Lee Chang-dong

Lee Chang-Dong is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, and novelist. He was born on 1 April 1954 in Daegu, South Korea. Lee Chang-Dong formerly worked as a high-school teacher. He turned to the entertainment industry when he was over 40 years old. He got married to Lee Jeong-Ran. He has three brothers and one of them is Dong Lee. His debut film was 'Green Fish' (1997). He penned the screenplay and directed the mega-hit film. He graduated in 1981 from Kyungpook National University with a degree in Korean Literature.

During his career as a high-school teacher, he wrote his first novel Chonri in 1983. After the success of Green Fish, he made Peppermint Candy (2000), in which he also worked as a screenwriter. The film also won the award for Best Foreign Film. His other major films are Secret Sunshine(2007), Beoning(2018), Poetry(2010), Oasis(2002), A Girl at My Door(2014), Never Forever(2007), A Brand New Life(2009), Hwayi: A Monster Boy(2013), Collective Invention(2015), The World of Us(2016), Burning(2018) and Birthday(2019).

Lee Chang-Dong has also won many International and National awards such as The Best Director award at the 13th Asian Film Awards. His films had won the Sembene Award, Best International Film Award, Best Achievement in Directing, Best Cinematography, Best Cinematography, Best Motion Picture of the year and Best Screenplay. Lee Chang-Dong was also active in politics. From 2003 to 2004, he served as the minister of Culture and Tourism in the South Korean Government. Some other honors received by him are Order of Cultural Merit- Bogwan (Previous Crown), 3rd Class in 2002. And Legion d'Honneur- Jacques Chirac Administration in 2006.

another version of the biography:

Lee Chang-dong is a film director, screenwriter, and novelist from South Korea. He is a well-known filmmaker at international film festivals who explores the social and political context of South Korea in his films. He was born in Daegu, South Korea, in 1954. He earned a bachelor's degree in Korean literature from Kyungpook National University. During his college years, he directed and wrote plays for the stage. He is also a published novelist and a former high school teacher. He turned to the cinema when he was over 40 years old. His first picture, "Green Fish" (1997), was a critical and commercial triumph. Peppermint Candy, Oasis, Secret Sunshine, Poetry, and Burning are his other feature films. Burning was the first Korean film to make the final nine-picture shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards.

He won many honors, including the Venice Film Festival's Special Director's Award. Lee has been the Minister of Culture in the newly elected liberal national government since 2003. In 2002, he backed Roh Moo-hyun's candidacy, and after winning the election, he served as Minister of Culture from 2003 to 2004.

He is a well-known literary figure in South Korea, with awards for his novels. His films necessitate multiple viewings to unpack the emotional and psychological layers in the dramas influenced by the volatile Korean environment in which he places them. His plotlines are uncompromising and well-structured, inviting viewers to study the actions of damaged characters and delivering brutal exposes of grief, trauma, and wrath.