Parasite actor Lee Sun-kyun to be honoured posthumously
SEOUL – The upcoming Busan International Film Festival (Biff), Asia’s largest, will posthumously honour the late South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun with the Korea Cinema Award, organisers said on Aug 23.
Lee, best known globally for his starring role in director Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 Oscar-winning film Parasite, was found dead in an apparent suicide in December 2023 after a two-month police investigation over suspected drug use, sparking industry outcry and widespread public concern.
The award is “presented to film-makers who have elevated the status of Korean cinema and contributed to its global growth”, Biff organisers said in a statement.
In 2024, it “will be given to the late actor Lee Sun-kyun, who won the hearts of both domestic and international film fans through his diverse works”, said the organisers, adding that the award ceremony will take place during the opening of Biff on Oct 2.
The festival will be held in South Korea’s port city of Busan from Oct 2 to 11.
This 2024 edition will also feature a special screening of the actor’s six film and television works, including films like Parasite, Paju (2009) and Our Sunhi (2013), and the fifth episode of television series My Mister (2018).
The programme also includes Lee’s last work, released posthumously, Land Of Happiness (2024), in which the late actor played a military soldier during South Korea’s authoritarian period in the 1970s.
A graduate of South Korea’s prestigious Korea National University of Arts, Lee had won acclaim for his performances in a variety of roles since his debut in the early 2000s, including a charismatic chef in Pasta (2010) and a genius neuroscientist who is incapable of empathy in Apple TV+’s Dr Brain (2021).
Lee received widespread critical acclaim for his performance in the 2018 K-drama My Mister, for his portrayal of a diligent architectural engineer, while globally, he is best known for his role as the wealthy and shallow patriarch in Bong’s Parasite.
“We aim to reflect on the acting career and achievements of the late actor Lee, ... who has represented South Korea through his ... profound performances, while also creating a meaningful memorial space,” Biff said.
Following his death, a police officer has come under investigation for allegedly leaking confidential details of Lee’s case, which critics claim led to intense mainstream media coverage and a surge of damaging and unverified videos on social media platforms like YouTube.
Previous winners of the Korea Cinema Award include late South Korean acclaimed actress Yoon Jeong-hee, French film critic Charles Tesson and Goran Topalovic, co-founder of the New York Asian Film Festival. – AFP
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