Lee Hyun-seung (born August 18, 1961) is a South Korean
film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...
,
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
and
producer. He directed ''The Blue in You'' (1992), ''Sunset Into the Neon Lights'' (1995), ''
Il Mare
''Il Mare'' (; lit. "time-transcending love") is a 2000 South Korean film, starring Lee Jung-jae and Jun Ji-hyun, and directed by Lee Hyun-seung. The title, ''Il Mare'', means "The Sea" in Italian, and is the name of the seaside house which is the ...
'' (2000) and ''
Hindsight
Hindsight bias, also known as the knew-it-all-along phenomenon or creeping determinism, is the common tendency for people to perceive past events as having been more predictable than they actually were. People often believe that after an event ha ...
'' (2011).
Career
Lee Hyun-seung studied Visual Communication Design in the Department of Fine Arts at
Hongik University
Hongik University (, colloquially ''Hongdae'') is a private university in Seoul, South Korea. Founded by an activist in 1946, the university is located in Mapo-gu district of central Seoul, South Korea with a second campus(branch campus) in S ...
, then filmmaking at Korean Academy of Film Arts. In 1986, he began working as an
assistant director
The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to tak ...
for
Park Chul-soo
Park Chul-soo (November 20, 1948 – February 19, 2013) was a South Korean film director, producer, screenwriter and occasional actor. He was one of the most active filmmakers in Korean cinema in the 1980s and '90s.
Career
Park Chul-soo wa ...
and
Park Kwang-su
Park Kwang-su (born January 22, 1955) is a South Korean filmmaker. He was born in Sokcho, Gangwon Province and grew up in Busan. Park joined the Yallasung Film Group as a student of Fine Arts at Seoul National University. Upon graduation, he fo ...
. Lee made his
feature
Feature may refer to:
Computing
* Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch
* Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob
* Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing characteristic of a software item ...
directorial debut with ''The Blue in You'' (1992), which drew praise for its lush, sensual images and strong use of color. Starring
Kang Soo-yeon
Kang Soo-yeon (; August 18, 1966 – May 7, 2022) was a South Korean actress. An internationally acclaimed star from the mid-1980s to the end of the 1990s, she is often honorifically nicknamed as Korea's "first world star".
Kang began her ac ...
and
Ahn Sung-ki
Ahn Sung-ki (born January 1, 1952) is a South Korean actor. One of the country's most respected actors, he has appeared in more than 130 films during his career of over 60 years.
Career
A native of Seoul, Ahn was the son of a veteran filmmaker ...
as a businesswoman and photographer who fall in love despite their equally uncompromising personalities, it is considered among the first Korean
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
films of its era.
His second film ''Sunset Into the Neon Lights'' (1995), starring
Moon Sung-keun
Moon Sung-keun (born May 28, 1953) is a South Korean actor and politician. He has won three Blue Dragon Film Awards, two Baeksang Arts Awards, and two Chunsa Film Art Awards for Best Actor.
Career
Moon was born in Tokyo, Japan. His father was Re ...
and
Chae Shi-ra
Chae Shi-ra (born June 25, 1968) is a South Korean actress born in Seoul. Since 1990, Chae has firmly established her acting career with ''Eyes of Dawn'' in the 1990s, she was referred to as a representative actress of the period along with Kim H ...
, was less well received. Lee said the film was slightly
autobiographical
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
about his college experience in the turbulent 1980s,
and it tackled issues of
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...
versus art in the advertising world, and
sexism
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...
that a recently graduated female copywriter encounters in her workplace.
But it was ''
Il Mare
''Il Mare'' (; lit. "time-transcending love") is a 2000 South Korean film, starring Lee Jung-jae and Jun Ji-hyun, and directed by Lee Hyun-seung. The title, ''Il Mare'', means "The Sea" in Italian, and is the name of the seaside house which is the ...
'' (2000) that made Lee into a household name. A melancholic love story between an architect and a voice actress (played by
Lee Jung-jae
Lee Jung-jae (; born December 15, 1972) is a South Korean actor and filmmaker. Considered one of the most successful actors in South Korea, he has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cr ...
and
Jun Ji-hyun
Jun Ji-hyun (born Wang Ji-hyun on 30 October 1981), also known by her English name Gianna Jun, is a South Korean actress and model. She has received multiple awards, including two Grand Bell Awards for Best Actress and a Daesang (Grand Prize) f ...
) who are mystically connected by a mailbox across two different time periods, ''Il Mare'' displayed Lee's knack for crafting subtle nuances by juxtaposing the characters' emotions with beautiful cinematography, framing and mood. Though not a commercial hit during its theatrical run, ''Il Mare'' later attained the status of a minor classic among Korean cinema fans, and became the first domestic film to be
remade in Hollywood (2006's ''
The Lake House'' starring
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...
and
Sandra Bullock
Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Sandra Bullock, various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, Bullock was ...
).
Lee then took a hiatus from directing features for the next decade. He said he had reached a crossroads professionally, and wanted to concentrate on improving the standards of the Korean film industry.
He did this by working as a
producer for
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
s and features by aspiring directors such as ''
The Unforgiven'' (2005) and ''Enlightenment Film'' (2010), as well as for the
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
-themed projects ''
If You Were Me
''If You Were Me'' is a 2003 South Korean omnibus film, comprising six short films directed by six prominent Korean directors, including Park Chan-wook. Commissioned by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea for () each, the shorts deal w ...
'' (2003), ''If You Were Me 4'' (2009), and ''Fly Penguin'' (2009). Lee also served in several cinema-related capacities, such as being the first commissioner of the
Gyeonggi
Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...
Performing Arts & Film Commission, vice-chairman of the Korean Film Council, executive director of the
Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival
The Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival (MSFF) is a Korean short film festival, intended to support upcoming young filmmakers. Since its launch in 2002, it is held every June in Seoul, South Korea.
Official Program Sections
The Mise-en-scène Sh ...
, film professor at
Chung-Ang University
Chung-Ang University (CAU; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is widely regarded as one of the best universities in South Korea. The university operates two campuses: main campus located in Dongjak District, Seoul, and a ...
, and founder of the
Director's Cut Awards
The Director's Cut Awards () is an annual awards ceremony for excellence in film in South Korea. It is presented by the Korea Film Director's Network (KFDN), a group of approximately 300 Korean filmmakers. The KFDN selects winners in the Korean f ...
, among others. During this period, his only directorial efforts were the short films ''Between'' (2002), ''Twenty Millimeter Thick'' (2004, starring
Yum Jung-ah
Yum Jung-ah (born July 28, 1972) is a South Korean actress. Her notable films include ''A Tale of Two Sisters'' (2003), '' The Big Swindle'' (2004), '' The Old Garden'' (2007), and ''Cart'' (2014), as well as the television series ''Royal Famil ...
), and ''Relay'' (2009, starring
Park Bo-young
Park Bo-young (, born February 12, 1990) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in the hit films ''Scandal Makers'' (2008), '' A Werewolf Boy'' (2012) and ''On Your Wedding Day'' (2018), and the television series '' ...
and
Son Eun-seo
Son Eun-seo (hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the ...
).
In 2011, eleven years after ''Il Mare'', he made his long-awaited directorial comeback with ''
Hindsight
Hindsight bias, also known as the knew-it-all-along phenomenon or creeping determinism, is the common tendency for people to perceive past events as having been more predictable than they actually were. People often believe that after an event ha ...
'', which starred
Song Kang-ho
Song Kang-ho (born January 17, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Song made his film debut in ''The Day a Pig Fell into the Well'' (1996), and came to national prominence with a series of critically acclaimed performances, including ''No. 3'' (1997) ...
and
Shin Se-kyung
Shin Se-kyung (; born July 29, 1990) is a South Korean actress, singer and model. She started as a child actress and had her breakthrough in 2009 with the sitcom ''High Kick Through the Roof''. Since then she starred in the films ''Hindsight'' ...
as a retired crime boss attending culinary school and the young female assassin out to kill him. Lee said, "I have done four films that feature male-female duos. But none of them have been about conventional romantic relationships. Men and women form all sorts of connections. It might seem vague but this allows room for imagination and provokes curiosity."
Despite being his most commercial film to date, ''Hindsight'' still displayed Lee's trademark
arthouse
An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...
aesthetic; the film received a lackluster critical reception and box office.
Filmography
Director
*''Gwan-gye'' (
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
, 1987)
*''Woman F'' (short film, 1987)
*''The Blue in You'' (1992)
*''Sunset Into the Neon Lights'' (1995)
*''
Il Mare
''Il Mare'' (; lit. "time-transcending love") is a 2000 South Korean film, starring Lee Jung-jae and Jun Ji-hyun, and directed by Lee Hyun-seung. The title, ''Il Mare'', means "The Sea" in Italian, and is the name of the seaside house which is the ...
'' (2000)
*''Director Driver'' (short film, 2001)
*''Between'' (short film, 2002)
*''Twenty Millimeter Thick'' (short film in ''Twentidentity'', 2004)
*''Relay'' (short film in ''If You Were Me 4'', 2009)
*''
Hindsight
Hindsight bias, also known as the knew-it-all-along phenomenon or creeping determinism, is the common tendency for people to perceive past events as having been more predictable than they actually were. People often believe that after an event ha ...
'' (2011)
Screenwriter
*''Gwan-gye'' (short film, 1987)
*''The Blue in You'' (1992)
*''Sunset Into the Neon Lights'' (1995)
*''Twenty Millimeter Thick'' (short film in ''Twentidentity'', 2004)
*''Relay'' (short film in ''If You Were Me 4'', 2009)
*''
Hindsight
Hindsight bias, also known as the knew-it-all-along phenomenon or creeping determinism, is the common tendency for people to perceive past events as having been more predictable than they actually were. People often believe that after an event ha ...
'' (2011)
Producer
*''Dad Still Has Fucking Coughed'' (short film, 2003) -
executive producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
*''The Little Girl'' (short film, 2003)
*''
If You Were Me
''If You Were Me'' is a 2003 South Korean omnibus film, comprising six short films directed by six prominent Korean directors, including Park Chan-wook. Commissioned by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea for () each, the shorts deal w ...
'' (2003)
*''What Are You Doing, Chulsoo?'' (short film, 2004)
*''Paper Airplane'' (short film, 2004)
*''In the Bed'' (short film, 2004)
*''Smoke-flavored Life'' (short film, 2004)
*''War Movie'' (short film, 2005)
*''Noryangjin Totoro'' (short film, 2005)
*''
The Unforgiven'' (2005)
*''Sunshine in My Pocket'' (short film, 2006)
*''A Butterfly'' (short film, 2006)
*''I'm Not That Kind of Person'' (short film, 2006)
*''Grandma and Wrestling'' (short film, 2007)
*''If You Were Me 4'' (2009) - executive producer
*''Fly Penguin'' (2009)
*''Enlightenment Film'' (2010)
*''
Hindsight
Hindsight bias, also known as the knew-it-all-along phenomenon or creeping determinism, is the common tendency for people to perceive past events as having been more predictable than they actually were. People often believe that after an event ha ...
'' (2011) - executive producer
*''An American Friend'' (2014)
Various
*''Moon'' (short film, 1987) - crew
*''
Chilsu and Mansu
''Chilsu and Mansu'' () is a 1988 South Korean film, and noted director Park Kwang-su's debut film. Though not a box-office hit (only attracting 73,751 people in theatres), the film is remembered as a major step towards freedom of expression in Sou ...
'' (1988) -
assistant director
The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to tak ...
*''
Black Republic
''Black Republic'' (; lit. "They Also Are Like Us") is a 1990 South Korean film directed by Park Kwang-su.
Plot
A social drama about a young student activist who hides from the authorities by working in a small mining town.
Cast
*Moon Sung-keun a ...
'' (1990) - assistant director
*''Berlin Report'' (1991) - assistant director
*''Dead End'' (short film, 1993) -
production designer
In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...
*''Man'' (1995) - production designer
*''The Real Man'' (1996) -
art department
Art department in filmmaking terms means the section of a production's crew concerned with visual artistry. Working under the supervision of the production designer and/or art director, the art department is responsible for arranging the overall ...
crew
*''Dragon Tucca'' (1996) - planner
*''3PM Paradise Bath House'' (1997) - assistant director
*''Shoot the Sun By Lyric'' (1999) - crew
*''
City of the Rising Sun
''City of the Rising Sun'' () is a 1998 South Korean film about two friends, Hong-ki and Do-chul in their mid twenties, struggling on life in the late 1990s Korean scenario. The film stars Jung Woo-sung as Do-chul and Lee Jung-jae as Hong-ki.
Sto ...
'' (1999) -
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
*''Raindrop Prelude'' (short film, 2003) - crew
*''
Out of My Intention
''Out of My Intention'' () is a 2008 South Korean short film written and directed by Yoo Ji-tae. It is the third short film by actor-turned-director Yoo, and the first of his films to receive a public release. Lee Dae-yeon and Jo An star as the fi ...
'' (short film, 2008) - crew
*''My Burning Heart'' (2010) - planner
*''Ari Ari the Korean Cinema'' (
documentary, 2012) - as himself
*''
Top Star
''Top Star'' () is a 2013 South Korean film directed, co-written and produced by veteran actor Park Joong-hoon, in his directorial debut. It stars Uhm Tae-woong as the manager of a top actor who dreams of someday becoming famous like his client, bu ...
'' (2013) -
cameo
Awards
*1993 4th
Chunsa Film Art Awards
The Chunsa Film Art Awards (also known as the Icheon Chunsa Film Festival) have been presented in South Korea since the founding of the prize by the Korea Film Directors' Society in 1990. The awards take their name from the pen name of the early ...
: Best New Director (''The Blue in You'')
*1993 14th
Blue Dragon Film Awards
The Blue Dragon Film Awards () is an annual awards ceremony that is presented by ''Sports Chosun'' (a sister brand of the ''Chosun Ilbo'') for excellence in film in South Korea.
The Blue Dragon Film Awards considers only blockbusters and popula ...
: Best New Director (''The Blue in You'')
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Hyun-seung
1961 births
Living people
South Korean film directors
South Korean screenwriters
Hongik University alumni