Lee Sun-kyun is one of South Korea's most prolific actors. His long-standing career in the country's film and television dates as far back as 2000 in his film debut "Lovers."
But the actor is most well-known internationally for his role in Bong Joon-ho's scathing satire on the widening class divide in South Korea. "Parasite" swept the 2020 Oscars with four wins including best picture. In the wake of the actor's unexpected death new attention has been drawn to his decades-long career as a homegrown talent who transitioned into an international star. Lee was in the midst of filming a second season of his Apple TV+ show "Dr. Brain" before the fallout from an investigation into his personal life halted his career.
While most Asian fans are already familiar with his talent, viewers in the West may want to see what else the actor has done in addition "Parasite." In memory of Lee's dedication to the craft, here is where you can stream some of Lee Sun-kyun's most acclaimed movies and TV shows:
This girl meets boy formula comes with a twist. In the 2007 classic K-drama, Gong Yoo ("Train to Busan," "Squid Game") plays Choi Han-gyeol, the wealthy, irresponsible grandson of a family that owns a successful coffee business. To escape blind dates arranged by his rich family, Han-gyeol hires the struggling Go Eun-chan (Yoon Eun-hye) to pose as his gay lover to ruin his matchmaking chances. However, he's unaware that Eun-chan is actually . . . a young woman who's often mistaken for a guy.
When Han-gyeol is forced to take over a rundown old coffee shop, which he later renames Coffee Prince, to prove himself to his grandmother, he once again hires his buddy Eun-chan as an employee. Of course, Eun-chan is strapped for cash, and therefore continues to hide her gender to work at Coffee Prince. But feelings slowly develop between the two, causing Han-gyeol to question his sexuality.
Lee plays Han-gyeol's cousin, record producer Han-sung, who's in a complicated romantic relationship of his own. He's never fooled by Eun-chan's tomboy appearance though, and they become friends who share in keeping her secret. Han-sung also composes a song for his own love interest, with Lee providing rich vocals on "Bada Yeohaeng (Ocean Voyage)," a song he's still known for today.
"Coffee Prince" became an instant classic, catapulted the careers of its charismatic ensemble cast and inspired at least three remakes throughout Asia.
In this 2019 procedural about the daily lives of overworked prosecutors in Seoul, Lee plays Lee Sun-wong, a wealthy prosecutor who seemingly has no ambition in life but is internally different from how he presents himself to everyone. Meanwhile, Cha Myung-joo (Jung Ryeo-won) is a fellow elite prosecutor, who was a rising star in the legal world before she was sent to a branch office. The pair often disagree and bicker but slowly but surely become friends and colleagues. Along with a ragtag team, they receive cases from the police and are the people's hope for justice.
The comedy-drama allows Lee to show off his leading man presence while also letting him lean into his funny side. Despite the humorous tone, the series also provides sharp commentary about the ills in South Korean society.
This 2021 Apple TV+ series is the streaming platform's first original South Korean drama and one of Lee's most recent works. "Dr. Brain," based on the webtoon of the same name, focuses on a neuroscientist Sewon Koh (Lee), who is obsessed with figuring out technologies to access the consciousness and memories in the brain. But his life derails when his family is involved in a mysterious accident. He uses his skills to access memories from his dead wife's brain to piece together the events of what happened.
The show was successful with critics, some calling it an "intriguing blend of imaginative science fiction and mystery." But production on the second season was suspended as Lee was dealing with the police investigation dealing with alleged illegal drug use.
"Kingmaker" is a 2022 political drama that peeks into the working relationship between Kim Woon-beom (Sol Kyung-gu) and ambitious political strategist Seo Chang-dae (Lee Sun-kyun), who joins Kim's campaign for president and presents an aggressive, somewhat shady strategy to win. The two disagree on where the line should be crossed when it comes to political tactics, and when the opposition secretly reaches out to Seo, he must decide where his loyalties lie. This film is seen as a thinly veiled reference to the campaign of the real-life Kim Dae-jung, who went on to become the eighth president of South Korea.
The film won numerous South Korean film awards for its direction. Lee's performance as Seo Chang-dae was nominated for the 58th Baeksang Arts Awards, with film critic Panos Kotzathanasis praising the two lead performances, calling them "impressive antithetical performances, which manage to highlight both their acting prowess and the charisma of the people they depict."
"My Mister" is the story of an impoverished young woman Lee Ji-an (IU) who is tasked with paying off her mother's debts and caring for her deaf grandma. But she develops an unlikely relationship with her work colleague Park Dong-hoon (Lee), an unhappy, married middle-aged engineer, who's consistently manipulated by his coworkers and brothers, both of whom are unemployed. Dong-hoon and Ji-an face the weight of their struggling life but come together and heal one another's past scars, despite a secret that Ji-an harbors at their workplace.
Dong-hoon is one of Lee's most universally acclaimed performances, and the series as a whole has won multiple awards for writing, directing and acting. It's received praise for its more realistic depiction of job insecurity, divorce, questionable ethics and workplace inequities. A Chinese remake was announced as in development.
In the wake of Lee's passing, some fans have found comfort in reposting edits and scenes of his character Dong-hoon.
Lee's most recognizable work to Western audiences is 2020 Oscar winner "Parasite." Director and writer Bong Joon-ho infuses dark comedy into the story of two families: one rich and one poor. The Kim family schemes to be employed by the wealthy Park family, becoming tutors, drivers and housekeepers for them, slowly snaking their way into their household as qualified, trustworthy people.
When the Parks go on vacation, the Kims revel in their lavish mansion. They uncover something hidden deep in the house that changes the dynamics between the two families. The audience learns who the real parasite is — as the Kim family leeches off the Parks, and the Parks leech off the labor of the Kims. Lee plays rich patriarch Park Dong-ik at the center of the gripping, suspenseful and satirical tale of South Korea's class divide.
In the wake of "Parasite's" success, Bong had planned for a spinoff limited series that would explore stories "that happen between sequences in the film."
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