Timeline Lee Sun-kyun

South Korean actor best known for playing the wealthy patriarch Park Dong-ik in Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning film Parasite (2019). Acclaimed across film and television in South Korea, he won a Screen Actors Guild Award with the Parasite cast and was nominated for an International Emmy Award for Dr. Brain.

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Lee Sun-kyun 15

1975 Lee Sun-kyun born in Seoul Born in Seoul, South Korea. He would later attend the Korea National University of Arts, graduating in its first-ever School of Drama class.
1994 – 1998 Korea National University of Arts Enrolled at the Korea National University of Arts in 1994, becoming part of the inaugural graduating class of its School of Drama.
2000 Screen Debut in Psycho Drama Made his screen acting debut in the short film Psycho Drama.
2001 Stage Debut in The Rocky Horror Show Made his professional stage debut in the musical The Rocky Horror Show, marking the beginning of his acting career.
2002 – 2006 Sitcom and Supporting Roles Appeared in the television sitcom Lovers (2002) and took supporting roles across film and TV, steadily building his craft during years of relative obscurity.
2007 Breakthrough with Coffee Prince and White Tower Achieved mainstream popularity with two hit television dramas: the medical drama Behind the White Tower and the romantic comedy Coffee Prince.
2009 Marriage to Jeon Hye-jin Married actress Jeon Hye-jin after seven years together. The couple would have two sons.
2010 Best Actor at Las Palmas Film Festival Won the Best Actor award at the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival for his role in the film Paju.
2012 Helpless Starred in the mystery thriller Helpless, earning praise for portraying a man searching for his missing wife.
2014 A Hard Day Starred in the crime comedy A Hard Day, playing a corrupt detective in an increasingly absurd cover-up. The film was a critical and commercial hit in South Korea.
2018 My Mister Starred in the critically acclaimed drama series My Mister (Naui Ajusshi), delivering one of his most celebrated television performances.
2019 Parasite Played Park Dong-ik, the patriarch of the wealthy family, in Bong Joon-ho's Parasite. The film won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and four Academy Awards including Best Picture, making it the first non-English language film to win that honour.
2021 Dr. Brain on Apple TV+ Starred in Dr. Brain, Apple TV+'s first Korean-language original series, earning a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor at the International Emmy Awards.
2023 Sleep and Killing Romance In his final year, starred in two contrasting films: the horror film Sleep and the comedy Killing Romance.
2023 Lee Sun-kyun dies in Seoul Found dead in Seoul at the age of 48. His death came amid a police investigation into alleged drug use, during which he had maintained his innocence. Director Bong Joon-ho later called for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.