Lee Chang-dong facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lee Chang-dong
Lee Chang-dong at 2010 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Born	(1954-07-04) July 4, 1954 (age 70) Daegu, South Korea
Alma mater	Kyungpook National University (1981)
Occupation	Film director, screenwriter
Years active	1997–present
Honours	Legion of Honour - Knight (2006)
Korean name
Hangul	이창동
Hanja	李滄東
Revised Romanization	I Chang-dong
McCune–Reischauer	I Ch'angdong
Signature

Lee Chang-dong (Hangul: 이창동; Hanja: 李滄東; born July 4, 1954) is a famous South Korean film director, screenwriter, and novelist. He has made six feature films that are well-known around the world. These include Green Fish (1997), Peppermint Candy (1999), Oasis (2002), Secret Sunshine (2007), Poetry (2010), and Burning (2018).

His film Burning was the first Korean movie to be chosen for the final nine-film list for Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards (also known as the Oscars). Burning also won the Fipresci International Critics' Prize at the 71st Cannes Film Festival. It also won awards for Best Foreign Language Film in Los Angeles and Toronto.

Lee Chang-dong has won many awards for his work. He received the Silver Lion for Best Director at the 2002 Venice Film Festival. He also won the Best Screenplay Award at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. From 2003 to 2004, Lee served as South Korea's Minister of Culture and Tourism.

Early Life and Education

Lee Chang-dong was born in Daegu, a city in South Korea. In 1981, he finished his studies at Kyungpook National University. He earned a degree in Korean Literature. During his time at university, he spent a lot of time in the theater. He enjoyed writing and directing plays. After graduating, he taught Korean at a high school. He also became known as a novelist, publishing his first novel, Chonri, in 1983.

Filmmaking Career

Lee Chang-dong did not go to film school. He learned filmmaking by working on movies.

Starting in Film

A director named Park Kwang-su asked Lee to write a screenplay (the script for a movie) for the film To the Starry Island. Lee agreed, but he also asked to be an assistant director (AD) on the film. On the very first day of filming, the main assistant director didn't show up. So, Lee was promoted to first AD! This film came out in 1993. After that, he wrote A Single Spark in 1995. This movie won Best Film at the 1995 Blue Dragon Film Awards.

Directing His Own Films

Friends in the film industry encouraged Lee to direct his own movies. So, in 1997, he made Green Fish. This film tells the story of a young man who gets involved with a criminal group. It shows a critical view of Korean society. Green Fish won Best Film at the Blue Dragon Film Awards. It also won the Dragons and Tigers Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

In 2000, Lee directed Peppermint Candy. This movie tells a man's story backward through 20 years of South Korean history. It starts in the year 2000 and goes back to a student uprising in 1980. Peppermint Candy won a Special Jury Prize at the Bratislava International Film Festival. It also won three awards at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Lee's film Oasis came out in 2002. It is a story about a man with a mental illness and a woman with cerebral palsy. The film won the Silver Lion for Best Director at the 2003 Venice Film Festival. Oasis was also chosen as South Korea's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 75th Academy Awards.

Serving in Government

From 2003 to 2004, Lee Chang-dong took a break from filmmaking. He served as the Minister of Culture and Tourism in the South Korean government. This meant he was in charge of things related to culture and tourism for the country.

In 2006, the French government gave Lee a special award called the Chevalier (Knight) order of the Legion d'Honneur (Legion of Honor). He received this honor for helping to keep "screen quotas" in place. Screen quotas are rules that make sure a certain number of local films are shown in movie theaters. This helps promote different cultures.

Later Works and Awards

Lee's fourth film, Secret Sunshine, was released in 2007. It is about a mother dealing with the loss of her son. The lead actress, Jeon Do-yeon, won the Best Actress award at the 60th Cannes Film Festival for her role in this film. Secret Sunshine was also South Korea's submission for the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film in 2008.

In 2009, Lee was a judge for the international film competition at the 61st Cannes Film Festival.

The next year, Lee's film Poetry was released. It tells the story of a woman in her 60s who starts learning about Korean poetry. She is also dealing with Alzheimer's disease and an irresponsible grandson. The film received good reviews and won the Best Screenplay Award at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.

After an eight-year break, Lee returned in 2018 with the psychological drama and mystery film Burning. This movie is based on a short story by the famous writer Haruki Murakami. Burning first showed at the 71st Cannes Film Festival. It won the Fipresci International Critics' Prize there. It also became the highest-rated film ever on Screen International's Cannes jury list. Burning was chosen as South Korea's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards. It was the first Korean film to make it to the final shortlist for this award.

In March 2019, Lee won Best Director for Burning. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 13th Asian Film Awards.

Directing Style

Lee Chang-dong's films often explore difficult feelings and experiences. His movies usually show dark stories about losing innocence, suffering, and feeling alone. A main theme in his films is often psychological trauma (deep emotional pain). Instead of letting his characters just feel sad, Lee puts them in situations where they try to find meaning in life.

His films often show the social and political situations in South Korea. They often feature ordinary Korean people who are struggling. His characters are not always perfect heroes. Lee tries to show things as they are, using a style called naturalism.

Lee has a special way of working with actors. He doesn't give them very specific instructions. He believes that an actor's reaction is more important than their exact actions. He tells his actors to "become the character" and to "feel like the character." He might tell them stories or talk about other things that seem unrelated. But these conversations help the actors understand and feel what the character feels. He often tells actors, "Don't act." This might sound confusing, but he means for them to truly live and feel the role, rather than just pretending.

Literature

Lee Chang-dong has also published several short stories. His short story "The Dreaming Beast" was published in 2007. In 2018, his story "On Destiny" was published. More recently, his short stories "Snowy Day" (2023) and "The Leper" (2024) were published in The New Yorker magazine. His first collection of short stories in English, called Snowy Day & Other Stories, is expected to be published in early 2025.

Personal Life

Lee Chang-dong is the third of four brothers. He says they were very close. His youngest brother, Lee Joon-dong, is a film producer who has worked on Lee's films. When he was growing up, Lee hoped to become a painter, but he couldn't afford art supplies. He is also good friends with the actor Moon Sung-keun, who often appears in his movies.

Filmography

Lee Chang-dong at the French Cinematheque, August 2018

Awards and Honors

International Awards

Local Awards

State Honors

See also

• List of Korean film directors
• Cinema of Korea