Master’s Series: Actor Lee Jung-jae
Screen Actor’s Guild Award for Outstanding Actor
The Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series
Independent Spirit Awards for Best Male Performance in a New Scripted Series
Sung Ki-hoon in Netflix's Squid Game
April 1st - April 30th, 2022
“Master’s Series: Actor Lee Jung-jae” with a new lineup of 6 of his representative films in April
Actor Lee Jung-jae may have gained international fame for his role as Sung Ki-hoon, the main character in Netflix's survival drama Squid Game that has become a worldwide phenomenon, but in Korea, he had already taken hold as a top actor with his career spanning nearly 30 years with over 30 films. He has appeared in the major dramas such as Sandglass, Air City, as well as films such as Typhoon, crime thriller New World, and the period drama The Face Reader. The romance film Il Mare among his works, is also notable as one of the first Hollywood remakes of a Korean film ever.
Known for his wide range of performance, he has won numerous awards including the Screen Actor’s Guild Award for Outstanding Actor, the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series for his work in Squid Game in 2022, but has also amassed countless awards in Korea including the Baeksang Arts Award and Blue Dragon Film Awards multiple years -- two of the most prestigious film awards in Korea.
In this special online film festival dedicated to Lee Jung-jae, Korean Cultural Center New York features 6 films ranging from tearful romances to intense thrillers, highlighting his range and prowess as an actor.
This online film screening is presented as a part of the Korean Movie Night at Home’s Master’s Series of 2022, featuring Korean actors who have distinguished themselves as masters of their craft. Following the success of Korean Movie Night New York’s Master’s Series featuring directors Park Chan-wook and Lee Joon-ik, this year highlights the Korean actors and actresses who have captured the hearts of audiences around the world.
[Film List] (Click the posters to watch)
* All films are in Korean with English subtitles
* These ratings are by the Korea Media Rating Board
Deliver Us From Evil
(다만 악에서 구하소서)
Director: Hong Won-chan
Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Hwang Jung-min, Park Jeong-min, Park Soi
Running Time: 109 min
Genre: Horror Action, Adventure Thriller & Mystery
Release Year: 2020
Rating: No one under 18 is allowed to watch this film (청소년 관람불가)
Synopsis
After the shocking kidnapping of a little girl in Thailand, a mercenary with a murky past as a government black ops agent (Hwang Jung-min) is forced to re-emerge from the shadows when he learns the incident is closely connected to him. With the help of expat Yui (Park Jeong-min), he flies to Thailand and begins tracking the girl’s whereabouts, moving ever closer to the notorious child trafficking ring responsible for her abduction. However, when an infamous gangster nicknamed The Butcher (Lee Jung-jae) learns just who has entered the country and is finally within his grasp, he goes on a bloody rampage to thwart the ex-agent’s rescue mission as retaliation for a killing that even he will never be able to forget—or forgive. (Synopsis courtesy of Well Go USA)
Assassination
(암살)
Director: Choi Dong-Hoon
Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Jun Gianna (Jun Ji-hyun), Ha Jung-woo, Oh Dal-soo, Cho Jin-woong, Choi Deok-moon
Running Time: 139 min
Genre: Action, Adventure
Release Year: 2015
Rating: Film intended for audiences 15 and over (15세 관람가)
(Underage audiences accompanied with a parent or guardian are allowed.)
Synopsis
Snipers. Marksmen. Hired Guns. Double Agents. A group of exiled rebels are planning a hit on an Army Commander in Japanese-occupied Korea, but the only killer for the job is in prison. Now, the Resistance must devise a jailbreak, escape a hitman...and discover which of them is a traitor. (Synopsis courtesy of Well Go USA)
Big Match
(빅매치)
Director: Choi Ho
Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Shin Ha-kyun
Running Time: 112 min
Genre: Action
Release Year: 2014
Rating: Film intended for audiences 15 and over (15세 관람가)
(Underage audiences accompanied with a parent or guardian are allowed.)
Synopsis
Choi Ik-ho (Lee Jung-jae) is a baseball player turned WFC fighter after getting banned from the baseball league over an assault charge. He is enormously talented in fighting and soon becomes a superstar in the WFC. However, one day the police come to find him and tell him that Young-ho, his brother and manager who had gone missing, has been arrested as a prime suspect for a murder of a man who had visited Young-ho to suggest a game for Ik-ho. (Synopsis courtesy of 815 Pictures)
New World
(신세계)
Director: Park Hoon-jung
Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Choi Min-sik, Hwang Jung-min
Running Time: 135 min
Genre: Action, Drama
Release Year: 2013
Rating: No one under 18 is allowed to watch this film (청소년 관람불가)
Synopsis
The head of the Goldmoon crime syndicate is dead, leaving his top two lieutenants. Seizing the opportunity, the police launch an operation called “New World,” with the perfect weapon. The boss’ right hand man, Ja-sung (Lee Jung-jae), has been a deep-cover operative for 8 years, closely watched by handler Police chief Kang (Choi Min-sik). With a baby on the way, and living in mortal fear of being exposed as a mole, Ja-sung is torn between his duty and honor as a cop, and the fiercely loyal gang members who will follow him to hell and back.
Using inside information from Ja-sung to damage the relationship between the two feuding contenders, suspicions grow that a traitor lives in their ranks. Ruthless Jung (Hwang Jung-min) escalates the game by hiring hackers to search the police database. As Operation New World closes in, and with the stakes climbing higher and a gangland bloodbath guaranteed among those that remain, Ja-sung makes a final, shocking decision no one could have predicted.(Synopsis courtesy of Well Go USA)
The Thieves
(도둑들)
Director: Choi Dong-hoon
Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Kim Yun-seok, Kim Hye-soo, Jun Gianna (Jun Ji-hyun), Simon Yam
Running Time: 1365 min
Genre: Action, Adventure
Release Year: 2013
Rating: Film intended for audiences 15 and over (15세 관람가)
(Underage audiences accompanied with a parent or guardian are allowed.)
Synopsis
It's the score of their lives - if they can pull it off. Five thieves at the top of their game, and the crew is assembling for their biggest job yet. Popie's the muscle and brains, Pepsee's the safecracker. Yenicall climbs walls, Zampano is the strategy man, and Chewing Gum is the master of disguise. But this new score - it's hot. Maybe too hot. But who can resist the Tear of The Sun: a 318-carat diamond, worth 20 million dollars, and locked away in a casino. The vault is impenetrable, the location covered in cops, and everyone knows there's no honor among thieves -especially not the crew Macau Park, Popie's old partner, has forced their team to work with. As they gear up and stroll into the casino with a plan, skills, and a whole lot of nerve, they quickly learn that avoiding the cops may not be their toughest problem. What's Macau Park's real motive? Who will betray them all? And who will walk away with the diamond? (Synopsis courtesy of Well Go USA)
Il Mare (A Love Story)
(시월애)
Director: Lee Hyun-seung
Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Jun Gianna (Jun Ji-hyun)
Running Time: 94 min
Genre: Romance
Release Year: 2000
Rating: Film intended for audiences 12 and over (12세 관람가)
(Underage audiences accompanied with a parent or guardian are allowed.)
Synopsis
A little while after Sung-hyun moves into a place called Il Mare, he begins to receive letters from the place’s later resident, Eun-joo, and they come to accept that they are living two years apart. While they communicate through letters, Sung-hyun gradually falls in love with Eun-joo. However, Eun-joo learns that Sung-hyun will get into a fatal accident on his way to meet her. (Synopsis courtesy of 815 Pictures)