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Lee Chang-dong has long stood out compared to his peers that emerged in the 1990s and 2000s. For one he was born in 1954 making him older than the directors of the 386 generation like Bong Joon Ho and Park Chan-wook who were born in the 1960s and went to university during the turbulent 1980s. He also had a career in a different profession before making films having been a teacher and established writer prior to entering the film industry. He met director Park Kwang-su at the premiere of Chilsu and Mansu (1988). The pair worked together on To the Starry Island (1993) and A Single Spark (1995). Few of the now established directors that started making films in the 1990s as the industry entered a new era had made the transition into filmmaking from a profession outside the film industry – Yoo Ha was another notable exception having been a poet.

Green Fish & Peppermint Candy

Green Fish (1997)

Lee Chang-dong was also unique in his approach to filmmaking. While the new generation led by Park Chan-wook turned away from the realism of some of the New Wave directors like Park Kwang-su in favor of a more highly stylized aesthetic, Lee appears to have been shaped by his formative years as a filmmaker in the early to mid-1990s ahead of his feature debut Green Fish (1997). This is not to say Lee hasn't experimented with genre, which is evident in his feature debut that tells the story of a young man (Han Suk-kyu) who returns from military service to find his village now transformed into the satellite city of Ilsan when the government seeks to reduce the population of Seoul. After helping an attractive young woman on a train, he is lured into Seoul's criminal underworld.

Like the films of the New Wave, it is a challenging feature centering on a character who is struggling to find his place in society in a rapidly changing world with Korea quickly modernizing echoing some of the traits of realism in Korean cinema. Yet as a crime-drama it also featured elements of the gangster subgenre and formed part of a growing number of films in the 1990s like No. 3 (1997) released the same year and also starring Han Suk-kyu that turned to the criminal underworld.

 Peppermint Candy (1999)

His subsequent film Peppermint Candy (1999) cemented Lee's place as one of Korea's leading filmmakers. Opening the Busan International Film Festival in 1999 it again demanded a lot from his audience as he takes viewers backwards in time. In that now famous line in the film's first segment the protagonist played by Sul Kyung-gu screams "I want to go back!" as he jumps in front of the train. Playing with cause and effect told in reverse beginning at the end and finishing at the start of the chain of events, Lee reveals the source of the character's trauma that is tied to the Gwangju Uprising of May 1980.

Oasis & Secret Sunshine

Oasis (2002)

In Oasis (2002) that screened in competition in Venice where Lee won the Silver Lion for Best Direction, Lee delivers a scathing critique on societal attitudes in Korea towards those suffering from physical and psychological difficulties when a man, a social outcast, released from jail (Sul Kyung-gu) and a woman suffering from Cerebral palsy (Moon So-ri) fall in love. Lee's portrayal is extremely raw making it uncomfortable for viewers, but it underscores his belief that film is not merely about entertaining audiences, it should challenge them. The feature combines a compelling mix of social realism and fantasy highlighting Lee's complex approach to filmmaking.

 Secret Sunshine (2007)

After Lee's short tenure as Minister of Culture and Tourism between 2003 and 2004 under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, Lee then helmed Secret Sunshine (2007) starring Jeon Do-yeon as a grieving widow in the town of Milyang (the Korean title of the film). She moves to the area with her son to start a new life, but further tragedy strikes. Jeon became the first Korean actress to win the top acting accolade at the Cannes Film Festival for her role in the film as a mother dealing with profound loss. The intensity of her performance would be felt for years to come, while Lee's minimalistic style once again reflected Lee's raw uncompromising signature.

Poetry – Possible Love

Lee's next film Poetry (2010) that won the Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival was also characteristic of Lee's realist aesthetic. It follows a grandmother (Yoon Jeong-hee) experiencing early signs of Alzheimer's as she takes care of her troubled grandson who is involved in the sexual assault of a high school student who has committed suicide. The elderly woman starts learning to write poetry at a local cultural center to help her deal with these new pressures. At well over 2 hours, it's typical of Lee's long running times as he refuses to increase the film's pacing to conform to conventional storytelling; instead, he encourages his audiences to reflect on the film's complex themes.

Burning (2018)

It would be another eight years before we would see another Lee Chang-dong film. Akin to much of his films Burning (2018) lacks answers but full of enigmas centering on the mysterious relationship between three central characters played by Yoo Ah-in, Jeon Jong-seo and Steven Yeun it felt like a new chapter in the work of Lee. Based on the short story Barn Burning by Haruki Murakami, Lee delves into the difficulties facing young people but combining social critique and some of the characteristics of a mystery thriller it was in some ways reminiscent of Green Fish – and yet conversely different. It still holds the highest ever Screen Daily Jury Grid at 3.8 after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival in competition in 2018.

There is much interest in Lee's next project Possible Love (2026) that sees him return to Venice in competition before it then heads to the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival in what could get an awards push by the streamer financing it, Netflix. Starring Jeon Do-yeon and Sul Kyung-gu who have worked with Lee previously along with Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong it centers on two couples who meet together for a documentary project. The film will receive a theatrical release in Korea on September 23 before dropping on Netflix on November 6. The film has a running time of 164 minutes making it Lee's longest film to date but also one of his most eagerly awaited.

Written by Jason Bechervaise

Edited by kofic