After directing a few 16mm shorts, Lee Yeonwoo got his start as a feature filmmaker with the high concept heist comedy <2424> in 2002. It wasn’t until seven years later that he successfully broke into the mainstream and first established the style he would become known for. Starring popular actor Kim Yunseok and idol star Jung Kyoungho, <Running Turtle> proved a success in 2009. Due to a combination of star power, thriller and comic elements, and the characteri...More

After directing a few 16mm shorts, Lee Yeonwoo got his start as a feature filmmaker with the high concept heist comedy <2424> in 2002. It wasn’t until seven years later that he successfully broke into the mainstream and first established the style he would become known for. Starring popular actor Kim Yunseok and idol star Jung Kyoungho, <Running Turtle> proved a success in 2009. Due to a combination of star power, thriller and comic elements, and the characteristic accents of the South Chungcheong Province, the film was a hit with audiences. Lee’s follow-up <Hot Young Bloods> came in 2014 and was also a South Chungcheong Province-set film that relied strongly on the regional accents, but this time revolving around high schoolers in the 1980s. The film, which featured the popular young stars Lee Jongsuk and Park Boyoung was released during the Lunar New Year holiday when it drew in 1.6 million viewers. With his 2022 release <Come Back Home>, about a man who had moved to Seoul to become a comedian and comes back home 15 years later when the comedy show he was participating in ends, Lee finally completed his informal South Chungcheong Province trilogy.Less