Lee Chang-dong
South Korean filmmaker and former culture minister.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Lee Chang-dong (born July 1, 1954) is a South Korean novelist, screenwriter, and film director. He has made six feature films, the most recent of which, *Burning* (2018), was the first Korean movie to make the final nine-film shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards. *Burning* also won the Fipresci International Critics’ Prize at the 71st Cannes Film Festival, along with Best Foreign Language Film honors from both the Los Angeles and Toronto film critics’ associations. Lee’s other directing credits include *Green Fish* (1997), *Peppermint Candy* (1999), *Oasis* (2002), *Secret Sunshine* (2007), and *Poetry* (2010). Over his career, he has received the Silver Lion for Best Director and the Fipresci Prize at the 2002 Venice Film Festival, the Best Screenplay Award at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, the Best Director award at the 11th Asia Pacific Screen Awards in 2017, the Jury Grand Prize at the 2018 Asia Pacific Screen Awards, and both Best Director and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 13th Asian Film Awards in 2019. His film *Oasis* competed for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and he has also been nominated for the Palme d’Or. From 2003 to 2004, Lee served as South Korea’s Minister of Culture and Tourism.
Born in Daegu, South Korea, Lee graduated in 1981 with a degree in Korean Literature from Kyungpook National University, where he spent much of his time writing and directing plays in the theater. He later taught high school Korean and established himself as a novelist with his first book, *Chonri*, in 1983.
Lee had no formal filmmaking training. Filmmaker Park Kwang-su asked him to write the screenplay for *To the Starry Island*, and Lee negotiated an assistant director role as part of the deal. On the first day of shooting, the original first assistant director didn’t show up, and Lee was promoted to that position. The film came out in 1993. He later wrote *A Single Spark* (1995), which won Best Film at the 1995 Grand Bell Awards. After encouragement from his peers, Lee directed his first feature, *Green Fish* (1997), a critique of Korean society told through a young man drawn into the criminal underworld. It won Best Film at the Blue Dragon Film Awards, the Dragons and Tigers Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival, and a Special Mention from the NETPAC Award at the Rotterdam International Film Fest
- born
- July 1, 1954
Lore & Background
Lee Chang-dong was born in Daegu, South Korea, to lower middle-class, left-leaning parents from the noble class. He graduated in 1981 with a degree in Korean Literature from Kyungpook National University, where he wrote and directed plays. He taught high school Korean and published his first novel, Chonri, in 1983. He had no formal filmmaking training; he was approached by Park Kwang-su to write the screenplay for To the Starry Island (1993) and negotiated an assistant director position, becoming first AD on the first day of the shoot. He later wrote A Single Spark (1995), which won Best Film at the Grand Bell Awards.
Reader's Guide
Lee Chang-dong's significance lies in his six feature films, which have earned international awards and nominations, including the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival for Oasis (2002) and the Best Screenplay Award at Cannes for Poetry (2010). Burning (2018) won the Fipresci International Critics' Prize at Cannes and became the first Korean film to reach the Academy Awards' final nine shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film. His tenure as Minister of Culture and Tourism (2003–2004) was marked by his proposal of a screen quota for independent film, which faced opposition; he later received the Chevalier of the Legion of Honour from France for his contribution to maintaining the screen quota. Lee was blacklisted by the government during the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations until 2017, and he has boycotted the Blue Dragon Film Awards since 2002 due to political conflicts with The Chosun Ilbo. His work often critiques Korean society and history, as seen in Peppermint Candy (2000), which chronicles a man through 20 years of South Korean history in reverse chronology.
Did You Know?
- Lee Chang-dong had no formal training in filmmaking.
- He served as South Korea's Minister of Culture and Tourism from 2003 to 2004.
- Burning (2018) was the first Korean film to make the final nine-film shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.
- Lee has boycotted the Blue Dragon Film Awards since 2002 due to political conflicts with The Chosun Ilbo.
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