Dragon Lee (sometimes credited as "Bruce Lei"; born 1940) is an actor and practitioner of

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

and

Hapkido Hapkido ( , , also spelled ''hap ki do'' or ''hapki-do''; from Korean 합기도 ''hapgido'' ) is a hybrid Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other s ...

. He made a name for himself as a martial arts film star in the 1970s and 80s. His birth name is Moon Kyung-seok, but he has also been called Keo Ryong (literally "giant dragon") in South Korea. According to his IMDB biography, Dragon Lee was born in what is now

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

."IMDB - Ryong Keo Biography." https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0497195/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm Lee eventually studied

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

with friend and actor

Kim Tai-chung Kim Tai-chung (June 5, 1957 – August 27, 2011), also known as Kim Tai-jong or Tong Lung (唐龍; Chinese stage name), was a Korean born taekwondo practitioner martial artist, actor and businessman. Kim was one of two stand-ins for Bruce Lee us ...

, who served as Bruce Lee's double in the final scenes of "Game of Death." It was at this stage of his life that Lee began studying also the Korean

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

hapkido Hapkido ( , , also spelled ''hap ki do'' or ''hapki-do''; from Korean 합기도 ''hapgido'' ) is a hybrid Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other s ...

under

Hwang In-Shik Hwang In-shik (born September 13, 1940) is a Korean actor and hapkido teacher. He is known for his work in various Hong Kong martial arts films such as Bruce Lee's ''Way of the Dragon'', Jackie Chan's ''The Young Master'' and Angela Mao's ''Ha ...

, who appeared with Bruce Lee in

Way of the Dragon ''The Way of the Dragon'' (, originally released in the United States as ''Return of the Dragon'') is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film written, co-produced and directed by Bruce Lee, who also stars in the lead role. This is Lee ...

. When Dragon Lee was at a theater, a man told him that he resembled Bruce Lee. That was a big compliment because Bruce Lee was popular at the time, and the man knew film directors in Hong Kong and helped Dragon Lee advance his career. In his early 20s, Dragon Lee moved to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

and starred in numerous martial arts films, often credited as ''Bruce Lei'' because he bore a striking resemblance to Bruce Lee. Among Dragon Lee's many film credits is the semi-documentary '' The Real Bruce Lee'' (1977). Dragon Lee moved back to

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

, and is a television actor and producer. He also heads a South Korean actors' association.

Partial filmography

* ''I'm Not Bruce'' (2015) * ''King's Women'' (2000) * ''Emperor of the Underworld'' (1994) * ''The Nationwide Constituency'' (1991) * ''The Nationwide Constituency 2'' (1994) * ''Crime Stopper'' (1990) * '' Ninja Champion'' (1986) * ''Martial Monks of Shaolin Temple'' (1983) * ''Dragon Claws'' (1982) * '' Secret Ninja, Roaring Tiger'' (1982) * '' The Dragon's Snake Fist'' (1981) * ''Dragon Lee Fights Back'' (1981) * ''

Strike of Thunderkick Tiger ''Strike of Thunderkick Tiger'' is 1982 Action drama film starring Casanova Wong and Charles Han. The film was filmed around 1978 but it had cancellation however it was officially released in 1982. It is also known as ''My Name Is Twin Bridges' ...

'' (1981) * '' Enter the Invincible Hero'' (1981) * ''The Dragon's Showdown'' (1980) * ''Champ Against Champ'' (1980) * ''Mission For the Dragon'' (1980) * ''

The Clones of Bruce Lee ''The Clones of Bruce Lee'' (Cantonese: 神威三猛龍; Korean: 蛇形三傑 ''Death Penalty on Three Robots''; Taiwanese: 複製人李小龍：三龍怒火) is a 1980 Bruceploitation martial arts film capitalizing on the death of actor and ma ...

'' (1981) * ''

Golden Dragon, Silver Snake ''Golden Dragon, Silver Snake'' is a 1980 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Godfrey Ho, starring martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military ...

'' (1980) * ''Fist of Fury '81'' (1979) * '' Kung Fu Fever'' (1979) * ''

The Dragon, the Hero ''The Dragon, The Hero'' is a Hong Kong martial art movie directed by Godfrey Ho and starring Philip Ko, Dragon Lee (actor), Dragon Lee, Tino Wong Cheung and Liu Chung-Liang. The movie is considered as one of the best martial arts movie that Go ...

'' (1979) * ''Fist of Dragon'' (1978) * ''Enter the Deadly Dragon'' (1978) * '' Enter Three Dragons'' (1978) * '' Dragon Lee vs. The Five Brothers'' (1978) * ''The 18 Amazones'' (1977) * '' The Real Bruce Lee'' (1977) * ''The Magnificent Duo'' (1976) * ''Wild Dragon Lady'' (1976) * ''Superfist'' (1975)

As producer

*''Two Man'' (1995)

Documentary

*''Amazing Masters'' (2000)

References

External links

Clones of Bruce Lee
- The Ultimate Guide To Bruce Lee Exploitation Cinema
Dragon Lee at Hong Kong Cinemagic
* . 1958 births Hong Kong male actors Living people Koryo-saram Bruce Lee imitators People from South Chungcheong Province Hong Kong people of Korean descent South Korean Buddhists South Korean hapkido practitioners South Korean male taekwondo practitioners {{Hapkido-bio-stub