee won the Baeksang Arts Award for Best Director. Oasis was nominated at the 2005 Independent Spirit Awards for Best Foreign Film.

From 2003-04, Lee was his country's minister of culture and tourism. On the political appointment, he said: Template:Cquote

In October 2006, Lee was awarded the Chevalier (Knight) order of the Legion d'Honneur (Legion of Honor) by the French government for "his contribution to maintaining the screen quota to promote cultural diversity as a cultural minister." It was delivered to the French Embassy in Seoul by French Minister of Culture Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres during an official visit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Lee's fourth film, Secret Sunshine about a grieving mother who loses her son, was completed in 2007. At the 60th Cannes Film Festival, the film was in the competition category with lead actress Jeon Do-yeon, winning the Prix d'interprétation féminine.<ref name="festival-cannes.com">Template:Cite web</ref> It was released in South Korea in 2007 and served as the country's nominee for Best Foreign Language Film of the 2008 Academy Awards. Secret Sunshine won Best Feature Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards; Best Film and Best Director at the 2008 Asian Film Awards; Best Picture and Best Director at the Korean Film Awards; Best Director at the Director's Cut Awards; and Special Award at the Grand Bell Awards.

In 2009, Lee was appointed to the jury of the international competition at the 61st Cannes Film Festival along with Isabelle Huppert, Shu Qi and Robin Wright.

Released the following year, Lee's film Poetry tells a of a suburban woman in her 60s who begins to develop an interest in poetry while struggling with Alzheimer's disease and her irresponsible grandson. It garnered positive critical reviews and won Best Screenplay at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. The starring role was played by Yoon Jeong-hee, who returned to the screen after an absence of 16 years. For this film, Lee won Achievement in Directing at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Poetry also won Best Film and Best Screenplay at the 2010 Grand Bell Awards and Best Director at the 2011 Baeksang Arts Awards.

In 2018, Lee returned after an eight-year hiatus with the psychological drama mystery film Burning, based on one of Haruki Murakami's 17 short stories in The Elephant Vanishes, "Barn Burning".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The film premiered at the 71st Cannes Film Festival, winning the Fipresci International Critics' Prize.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It became the highest-rated film in the history of Screen International's Cannes jury grid.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Burning was selected as Korea's nominee for Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards,.<ref name="SouthKorea">Template:Cite web</ref> It was the first Korean film to make it to the shortlist of the final nine of the award.<ref name="Dec18">Template:Cite web</ref> Burning also won the Best Foreign Language Film at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Best Foreign Language Film in Toronto Film Critics Association, and runner-up of the National Board of Review's Top Five Foreign Language Film. For this film, Lee won Best Director at the 2018 Buil Film Awards and 2019 KOFRA Film Awards. In addition to international acclaim, "Burning won the 2018 Grand Bell Awards for Best Film and FIPRESCI Award at the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards.

In March 2019, Lee won the Best Director for Burning and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 13th Asian Film Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Chow"/> In 2021, he was appointed to head the jury of the international competition at the 15th Asian Film Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also worked with Jason Yu's first film "Sleep" along with Bong Joon-ho.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In May 2025, Lee's next movie Possible Love was announced with Netflix boarding as the film's distributor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Political beliefs

Lee Chang-dong was born in Daegu, the most conservative and rightist city in Korea, to lower middle-class parents, who were left-leaning, particularly his father. His family came from noble class of the old Korea. This contradiction of growing up in an ex-noble family with socialist ties shaped his character, and subsequently his film style.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

Lee supported Roh Moo-hyun's candidacy since 2002, and after he won the elections, Lee served in the office as Minister of Culture from 2003 to 2004. During his term, Lee proposed a screen quota for independent film but his proposal met with fierce opposition by the Korean movie industry. However, in October 2006, he was rewarded for his efforts with the Chevalier (Knight) order of the Legion d'Honneur (Legion of Honor) by the French government for "his contribution to maintaining the screen quota to promote cultural diversity as a cultural minister".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Lee has been boycotting and refusing to attend the Blue Dragon Film Awards ceremony since 2002 due to political conflicts with The Chosun Ilbo, a conservative South Korean newspaper which hosts the awards. Consequently, since 2002 his films have never been submitted to the competition and were excluded from the nomination for the award's best picture and best director.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

For nearly a decade until 2017, during the Lee Myung-bak<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Park Geun-hye<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> presidential administrations, Lee Chang-dong was blacklisted by the government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Artists such as Lee that were put on the blacklist were subject to investigations and denial of subsidies.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Lee recalls of his eight-year-hiatus:

Film and directing style

Template:Over-quotation Lee Chang-dong describes his creative process as one of utter despair.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> All his films are dark stories of innocence lost, suffering and alienation. His key themes have been consistently about psychological trauma. Rather than allowing his characters simply to wallow in their misery, Lee draws them into situations that make them search, often futilely, for the meaning of life. Memory has often been an important theme for Lee.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His work can be defined by the tragedy genre and his stories almost always involve his characters experiencing some degree of suffering.

His films are the reflection of the repressive social and political climate of the South Korea, and depictions of marginalized blue-collar Koreans. His characters are characteristically anti-heroic, but he seems to justify them due to their background.<ref name=":0" /> Through realistic portraits of troubled characters, Lee asks the audience to examine themselves and to look at what society pushes under the rug. However, he shies away from masking his themes with bold surrealism. Instead, he's more driven by naturalism.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Lee doesn't give too specific direction when he works with actors. He believes that an actor's reaction is more important than the action.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He doesn't have a particular method of directing. He doesn't tell the actors to act or be in a certain way. Instead, he tells them to become the persona, the character in the film. He said,

"What I try to have them do is become the character, to feel like the character. I do not try to be very specific in how I direct my actors, for instance I will not say things like 'Use this expression' or 'Speak this way', or 'Can you please raise the pitch of your voice a bit higher' or anything like that." And, "Sometimes, actors expect from me a bit more detail, to give them specific advise but I don't do that. But what I DO sometimes is to tell them different stories, or speak about other things that do not seem to have anything in common with what the actors should be playing, but indirectly might help them feel the same way as the character feels so that they become the character."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

It was talked about that there is a lot of pressure on a Lee Chang-dong set. In response to the pressures felt by Moon So-ri and Sul Kyung-gu on his film set, Lee said,

"[...] I've never raised my voice, and I'm never really about giving any sort of strict direction, especially when it comes to working with the actors. When it comes to acting, I really prefer the actors to find themselves in the character, and find themselves living in the situations, themselves. I'm not someone to tell them, or to instruct them how to express whatever in a certain sort of situation." And, "[...] One of the things that I say a lot to my actors is, 'Don't act'. That be a bit flabbergasting to actors, because, 'Wait, I'm an actor, I'm supposed to act. What do you mean? What does that mean?' That can come as a confusing statement."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Literature

In 1987, Lee Chang-dong published his first short story, "Possession", followed by the novella There's a Lot of Shit in Nokcheon in 1992 which won him The Korea Times Literary Prize, and then Tenaciousness in 1996.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Lee said about his writing style,

"I always wrote for one person, for this person who thought and felt the same way as I do. It almost felt like I was writing a love letter to this very specific person who would understand what I'm writing and share the same feelings and thoughts."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2007, Lee's short story, "The Dreaming Beast" (translated by Heinz Insu Fenkl), was published in the journal AZALEA.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 2018, his short story, "On Destiny" (translated by Soyoung Kim), was published in the journal Asymptote.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In 2023, Lee's short story, "Snowy Day" (translated by Heinz Insu Fenkl and Yoosup Chang), was published in the March 6th, 2023 issue of The New Yorker. In 2024, Lee's short story, "The Leper" (translated by Heinz Insu Fenkl) was also published in the December 30th, 2024 and January 6, 2025 double issue of The New Yorker.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Lee's first collection of short stories in English, Snowy Day & Other Stories (translated by Heinz Insu Fenkl and Yoosup Chang), was published to acclaim by Penguin Random House in early 2025. The collection includes four short stories and three novellas taken from his two original Korean collections, There's a Lot of Shit in Nokcheon (1992) and Burning Paper (1987).

Personal life

Lee Chang-dong is the third son out of four brothers. He said that they were very close, and called themselves fraternity brothers. His youngest brother, Lee Joon-dong, is a film producer for Lee's films. Lee hoped to become a painter growing up, but he could not afford art supplies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Lee and the president of MBC television and radio network company, Template:Ill,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> are old friends and Kyungpook National University alumni. He personally asked Choi to appear in Burning playing as Jong-su's father. He is also a close friend of his frequent collaborator, actor Moon Sung-keun.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

File:Lee Chang-dong (2018).jpg

Lee Chang-dong at the French Cinematheque, August 2018

Template:SronlyFilm credits

Year	Title	Credited as			Notes
		Director	Writer	Producer
1993	To the Starry Island	Template:Partial	Template:Yes	Template:No
1995	A Single Spark	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
1997	Green Fish	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
1999	Peppermint Candy	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
2002	Oasis	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	75th Academy Awards submission for Best Foreign Language Film
2007	Secret Sunshine	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	80th Academy Awards submission for Best Foreign Language Film
	Never Forever	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes
2009	A Brand New Life	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes
2010	Poetry	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No
2013	Hwayi: A Monster Boy	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes
2014	A Girl at My Door	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes
2015	Collective Invention	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes
2016	The World of Us	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes
2018	Burning	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	91st Academy Awards shortlisted for Best Foreign Language Film
2019	Birthday	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes
2022	Heartbeat	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Short film
2026	Possible Love	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No

Accolades

International awards

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
1997	Vancouver International Film Festival	Dragons and Tigers Award	Green Fish	Template:Won
1998	Rotterdam International Film Festival	NETPAC Award		Special Mention
2000	Bratislava International Film Festival	Special Jury Prize	Peppermint Candy	Template:Won
	Karlovy Vary International Film Festival	Don Quijote Award		Template:Won
		NETPAC Award		Special Mention
		Special Jury Prize		Template:Won
2003	Castellinaria International Festival of Young Cinema	Three Castles Award	Oasis	Template:Won
	Gardanne Film Festival	Audience Award		Template:Won
	Vancouver International Film Festival	Chief Dan George Humanitarian Award		Template:Won
	Venice International Film Festival	FIPRESCI Prize		Template:Won
		Silver Lion for Best Direction		Template:Won
		Special Director's Award		Template:Won
2005	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Foreign Film		Template:Nom
2007	Asia Pacific Screen Awards	Best Feature Film	Secret Sunshine	Template:Won
2008	2nd Asian Film Awards	Best Director		Template:Won
		Best Film		Template:Won
2010	Cannes Film Festival	Best Screenplay	Poetry	Template:Won
	Asia Pacific Screen Awards	Achievement in Directing		Template:Won
2012	Chlotrudis Society for Independent Films	Best Movie		Template:Nom
		Best Original Screenplay		Template:Won
2018	Cannes Film Festival	FIPRESCI Prize	Burning	Template:Won
	International Cinephile Society Cannes Awards	Palme d'Or		Template:Won
	International Adana Film Festival	Golden Boll International Best Feature		Template:Won
	National Board of Review	Top Five Foreign Language Film		Template:Runner-up
	Los Angeles Film Critics Association	Best Foreign Language Film		Template:Won
	Toronto Film Critics Association	Best Foreign Language Film		Template:Won
	Tour du Cinéma Français	Etoile du Cinéma Award		Template:Won
	ShinFilm Art Film Festival	Shin Sang-ok Director Award		Template:Won
	Pingyao International Film Festival	Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon East-West Award		Template:Won
	Oslo Film from the South Festival	Silver Mirror Award		Template:Won
	New Mexico Film Critics Awards	Best Foreign Language Film		Template:Won
		Best Adapted Screenplay		Template:Won
	Key West Film Festival	Best Foreign Language Film		Template:Won
	Greater Western New York Film Critics Association	Best Foreign Language Film		Template:Won
	London Film Week	Best Film		Template:Won
		Best Director		Template:Won
		Best Screenplay		Template:Won
	Asia Pacific Screen Awards	Jury Grand Prize		Template:Won
2019	Club Média Ciné	Best Foreign Language Film		Template:Won
	International Cinephile Society	Best Adapted Screenplay		Template:Won
	91st Academy Awards	Best Foreign Language Film		Template:Shortlisted
	Latino Entertainment Film Awards	Best Foreign Language Film		Template:Won
	Austin Film Critics Association	Best Foreign Language Film		Template:Won
	International Cinephile Society	Best Adapted Screenplay		Template:Won
	13th Asian Film Awards	Best Director		Template:Won
		Lifetime Achievement Award		Recipient
	MOOOV Film Festival	Sembène Award		Template:Won
	45th Saturn Awards	Best International Film		Template:Won
	Asian Film Critics Association Awards	Best Director		Template:Won

Local awards

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
1995	Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best Film	A Single Spark	Template:Won
1997	Blue Dragon Film Awards		Green Fish	Template:Won
2000	Grand Bell Awards		Peppermint Candy	Template:Won
2003	Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Director	Oasis	Template:Won
2007	Korean Film Awards	Best Picture	Secret Sunshine	Template:Won
		Best Director		Template:Won
	Director's Cut Awards	Best Director		Template:Won
	Grand Bell Awards	Special Award		Template:Won
2010	Grand Bell Awards	Best Film	Poetry	Template:Won
		Best Screenplay		Template:Won
2011	Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Director		Template:Won
2018	Buil Film Awards	Best Director	Burning	Template:Won
	Grand Bell Awards	Best Film		Template:Won
	Korean Association of Film Critics Awards	FIPRESCI Award		Template:Won
	Cine21 Film Awards	Best Film		Template:Won
		Best Director		Template:Won
2019	KOFRA Film Awards	Best Director		Template:Won

State honors

Name of country, year given, and name of honor

Country	Award Ceremony	Year	Honor	Template:Abbr
France	Legion d'Honneur - Jacques Chirac Administration	2006	the Chevalier (Knight) order	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
South Korea	Korean Culture and Arts AwardsTemplate:NoteTag	2002	Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Order of Cultural Merit	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Republic of Korea Order of Civil Merit	2005	Blue Stripes Order of Civil Merit

See also

• List of Korean film directors
• Cinema of Korea

External links

• Template:IMDb name