Early career After graduating in 1992, Lee began her career as a theater play assistant director, making her debut with the production of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream
in 1991. She remained active on stage throughout the 1990s and 2000s. In 2000, she made her film debut with a minor role in the film A Masterpiece In My Life
, followed by another small part in the 2001 film Wanee & Junah''. However, these early cinematic experiences left her feeling traumatized by camera fright, and she decided to return to the stage. At the end of 1997, Lee appeared in ''
with Sul Kyung-gu. Subway Line 1'' was her first musical. Lee Jung-eun appeared as the generous Gombo Halmae.
Breakthrough as a musical actor, resume film career, debut in television Lee's breakthrough as an actress came in the 2008 musical
Laundry, which is considered one of the representative creative musicals in South Korea. In the production, Lee portrayed multiple roles, including a master, a grandmother, and an employee, performing until 2009. Her performance in the musical earned her the 1st Young Drama Award, with a prize of 3 million won. This award was established by the cultural arts support forum "Alpha", which is composed of around 60 domestic CEOs, including Samsung Electronics CEO Kwun Oh-hyun. The award ceremony was held on September 19, 2008, at Shinhan Art Hall in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul. In 2013, Lee appeared on television for the first time in ''
The Queen's Classroom and had minor roles in Blue Tower
, Royal Villa
, and Shining Romance (2013–2014). Lee also appears in the film The Attorney'', which attracted 10 million viewers. She appeared as the old house owner of the main character Song Woo-seok (played by
Song Kang-ho) and showed off her witty acting. When Song Kang-ho asked her to sell the house because he would pay more than the market price, she said, "Oh my, would you like some 'jussi'?" in a dialect and acted cutely. The following year, she was featured in television dramas
Cunning Single Lady,
Beauty Parlor Boss,
High School King of Savvy,
My Lovely Girl, and
Only Love. In that same year, she won Best Acting at the Seoul Theatre Festival for her role in the play
Feast with Hanyang Repertory Theater. This marked her second collaboration with Bong Joon-ho.
Okja featured an international cast, including
Tilda Swinton and
Paul Dano. The film had its world premiere at the
2017 Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2017, where it received a four-minute standing ovation. It was later released on Netflix on June 28, 2017, and in July 2022, it was released on Blu-ray and DVD as part of
The Criterion Collection. In the same year, Lee played the role of Geum-bok, the loving and doting mother of Baek Seol-hee (played by
Song Ha-yoon), in the KBS2 drama
Fight for My Way, written by
Lim Sang-choon. Her performance as the mother who prepared delicious side dishes for her daughter's prospective in-laws resonated with many viewers, particularly with the line, "Please just be pretty to our Seolhee."
2019–2021: Parasite In 2019, Lee starred in several notable projects. In the JTBC drama
The Light in Your Eyes, she took on the dual roles of the mother of the main character, Hye-ja (played by
Han Ji-min), and the daughter-in-law of Hye-ja (played by
Kim Hye-ja). Her performance earned her the Best Supporting Actress Award at the
55th Baeksang Arts Awards. In the
OCN series
Strangers from Hell, Lee played the role of Eom Bok-soon, the owner of Eden Dormitory. She appears friendly, but she harbors a dark secret. Lee also reunited with director
Bong Joon-ho for the black comedy thriller film
Parasite, where she portrayed Gook Moon-gwang, the housekeeper of the Park family. Her performance garnered several awards in the supporting actress category, including the Busan Film Critics Association Awards,
Buil Film Awards,
Chunsa Film Awards, and
Blue Dragon Film Awards. She and her co-stars won Best Ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Awards for a non-English language film. Towards the end of 2019, Lee reunited with writer
Lim Sang-choon again in the KBS2 drama
KBS2 drama
When the Camellia Blooms. In this drama, she portrayed the mother of the lead character, Dong-baek, earning praise for her nuanced performance. She won the Excellence Award for Actress in a Mid-length Drama at the
2019 KBS Drama Awards. In 2020, Lee starred as Kang Cho-yeon in the KBS2 family weekend drama series
Once Again, which aired from March 28 to September 13, 2020. She played Young-dal's long-lost younger sister, Song Young-sook, the owner of Sister's Kimbap store. Her performance in the series earned her the KBS Drama Award for Best Supporting Actress in the mid-length drama category. In the same year, Lee starred in Park Ji-wan's directorial debut film
The Day I Died: Unclosed Case as Suncheondaek, alongside Kim Hye-soo. The following year, she received nominations for Best Supporting Actress at the Baeksang Arts Awards, Blue Dragon Film Awards, and Chunsa Film Art Awards for her performance in the film. In 2021, Lee appeared in
Lee Joon-ik's black-and-white film
The Book of Fish, portraying the role of Gageo of Heuksan Island, the concubine of scholar Jeong Yak-jeon (1758–1816), played by
Sul Kyung-gu. The film is based on a true story, featuring historical materials researched by director Lee Joon-ik. Lee's performance earned her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 30th Buil Film Awards. That same year, Lee collaborated with director Kim Seok-yoon for the drama
Law School, marking her third project with him, where she portrayed Kim Eun-sook, a former judge and civil law professor.
2022–present: First titular role and recent projects In 2022, she starred in
Netflix's original series
Juvenile Justice as Judge Na Geun-hee. Directed by Hong Jong-chan, the series focuses on characters at a district juvenile court handling cases involving young offenders. Lee's character clashes with elite judge Shim Eun-seok (
Kim Hye-soo) due to their differing approaches to the cases. This collaboration marks the second time Lee and Kim have worked together. Lee's performance in
Juvenile Justice earned her a nomination for Excellence Award, Actress in an OTT Drama at the
2022 APAN Star Awards, as well as Best Supporting Actress at the 2022 Asian Academy Creative Awards and
2022 Blue Dragon Series Awards. In that same year, Lee took on her first titular role in 30 years in Shin Su-won's film
Hommage. She portrayed a middle-aged film director experiencing a slump who time travels while restoring the film
The Female Judge, created by Hong Eun-won, the second Korean female director in the 1960s. The film premiered at the 23rd
Jeonju International Film Festival on April 28, 2022. On December 15, 2022, she won Best Actress at The 23rd Women's Film Awards held at Cinecube Gwanghwamun in Seoul. After winning the Best Jury Prize at the 20th Florence Korea Film Festival,
Hommage was officially invited to the Viewpoints section of the 21st Tribeca Film Festival. Lee has also received international recognition, including The Best Actor Award at the 7th London East Asia Film Festival. The jury selected Lee for this award based on her portrayal of desire, frustration, and the courage displayed by a middle-aged woman whose dreams were delicately and realistically depicted in
Hommage. Lee also won the Best Performance Award at the 15th Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The second season is moved from OCN to
tvN from December 19, 2022 to January 31, 2023, every Monday and Tuesday at 20:50 (
KST). In 2023, Lee joined the cast of Netflix's original series
Daily Dose of Sunshine as Song Hyo-shin, the chief nurse of the Psychiatric Department. Lee also appeared in the TVING original
A Bloody Lucky Day alongside
Lee Sung-min and
Yoo Yeon-seok. The series is based on a webtoon of the same name by Aporia, originally published on Naver.
A Bloody Lucky Day aired on tvN starting November 20, 2023, with episodes airing every Monday and Tuesday. In 2024, Lee starred in JTBC's new romantic comedy
Miss Night and Day alongside
Jung Eun-ji. The show revolves around Lee Mi-jin, a woman who has been preparing for a civil service exam for eight years. One day, a strange incident causes her to age into a 50-year-old during the daytime. Despite this, she manages to work as a senior intern with her older appearance and continues her studies at night. Throughout her journey, she encounters prosecutor Gye Ji-woong, portrayed by
Choi Jin-hyuk. ==Filmography==