Lee Chang-dong

Lee Chang-dong (born July 4, 1954) is a South Korean movie director, screenwriter and novelist. He won the 2008 Special Director's Prize at the Asian Film Awards and has been nominated for the Golden Lion and Palme d'Or. Lee was South Korea's Minister of Culture and Tourism from 2003 to 2004.

He graduated in 1981 with a degree in Korean Literature from Kyungpook National University in Daegu. After a teaching Korean Language in high school using his major, he established himself as a renowned novelist. Later in his career, to the surprise of many, he turned to movie making.

Lee did not study movie making before starting movie making. He penned two screenplays, Park Kwang-su's To the Starry Island in 1993 and A Single Spark in 1995. Lee then directed Green Fish in 1997.

In 2000, Lee made Peppermint Candy. It is a story following a single man in reverse chronology through 20 years of South Korean history. All of his movies have received critical acclaim and awards. Oasis, a story involving a mentally ill man and a woman with cerebral palsy, won the prestigious Director's Award at the 2003 Venice Film Festival.

He is very good at expressing the plain life of ordinary people on the screen. He also maintains popularity even though sometimes he makes stories about serious social problems.

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

Filmography 
 To the Starry Island (1993) *screenplay
 A Single Spark (1995) *screenplay
 Green Fish (1997)
 Peppermint Candy (2000)
 Oasis (2002)
 Secret Sunshine (2007)
 Poetry (2010)

Awards 
 Legion d'Honneur – Jacques Chirac Administration in 2006

Poetry 
 2010 – Best Screenplay, Cannes Film Festival

Secret Sunshine 
 2008 – Best Film, Asian Film Awards
 2008 – Best Director, Asian Film Awards
 2007 – Best Actress (won by Jeon Do-yeon), Cannes Film Festival
 2007 – Best Feature Film, Asia Pacific Screen Awards
 2007 – Best Performance by an Actress, Asia Pacific Screen Awards
 2007 – Best Picture, Korean Film Awards
 2007 – Best Director, Korean Film Awards
 2007 – Special Award, Grand Bell Awards

Oasis 
 2003 – Best Director, Paeksang Arts Awards
 2003 – Three Castles Award, Castellinaria International Festival of Young Cinema
 2003 – Audience Award, Gardanne Film Festival
 2003 – Chief Dan George Humanitarian Award, Vancouver International Film Festival
 2003 – FIPRESCI Prize, Venice Film Festival
 2003 – SIGNIS Award, Venice Film Festival
 2003 – Special Director's Award, Venice Film Festival
 2003 – Golden Lion (Nominated), Venice Film Festival
 2005 – Best Foreign Film (Nominated), Independent Spirit Awards

Peppermint Candy 
 2000 – Special Jury Prize, Bratislava International Film Festival
 2000 – Best Film, Grand Bell Awards, South Korea
 2000 – Don Quijote Award, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
 2000 – Netpac Award – Special Mention, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
 2000 – Special Prize of the Jury, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

Green Fish 
 1997 – Best Film, Blue Dragon Awards
 1997 – Dragons and Tigers Award, Vancouver International Film Festival
 1998 – Netpac Award – Special Mention, Rotterdam International Film Festival

A Single Spark 
 1995 – Best Film, Blue Dragon Awards

Other websites 
 Interview @ Firecracker #10 
 Nomination for the Gucci Group Award to be presented on September 3, 2007 at Venice's Palazzo Grassi during the 64th Venice Film Festival. 
Lee Chang Dong Retrospective Singapore 2011 

Living people
1954 births
South Korean movie directors