--- name: "Lee Chang-dong" canonical: "https://film.one/person/lee-chang-dong" fi1m_id: "lee-chang-dong" imdb_id: "nm0496969" tmdb_id: 96657 wikidata_id: "Q239656" roles: ["Director","Writer"] born: "1 April 1954" reviewed_on_fi1m: 3 average_fi1m_score: 85 average_as: "director" average_over: 3 updated: "2026-09-21T05:02:00.481120+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Lee Chang-dong ## Identity Lee Chang-dong - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/lee-chang-dong - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** lee-chang-dong - **IMDb ID:** nm0496969 - **TMDB ID:** 96657 - **Wikidata ID:** Q239656 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Chang-dong, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q239656, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0496969/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/96657 Director and writer. Born 1 April 1954 in Daegu, South Korea. ## Details - **Work:** Director, Writer - **Born:** 1 April 1954, Daegu, South Korea - **Active:** 2010–present - **Also known as:** 이창동, 李滄東, イ・チャンドン, Ли Чхан Дон, 李沧东 - **Frequently works with:** [Lee Joon-dong](https://film.one/person/lee-joon-dong.md), [Oh Jung-mi](https://film.one/person/oh-jung-mi.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 85, as director, over 3 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 2010s 86 (2), 2020s 83 (1) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 85 to 83 across 3 titles - **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Genres:** Drama 3, Mystery 1, Thriller 1 - **Screen time:** 8 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $7m across 2 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Chang-dong, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q239656, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0496969/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/96657 ## Streaming the US now - **Apple TV:** [*Burning*](https://film.one/film/burning.md) (86) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Lee Chang-dong > Lee Chang-dong lets us see how resentment grows between people with unequal chances. His patient, actor-led films reward close attention, though the uncertainty in *Burning* occasionally lasts longer than it needs to. In *Burning* (2018), Jong-su watches Ben apparently enjoy money, confidence and Hae-mi's attention without effort. Lee Chang-dong makes the differences between the men uncomfortable before there is much mystery to occupy us. The romantic triangle is enough to make trouble. We found Jong-su's jealousy unsettling because his longing for Hae-mi is so difficult to separate from his envy of Ben. Lee gives us good reason to stay with these people, even when the thriller is taking its time. His debut, *Green Fish* (1997), dealt with rapid urbanisation and the criminal underworld. *Peppermint Candy* (2000) then told one man's life in reverse chronology, tying private experience to South Korean history. The later *Secret Sunshine* (2007) explored grief, faith and forgiveness, while *Poetry* (2010) followed an elderly woman through a moral crisis. These films give difficult subjects their due by attending closely to the people living through them. *Burning* carries that interest into a thriller about class and envy, where wanting someone else's advantages can affect how a person sees them. Lee favours long takes and a naturalistic style, encouraging actors to inhabit a character rather than supplying precise instructions. In *Burning*, that approach gives three performers space to make small differences in confidence and desire worth studying. Yoo Ah-in sustains our interest in Jong-su's need to understand Ben, while Jeon Jong-seo gives Hae-mi feelings and impulses that neither man's interest can explain. She prevents Hae-mi from becoming merely an answer to their problems. The screenplay Lee wrote with Oh Jung-mi lets us notice how much the men want from her, and how little they necessarily understand about her. There is a cost to all this patience. At 148 minutes, *Burning* sometimes leaves us waiting after the unease has already registered. Lee spends more time examining Jong-su's suspicion than letting us sort through evidence, and there are stretches when we would welcome a little more movement. Yet the three leads keep the encounters involving, particularly when Hae-mi's unpredictability unsettles the men's assumptions about her. Start with *Burning*, provided neither person on the sofa needs the plot to get a move on. ## Biography Lee Chang-dong is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut with *Green Fish* (1997) and has since directed *Peppermint Candy* (2000), *Oasis* (2002), *Secret Sunshine* (2007), *Poetry* (2010), *Burning* (2018) and *Possible Love* (2026). He also wrote the screenplays for several of these films. Before entering cinema, he studied Korean literature at Kyungpook National University and worked as a high school teacher. He published novels and later contributed screenplays to films by Park Kwang-su. Lee served as South Korea’s Minister of Culture and Tourism from 2003 to 2004. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, koreatimes.co.kr, variety.com.* ## On Fi1m (3) - *Possible Love* (2026), Fi1m 83, Director, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/possible-love.md) - *Burning* (2018), Fi1m 86, Director, Executive Producer, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/burning.md) - *Poetry* (2010), Fi1m 87, Director, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/poetry.md) ## Complete filmography (18) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Possible Love* (2026), Director, Writer — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/possible-love.md) - *Heartbeat* (2022), Director, Writer - *Birthday* (2019), Executive Producer - *Burning* (2018), Screenplay, Executive Producer, Director — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/burning.md) - *Burning* (2018), series, Creator - *A Single Rider* (2017), Thanks - *The World of Us* (2016), Producer - *A Girl at My Door* (2014), Producer - *Hwayi: A Monster Boy* (2013), Executive Producer - *Poetry* (2010), Director, Writer — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/poetry.md) - *A Brand New Life* (2009), Producer, Writer - *Never Forever* (2007), Producer - *Secret Sunshine* (2007), Director, Writer, Executive Producer - *Oasis* (2002), Director, Writer - *Peppermint Candy* (2000), Director, Writer - *Green Fish* (1997), Director, Writer - *A Single Spark* (1995), Writer - *To the Starry Island* (1993), Writer, Assistant Director ## Gallery - ![(달빛궁궐) 호평 릴레이 영상 (2016)](https://film.one/media/person/96127/gallery-d7f35cdf9de5.jpg) (달빛궁궐) 호평 릴레이 영상 (2016) — ItsNEWKorea, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/%28%EB%8B%AC%EB%B9%9B%EA%B6%81%EA%B6%90%29_%ED%98%B8%ED%8F%89_%EB%A6%B4%EB%A0%88%EC%9D%B4_%EC%98%81%EC%83%81_%EC%9D%B4%EC%B0%BD%EB%8F%99_32s.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![festival de Cannes (2018)](https://film.one/media/person/96127/gallery-abf9a54bfdb6.jpg) festival de Cannes (2018) — Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Cannes_2018_23.jpg/1280px-Cannes_2018_23.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![festival de Cannes (2018)](https://film.one/media/person/96127/gallery-c31751e57310.jpg) festival de Cannes (2018) — Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Cannes_2018_23_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Cannes_2018_23_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Lee Chang-dong](https://film.one/media/person/96127/gallery-0aea7bc777e2.jpg) Lee Chang-dong — Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Lee_Chang-dong-2538.jpg/1280px-Lee_Chang-dong-2538.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Lee Chang-dong](https://film.one/media/person/96127/gallery-1569c4f30009.jpg) Lee Chang-dong — Image via TMDB - ![Lee Chang-dong](https://film.one/media/person/96127/gallery-ffd6a89fa27a.jpg) Lee Chang-dong — Image via TMDB - ![Lee Chang-dong](https://film.one/media/person/96127/gallery-ac2dde98750d.jpg) Lee Chang-dong — Image via TMDB - ![Lee Chang-dong in 2026](https://film.one/media/person/96127/gallery-e4f15a506ac5.jpg) Lee Chang-dong in 2026 — Republic of Korea, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Lee_Chang-dong.jpg/1280px-Lee_Chang-dong.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Lee Chang-dong](https://film.one/media/person/96127/gallery-bb88a746dc45.jpg) Lee Chang-dong — Image via TMDB - ![Lee Chang-dong](https://film.one/media/person/96127/gallery-3477770b68b8.jpg) Lee Chang-dong — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Other awards — 2 won - Asian Film Award for Best Director 2011: Asian Film Award for Best Director (won), for *Poetry* - Asian Film Award for Best Director 2008: Asian Film Award for Best Director (won), for *Secret Sunshine* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/lee-chang-dong