---
name: "Lee Sun-kyun"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/lee-sun-kyun"
fi1m_id: "lee-sun-kyun"
imdb_id: "nm1310525"
tmdb_id: 115290
wikidata_id: "Q489681"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "2 March 1975"
died: "27 December 2023"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 85
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-10-04T04:16:27.970600+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 Sun-kyun

## Identity

Lee Sun-kyun

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/lee-sun-kyun
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** lee-sun-kyun
- **IMDb ID:** nm1310525
- **TMDB ID:** 115290
- **Wikidata ID:** Q489681
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Sun-kyun, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q489681, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1310525/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/115290

Actor. Born 2 March 1975 in Seoul, South Korea. Died 27 December 2023.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 2 March 1975, Seoul, South Korea
- **Died:** 27 December 2023
- **Active:** 2014–2019
- **Also known as:** Lee Seon-gyun , Seon-gyun Lee, Lee Sun Gyun, Sun-kyun Lee
- **SAG Awards:** 1 SAG Award (1 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 85, as actor, over 2 titles
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Sun-kyun, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q489681, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1310525/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/115290

## Streaming the US now

- **The Roku Channel:** [*A Hard Day*](https://film.one/film/a-hard-day.md) (79)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Lee Sun-kyun

> Lee Sun-kyun's deep voice and grounded manner made ordinary professional men worth watching closely. He was especially good at suggesting what they took for granted, and *Parasite* gives that quiet skill an unusually sharp use.

In *Parasite* (2019), Lee Sun-kyun's Park Dong-ik behaves like a man who has seldom needed to consider how much trouble his comfort causes. Lee makes that expectation feel ordinary, which is why the performance is so effective. Beside Cho Yeo-jeong's Yeon-kyo, he gives the wealthy household the ease of people accustomed to having things arranged for them. We were unsettled by how reasonable he could seem while taking that convenience for granted. There is no need for him to announce that he is playing someone we should distrust.

He moved between television leads and Hong Sang-soo's naturalistic films about everyday relationships. Television dramas such as *Coffee Prince* (2007) brought mainstream recognition, and his collaborations with Hong included *Nobody's Daughter Haewon* (2013). The thrillers *Helpless* (2012) and *A Hard Day* (2014) brought wider acclaim, the latter also calling on his willingness to take physically demanding parts. *Parasite* brought international prominence. He continued to work across genres, including the horror-thriller *Sleep* (2023).

Bong Joon-ho makes particularly good use of Lee's grounded acting by giving Park little reason to examine himself. The performance allows faults to remain visible without reducing the man to a villain, and it belongs to a film that never pretends both families can afford the same mistakes. Lee fits into that ensemble without demanding extra attention whenever Park reveals something unflattering. The writing and music occasionally press too hard, but his performance needs no extra insistence. His expectation that other people will arrange things for him is unpleasant enough when played this calmly.

His deep voice was an immediate distinguishing feature, and it could easily become the first thing remembered about him. The quiet vulnerability of *My Mister* (2018), where he plays bullied engineer Park Dong-hoon, deserves attention too. Here is another professional man, with considerably less reason to expect things to go his way. After *Parasite*, give him the time that a television lead allows.

## Biography

Lee Sun-kyun was a South Korean actor. He studied theatre at the Korea National University of Arts and began his career in musical theatre before appearing in minor and supporting roles on screen and in one-act television dramas.

He gained mainstream popularity through the television series *Coffee Prince* (2007) and *White Tower* (2007), followed by *Pasta* (2010), *Golden Time* (2012) and *My Mister* (2018). On film he received acclaim for *Paju* (2009), *Helpless* (2012), *All About My Wife* (2012) and *A Hard Day* (2014), and collaborated several times with director Hong Sang-soo. He played Park Dong-ik in Bong Joon-ho's *Parasite* (2019), for which the cast won a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Lee died in Seoul on 27 December 2023.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Parasite* (2019), Fi1m 91, as Park Dong-ik — [page](https://film.one/film/parasite.md)
- *A Hard Day* (2014), Fi1m 79, as Go Gun-su — [page](https://film.one/film/a-hard-day.md)

## Complete filmography (58)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Land of Happiness* (2024), as Park Tae-joo
- *Project Silence* (2024), as Cha Jeong-won
- *Sleep* (2023), as Hyun-su
- *Killing Romance* (2023), as Jonathan Na
- *Payback: Money and Power* (2023), series, as Eun Yong
- *Hunt* (2022), Thanks
- *Kingmaker* (2022), as Seo Chang-dae
- *Dr. Brain* (2021), series, as Koh Se-won
- *Mr. Zoo: The Missing VIP* (2020), as Black goat (voice)
- *Diary of a Prosecutor* (2019), series, as Lee Sun-Woong
- *Parasite* (2019), as Park Dong-ik — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/film/parasite.md)
- *Jo Pil-ho: The Dawning Rage* (2019), as Jo Pil-ho
- *Take Point* (2018), as Yoon Ji-eui
- *My Mister* (2018), series, as Park Dong-hoon
- *A Special Lady* (2017), as Sang-hoon
- *Man of Will* (2017), as King Gojong
- *The King's Case Note* (2017), as King Yejong of Joseon
- *My Wife's Having an Affair This Week* (2016), series, as Do Hyun-woo
- *The Advocate: A Missing Body* (2015), as Byeong Ho-sung
- *A Hard Day* (2014), as Go Gun-su — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/a-hard-day.md)
- *Miss Korea* (2013), series, as Kim Hyung-joon
- *Our Sunhi* (2013), as Munsu
- *Nobody's Daughter Haewon* (2013), as Seongjun
- *Golden Time* (2012), series, as Lee Min-woo
- *All About My Wife* (2012), as Lee Du-hyeon
- *Helpless* (2012), as Jang Moon-ho
- *Officer of the Year* (2011), as Jeong Eui-chan
- *Petty Romance* (2010), as Jeong-bae
- *Oki's Movie* (2010), as Jingu
- *Our Slightly Risque Relationship* (2010), as Gi Dong Chan
- *Pasta* (2010), series, as Choi Hyun-wook
- *Lost in the Mountains* (2009), as Myeong-woo
- *어떤 방문* (2009), Actor
- *Paju* (2009), as Kim Joong-sik
- *Triple* (2009), series, as Jo Hae-yoon
- *Romantic Island* (2008), as Kang Jae-hyuk
- *Sakwa* (2008), as Min-suk
- *My Sweet City* (2008), series, as Kim Yeong-Su
- *Night and Day* (2008), as Yoon Kyungsoo
- *Our Town* (2007), as Jae-sin
- *Coffee Prince* (2007), series, as Choi Han-sung
- *Behind the White Tower* (2007), series, as Choi Do-young
- *A Cruel Attendance* (2006), as Min-ho
- *도망자 이두용* (2006), series, as 노철기
- *The Customer Is Always Right* (2006), as Lee Jang-gil
- *The Path to Glory* (2005), series, Actor
- *Loveholic* (2005), series, as Kim Tae-hyun
- *R-Point* (2004), as Sergeant Park
- *Love, So Divine* (2004), as Man in Love Dovey Couple
- *My Mother the Mermaid* (2004), as Do-hyeon
- *Thousand Years of Love* (2003), series, as Pil-ga
- *Scent of Love* (2003), as Doctor Shin
- *Show Show Show* (2003), as Sang-cheol
- *Boss X File* (2002), Actor
- *A Perfect Match* (2002), as Doctor
- *Surprise Party* (2002), as Kim Jung-woo
- *Make It Big* (2002), as Woo Jung-chul
- *A Single Spark* (1995), as Newspaper Reader

## Gallery

- ![Lee Sun-kyun](https://film.one/media/person/358/gallery-ee013ea57152.png) Lee Sun-kyun — Kinocine, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Lee_Seon-gun_in_Oct_2018.png/1280px-Lee_Seon-gun_in_Oct_2018.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![From left to right: Choi Woo-shik, Cho Yeo-jeong, Jang Hye-jin, Park So-dam, Lee Sun-kyun and Song Kang-ho. (2019)](https://film.one/media/person/358/gallery-f71a120e1b17.jpg) From left to right: Choi Woo-shik, Cho Yeo-jeong, Jang Hye-jin, Park So-dam, Lee Sun-kyun and Song Kang-ho. (2019) — Kinocine PARKJEAHWAN4wiki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Parasite2019.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![From left to right: Choi Woo-shik, Cho Yeo-jeong, Jang Hye-jin, Park So-dam, Lee Sun-kyun and Song Kang-ho. (2019)](https://film.one/media/person/358/gallery-afc7c95ae7da.jpg) From left to right: Choi Woo-shik, Cho Yeo-jeong, Jang Hye-jin, Park So-dam, Lee Sun-kyun and Song Kang-ho. (2019) — Kinocine PARKJEAHWAN4wiki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Parasite2019_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Lee Sun-kyun in October 2023](https://film.one/media/person/358/gallery-620fcddf1027.jpg) Lee Sun-kyun in October 2023 — 티비텐, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/%EC%9D%B4%EC%84%A0%EA%B7%A0_%28LEE_SUN_KYUN%29_-_2023.10.28.jpg/1280px-%EC%9D%B4%EC%84%A0%EA%B7%A0_%28LEE_SUN_KYUN%29_-_2023.10.28.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Lee Sun-kyun](https://film.one/media/person/358/gallery-4ec1370cd3b8.jpg) Lee Sun-kyun — Image via TMDB
- ![Lee Sun-kyun](https://film.one/media/person/358/gallery-cd82c333b48d.jpg) Lee Sun-kyun — Image via TMDB
- ![Lee Sun-kyun](https://film.one/media/person/358/gallery-f76b38919319.jpg) Lee Sun-kyun — Image via TMDB
- ![Lee Sun-kyun](https://film.one/media/person/358/gallery-7b4d6c221bf6.jpg) Lee Sun-kyun — Image via TMDB
- ![Lee Sun-kyun](https://film.one/media/person/358/gallery-5c8323c2da20.jpg) Lee Sun-kyun — Image via TMDB
- ![Lee Sun-kyun](https://film.one/media/person/358/gallery-4b085d73b952.jpg) Lee Sun-kyun — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### SAG Awards — 1 won

- 2020: Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (won), for *Parasite*

### Other awards — 4 won

- Baeksang Arts Awards 2015: Baeksang Arts Awards (won), for *A Hard Day*
- KBS Drama Awards 2010: KBS Drama Awards (won)
- MBC Drama Awards 2010: MBC Drama Awards (won)
- MBC Drama Awards 2007: MBC Drama Awards (won)

*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-sun-kyun