Lee Chang-dong - Life and Career

Life and Career

Lee was born in Daegu, the hub of Korea's main conservative party. 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. After a spell teaching Korean Language in high school, he established himself as a renowned novelist with his first novel Chonri in 1983. Later in his career, to the surprise of many, he turned to movie making.

Lee did not study filmmaking before starting out. He penned two screenplays, Park Kwang-su's To the Starry Island in 1993 and A Single Spark in 1995. After being encouraged by his contemporaries to finally step behind the directors 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", in 1997.

In 2000, Lee made Peppermint Candy, a story following a single man in reverse chonology through 20 years of South Korean history (from 1980's student uprising, to the film's 2000 release).

All of his films have received critical acclaim and awards, with Oasis, a story involving a mentally ill man and a woman with cerebral palsy, winning the prestigious Director's Award at the 2003 Venice Film Festival.

He served as the minister of Culture and Tourism in the South Korean Government from 2003 to 2004.

FC: How did you come to hold government office?
LEE: At the time of President Roh Moo Hyun’s election campaign, one of the things he promised was that his Minister of Culture would be selected from the field of culture and art rather than a professional politician. Well, he got elected, and a lot of people recommended me as this new Minister of Culture. I never thought that this was an outfit that suited me particularly well, but had to accept it as one of those bitter cups one has to accept in the course of life.

In October 2006, Lee was awarded 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." It was delivered to the French embassy in South Korea by the French Minister of Culture, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres during an official visit.

In 2007, Lee's fourth film, Secret Sunshine, was completed. At the 60th Cannes Film Festival, the film was entered in the competition category and its leading actress, Jeon Do-yeon, won the Prix d'interprétation féminine du Festival de Cannes. It was released to theaters in South Korea in 2007, and was South Korea's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2008.

In 2009, Lee was appointed as a jury member of the international competition in 61st Cannes Film Festival along with Isabelle Huppert, Shu Qi and Robin Wright Penn.

In 2010, Lee's latest film, Poetry, was released, garnering positive critical reviews, and winning the Best Screenplay Award at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Notably, the film's starring role was played by Yoon Jeong-hee, who was returning to the screen after an absence of 16 years.