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Director Chung Ji-young was given a lifetime achievement award at the London East Asia Film Festival (LEAFF) 2023, the festival's organizer said Friday.

Chung of Life and Death of the Hollywood Kid (1994) and, most recently, The Boys, received the award at the opening ceremony of the 8th edition of the festival at ODEON Luxe Leicester Square in London. "An amazing thing has happened. I will continue making films," Chung said.

South Korean film director Chung Ji-young greets the audience on stage after receiving a lifetime achievement award at the London East Asia Film Festival 2023 in this photo provided by the festival on Oct. 20, 2023. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) 

The festival recognized the director's dedication over the past four decades to the Korean cinema industry with his "compelling storytelling based on real-life cases." This year marks the 40th anniversary since his directorial debut.

In line with that, LEAFF 2023 presents a retrospective dedicated to Chung, showing eight of his films at cinemas in the city, including Black Money (2019), Unbowed (2011) and North Korean Partisan in South Korea (1990).

The festival opened with the gala screening of Chung's The Boys, a drama based on the real-life robbery-murder, known as the "Samrye Nara Super incident." The movie is set to hit South Korean theaters on Nov. 1.

The poster for Korean detective drama The Boys is seen in this photo provided by its distributor CJ ENM. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) 

By Woo Jae-yeon