Byung-hun Lee

Actor

• Born: July 12, 1970
• Place of Birth: Seoul, South Korea

Contribution: Byung-hun Lee is a prominent television and film actor. He is best known to Korean audiences for his work in the film Bungee Jumping of Their Own (2001) and the television series Iris (2009). In the United States, he is best known for his role as Storm Shadow in two G.I. Joe films and for his role on the Netflix series Squid Game.

Background

Byung-hun Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea, on July 12, 1970. He studied French literature at Hanyang University in Seoul, receiving a bachelor’s degree. He then enrolled at Chung-Ang University, also in Seoul. From that institution, he graduated with a master’s degree in theater and cinematography.

Although he had an interest in the arts, theater, and filmmaking, Lee was initially not interested in pursuing a career as an actor. A friend of his family, however, suggested that he audition for roles at KBS, a South Korean media network. At the age of twenty-one, Lee landed his first role on the short-lived television program Asphalt My Hometown (1991). Although the show did not have a long life, Lee’s experience and acting helped him get other roles. In 2000, he landed one of his most popular roles among Korean audiences: the character of Sergeant Lee Soo-hyeok in J.S.A: Joint Security Area, a war drama that takes place along the demilitarized zone between North Korea and South Korea.

In 2000, Lee landed another role that intensified his popularity. In Bungee Jumping of Their Own, he played a man who shares a relationship with a woman that seemingly defies time and space. His handsome appearance and physique, along with his acting ability, made him a popular actor among audiences, even if the films themselves were not critical successes. He also developed into a bona-fide action star, taking parts in roles like “The Bad” in 2008’s The Good, the Bad, the Weird and as Hong Kong gangster Su Dongpo (opposite US movie star Josh Hartnett) in the 2009 crime thriller I Come with the Rain.

In addition to his acting experience in action films, Lee spent much of his life training in martial arts, including tae kwon do. His physical skills helped elevate Lee when he arrived in Hollywood in 2009.

Career

In 2009, Lee was cast as the character Storm Shadow in the Hollywood blockbuster, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. The film featured a number of major stars, including Sienna Miller, Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Although not well known among American movie audiences, Lee’s work was known to a number of the film’s other stars.

Despite the fact that the toys and cartoon on which the G.I. Joe films were based were highly popular in the United States, Lee has stated that neither had been introduced in South Korea during his youth and that he was therefore unfamiliar with the many different characters and plot points associated with the franchise. Nonetheless, director Stephen Sommers told Lee not to worry about past incarnations of the character but to create his own version of Storm Shadow. Although the film was not greeted warmly by critics, audiences and critics alike reacted well to Lee’s characterization of what Sommers called an “iconic” character in the G.I. Joe franchise.

In 2009, Lee returned to South Korean television in Iris, an action-thriller series about a special antiterrorism agency. That film spawned a 2010 film. In 2013, Paramount Pictures brought back Lee to reprise his role as Storm Shadow (despite the fact that the original film ended with the character’s death) in the sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation. The film starred Lee opposite Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Bruce Willis. Lee felt more comfortable in the sequel, exploring both the complex relationships his character has with other characters and Storm Shadow’s depth as a character. Lee also engaged in a rigorous physical training regimen to ensure that the character would be even more formidable in the sequel.

Lee continued to gain popularity in both the United States and South Korea. After completing Retaliation, Lee joined Willis again in the action-comedy Red 2 (2013), a sequel to 2010’s Red. Lee has said that his character—Han Cho Bai—was originally supposed to be Chinese, but that Lee had the writers change the character to reflect his Korean nationality. Already a fan of Willis’s films, Lee enjoyed working with him, as the two shared a number of exciting sequences in Red 2.

Lee continued to work on action films in both South Korea and the United States during the 2010s. He is comfortable working in a number of genres as long as he is able to put in his best possible performance. In 2012, he starred in the South Korean period drama Gwanghae: Wangyidoen namja, known in English as Masquerade. In the film, he played the protagonist, a commoner who is hired to secretly take the place of a poisoned king in order to save the country. In the 2015 crime drama Nae-bu-ja-deul (Inside Men) he played the lead role of An Sang-gu, a vengeful former political henchman. Lee won several awards for his performance, including the 2016 Asian Film Award for Best Actor. Also in 2015, he appeared as a T-1000 cybernetic cop in Terminator: Genisys. The following year he appeared in the US film The Magnificent Seven, a remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 masterpiece, The Seven Samurai. In 2017, he had a lead role in Namhansanseong (The Fortress) another South Korean period film, this time set in 1636 during what was perhaps the most infamous siege in Korean history. In The Fortress, Lee is a minister to the notorious Joseon ruler King Injo, who hides in the mountains to avoid capitulating to the Qing dynasty forces.

In 2018, Lee starred in the TV series Mr. Sunshine, an historical romance set in 1871 Korea. A year later, he starred in the disaster film Ashfall. In 2021, Lee starred as the Front Man on the globally popular TV series Squid Game. The series follows a group of people who play a series of children’s games, with the winner taking home a fortune. However, the losers are killed. The Font Man is a masked overseer who runs the games. Lee signed on to play the Front Man in a second season of Squid Game, which was released in Korea in September 2024 and was scheduled for a Netflix release in December 2024.

Impact

In his relatively short career, Lee has gained fame both as an action star and as a character actor. He first rose to popularity in South Korea and Japan in light of his romantic films. When he began to branch into action and comedy films, his multidimensional abilities came to light. His first character in a Hollywood blockbuster was been seen by critics as one of the most interesting aspects of the G.I. Joe film franchise, bolstering his star power. His villanous role on Squid Game, also boosted his acting profile.

Personal Life

Lee lives in Seoul with his wife, Lee Min-jung, whom he married in 2013. The couple have one child.

Bibliography

"Lee Byung-hun." IMDb, 2024, www.imdb.com/name/nm0496932/. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.

Lee, Hyo-Won. “Lee Byung-Hun Returns with Film G.I. Joe.” Korea Times, 26 July 2009, www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2024/09/398‗49280.html. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.

Ryan, Mike. “Lee Byung-Hun, Storm Shadow in ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ Star, on Playing Storm Shadow.” Huffington Post, 28 Mar. 2013. www.huffpost.com/entry/lee-byung-hun-storm-shadow-gi-joe‗n‗2971855. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.

“Top South Korean Movie Star Lee Byung-Hun Marries.” Fox News. 6 Dec. 2015, www.foxnews.com/world/top-south-korean-movie-star-lee-byung-hun-marries. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.