The Korean Film Council launched a campaign ‘KOREAN ACTORS 200: The Actor is Present!’ to introduce the emblematic 200 actors that best represent the present and future of Korean cinema to the people in the film industry all over the world. Visit the website (https://theactorispresent.kr) to meet 200 actors and get information about a photo exhibition which will be at New York this September.

Among the actors, Los Angeles Times Asia Journal had an interview with Jung-eun Lee who recently came under the international spotlight. In this interview, which you can watch a lightly edited video clip on The Asia Journal Youtube Channel, she spoke about her career and the global stance of South Korean movies based on experience in the Oscar

On career: how she built her own character and identity

Jung-eun Lee’s reputation as one of the most compelling presences in Korean cinema has risen exponentially. She is best known internationally for her role as the housekeeper, Moon-gwang, in the Oscar-awarded film, <Parasite>. Lee, whose commanding, emotional performances made her one of Korea’s most in-demand actors, took a big leap westward by starring in the <Parasite>.

Since her debut in a play of <A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1991)>, she had been very active in play and musical scenes throughout the rest of 1990s and the following decade. After a small role in Bong Joon-ho’s <Mother (2009)>, Lee played more than 60 roles in Korean dramas and films. Watching her career from afar, it seems as if she was on a different track than other established actors.

She is such a versatile actor who has played a wide variety of parts. She played the foil to the plot and main characters by acting extraordinary roles – from ‘Grandmother who takes care of her disabled daughter’ in musical <Laundry (2008)>, ‘Go Ae-shin’s loyal maid’ in the TV drama <Mr. Sunshine> and ‘Jung-sook Jo who showed multifaceted aspects of mother’s love’ in the TV Drama <When the Camellia Blooms (2019)>, to ‘Moon-gwang, a mysterious housekeeper’ in <Parasite (2019). She starred in three movies directed by Joon-ho Bong including a small role in <Mother(2009)> and her voice acting as ‘Okja’ in <Okja (2017)>.

When asked if the uncommonness of the role captivates her to decide to take the role, she replied, surprisingly, that she considers the plot rather than a particular role.

When choosing a work, she is interested in what the author wants to talk about. “What the author wants to talk about through the role affects my decision,” she explained. There are far more unusual families than those we think are normal, so she chose a plot that brings up a conversation topic of thought through the story, which naturally led to acting many different round characters.

In addition to her resourceful acting, it is notable that she brings her big personality and charm to every role she takes. “If there is a featured character, there are several actors who can do it. But I’m the only actor who has my own style and identity,” she explained. Lee devotes herself to getting into the skin of her role, keeping her own personality. She also talks about really getting inside of the character’s head and finding a touchpoint between herself and the role.

In that sense, it is expected that the upward trend of recognizing women in South Korean media would let her show off her unlimited spectrum of acting. Female protagonists are more featured in Korean dramas or movies these days (of course, there are still gaps to be narrowed) and even female supporting roles are getting round too. Lee said she was glad that boundaries of female supporting roles became blurred these days. This unstoppable trend will provide her wider selection and help her entrenched herself as a multifaceted actor.

“I’m still willing to try out as many characters as possible,” Lee replied when asked if there’s any dream character she wants. A role that fleshes out a substantial backdrop of the story is the one she wants. “It would be preferable if it’s a series covering diverse characters with overlapped subplots,” she added. “I would love to act as a detective because I love mysterious stories. But I have not yet had the opportunity to work in one. One day, I would love to,” Lee also added, laughing.

“I feel much more energy when I’m in a story as an actor.” Lee even did not imagine that she could have been in the shooting scene for quite a long time. She felt rewarding that she could give sympathy and thoughts to the audience with her work. Above all, an unquenchable thirst was a powerful spur to sticking to her challenge for better acting . “When I could look close to a peak, it was when I thought I was the least. I couldn’t stop because I felt the thirst and lack,” said Lee.

On global stance of South Korean movies: how Korean films and actors are thought of globally

Lee obtained the long-coveted honor of participating in Academy Membership. She was given to experience the global film market, which gave her some influential impressions. She felt that the global film-makers and actors tend to be casual and open to their own expression, saying that “It was really full of wonted frankness of expressions.” She also said that it was such a great opportunity to appreciate films made in other countries, even in conflict areas which would be struggling and complicated. Narratives and discourses in the movies were unconventional. This tumultuous experience instilled confidence into her that Asian film market is inevitable to receive the limelight. And she could see that there were so many promising and talented but hidden Asian actors. As the global audience will no longer hesitate to watch films without subtitles than before, much more Asian films will be enjoyed globally.

“Korean actors are, particularly, good at developing delicate and subtle acting,” explained Lee. “They skillfully evokes the here and now reality of their characters and are astute in dealing with the emotions of the characters. It feels as if the character is alive right next to the audience.” Lee showed her thoughts that those actors are competitive enough in a global market.

According to her explanation, Korean actors don’t hesitate to take the chance. They used to stick to staring at traditional TV dramas on the public channels, however, they try an array of approaches to get connected with their fans and viewers. It must bring about positive changes. “In that sense, I think we need our own platform which can produce and distribute Korean dramas or films targeted to the global population,” added Lee.

Lee also repeated encouragement for her colleagues not to stop challenging. She believes that if Korean actors feel free to express their emotions and act themselves, they can all gain strength from each other. She said she is always open to casting in global movies or series. She thought trailblazing actors with Asian backgrounds, such as Steven Yeon and Sandra Oh, allowed upcoming asian actors to make a breakthrough into the western media.

Replying to a request to give advice to actors aspiring to be like her, she dropped pearls of wisdom on them. “There is no wasted time. For actors, living every single day would become the basis for expressing the character of the entire period,” said Lee. She concluded her interview that if you want to be an artist who expresses people’s lives, you should live as if each day is a special moment.

Kayla Hong

Asia Journal

The common factor between the three films is director Hong Sang-soo, with whom she has openly admitted to having a romantic relationship.

Strong creative bonds commonly exist between directors and actors, with the latter often serving as screen embodiments of personas envisioned by the former. The Korea Herald has compiled a list of director-actor duos that have gained both local and international fame.

Bong Joon-ho, Tilda Swinton and Song Kang-ho

A still of the film “Snowpiercer,” depicting Tilda Swinton (CJ Entertainment)

The famed director and Scottish actress have on various occasions made public their mutual professional respect and fondness for each other.

Swinton’s appearance in Bong’s dystopian drama “Snowpiercer” (2013) was the result of the actress’ initiative, she said. When the two met at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, Swinton had eagerly expressed her wish to star in a Bong production.

“We started chatting like children the moment we met,” Swinton said in a 2013 interview. “I told him, let’s make a fun movie and he said he was confident.”

The actress had wrapped up two lengthy projects at the time — “Julia” (2008) and “We Need to Talk About Kevin” (2011). But her meeting with Bong had overturned her decision to take a long break, she said.

“I was exhausted like a farmer after a hard harvest. But I couldn’t give up on working with Bong. I had been a longtime fan.

“I had always wondered how his films could be so unique when watching them. Working with him, I felt he was someone who structured a film perfectly but who also had an intense energy.”

Known to tackle eccentric parts, Swinton played the role of Mason, the maniacal rule-keeper of the train that is doomed to a never-ending journey in order to generate heat in the frozen world of “Snowpiercer.”

Swinton stars in the Bong’s upcoming film “Okja,” which was on Thursday named for this year’s Cannes’ competition category.

In a trailer released by Netflix, Swinton is seen in a platinum blonde bob narrating, “I took science and nature and I synthesized.” Viewers assume Swinton plays a scientist or executive in the company that gives birth to Okja, a gruesome, gentle monster.

A still of the film “The Host,” depicting Song Kang-ho (Showbox)

In Korea, meanwhile, Bong’s persona has long been represented by actor Song Kang-ho, known for his unfettered portrayals of the comic and the everyman — characters who possess no extraordinary traits, yet preserve an essence of humanity within an inexplicably savage world.

Song starred as an unassuming small town detective looking into the country’s first serial killing in Bong’s breakout mystery “Memories of Murder” (2003).

In the 2006 sci-fi thriller “The Host,” in which a strange creature overtakes Seoul’s Han River, Song plays the lethargic father Kang-du who finds himself galvanized to action to protect his daughter in the face of disaster.

Song plays Namgoong Min-su in “Snowpiercer,” an engineer-turned-drug addict dredging in the lowest-class compartment of the hierarchical train, choosing to escape from reality. He eventually rises as a guide to passengers in their rebellion, a figure who does not yield to authority but rejects the system altogether.

Hong Sang-soo, Jung Jae-young and Isabelle Huppert

Jung Jae-young (right) and Kim Min-hee (left) in “Right Now, Wrong Then” (NEW)

Before director Hong’s much-publicized affair with the actress Kim, he had long been known for inserting his alter ego into his nonchalantly realistic films, represented by actors such as Kim Tae-woo, Yoo Joon-sang and Kim Sang-kyung.

But the best embodiment of Hong’s trademark character, the hypocritical artist who is often chauvinistic, vain but hopelessly self-unaware is perhaps actor Jung Jae-young, who starred in “Our Sunhi” (2013), “Right Now, Wrong Then” (2015), “On the Beach at Night Alone” (2017) and “Clair’s Camera” (2017).

“I don’t think I acted out a character. I tried my best not to act,” Jung said in a 2015 interview for “Right Now, Wrong Then,” in which he portrays a married film director clumsily making advances at a timid painter, played by Kim Min-hee.

A still of the film “In Another Country,” depicting Isabelle Huppert (Jeonwonsa Films)

French actress Isabelle Huppert has also worked with director Hong multiple times, first in the 2012 comedy-drama “In Another Country,” and most recently in “Clair’s Camera.”

In the 2012 film, Huppert plays three different versions of the “charming French visitor” — a famous filmmaker, the wife of a rich French executive, and a divorced housewife — as the film traces how her hosts’ behavior and conversations shift subtly according to her different statuses.

“Through these three little stories we see a woman’s whole emotional life — desire, expectation, loneliness, love, disappointment,” Huppert said to The Guardian in a 2012 interview at Cannes. “(Hong) writes his dialogue every night and gives you the script every morning, and you shoot it. The film looks spontaneous but it’s very precise actually.”

Kim Jee-woon & Lee Byung-hun

A still of the film “A Bittersweet Life,” depicting Lee Byung-hun (CJ Entertainment)

Director Kim Jee-woon rose to acclaim through his highly stylized, elegant depictions of bleak lives. Actor Lee Byung-hun is a central figure in his filmography, the core of the director’s calculated cinematography.

The 2005 mobster noir “A Bittersweet Life” still remains one of Kim and Lee’s representative works to this day. Lee plays Seon-woo, a loyal and perfectionist gangster whose life spirals out of control when he is ordered to carry out the dangerous task of spying on his boss’ girlfriend, and acts on an emotional impulse.

In Kim’s Korean-style Western adventure “The Good, the Bad, the Weird” (2008), an homage to Sergio Leone’s “The Good, the Bad, the Ugly” (1966) and set against the backdrop of 1930s Manchuria, Lee plays “the bad” gang leader Park Chang-yi. The character is ruthless in his single-minded pursuit of treasure depicted on a mysterious map, the dark counterpart of “the weird” train robber played by Song Kang-ho and “the good” bounty hunter played by Jung Woo-sung.

The role brought Lee critical and popular acclaim, imprinting him in viewers’ minds as a villain of all-consuming force. Lee himself called Kim an “intense director” in a 2009 interview. “You can tell from his films. How can you create such scenes … if you are not intense?”

E J Yong & Youn Yuh-jung

A still of the film “Actresses,” depicting Youn Yuh-jung (Showbox)

Director E J Yong’s muse and persona seem to be the veteran actress Youn Yuh-jung, who starred in “Actresses” (2009), an experimental documentary-style film tracing behind-the-scenes gossip among female performers.

E is known for spotlighting the often irrational emotional battles between his sensitive characters. Youn plays a version of herself, a 60-something actress who feels awkward at a fashion shoot.

She teams up with E again in “The Bacchus Lady” (2016) in which Youn portrays an aged sex worker who ends up offering much more than sexual services to her elderly clientele. Youn won best actress for her performance in the film at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival.

“It’s not a commercial film. But I was happy I could take on a role that fits my age,” Youn said in an interview last year. While the filming process was “unbelievably hard,” Youn said she took on the project due to her faith in E. “I know him well … and I trusted he would deal with the subject matter in a way that is not sensational or extreme.”

Best known to international audiences for his striking performance as a vengeful prisoner in the 2003 Park Chan-wook thriller “Oldboy,” Choi plays Byun Jong-goo, the ambitious mayor of Seoul running for his third term, in the upcoming film. He also starred alongside Hollywood starlet Scarlett Johansson in the French film “Lucy”.

The trailer features the unknowable and multifarious politician Byun, who in one moment addresses citizens in a heartfelt speech, then steps off the stage saying it is nothing but an orchestrated show.

“Making everybody believe, that’s what an election is,” Byun says in the trailer. “It’s like retrieving a pearl from a pool of feces.”

The film marks Choi’s first portrayal of a politician in his 28-year career. The film will also feature Kwak Do-won of last year’s “The Wailing (Goksung)” as Byun’s jaded aide and head of campaign.

Actor Lee Min-ho receives the grand prize at the 2017 National Brand Awards held in Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap)

“I traveled around the globe so many times over the past few years. I was so touched to see people (overseas) trying to write or speak Korean to me,” he said at the acceptance speech. “I will further try to contribute to Korea’s brand image.”

The National Brand Awards recognize individuals and corporations for their contributions to enhancing the country’s image. In 2015, actor Kim Soo-hyun and figure skating champion Kim Yuna won the grand prizes.

Lee won the prize in the culture sector for boosting Korea and the Korean Wave to the world with his work. He recently starred in SBS drama “The Legend of the Blue Sea” and is a goodwill ambassador for the “2016-18 Visit Korea Year” promotion.

Golfer Park In-bee, the women’s golf gold medalist at last summer’s Rio Olympics, won the grand prize in the sports sector, with pianist Paik Kun-woo winning the grand prize in the arts sector.