A graduate of Korea National University of the Arts in stage design, LEE Ha-jun first worked on stage productions, until a friend helped him find a job as a set decorator assistant on <Scent of Love> (2003). As this experience encouraged him to pursue this direction, he was contacted by his former professor JOO Byung-do (production designer on IM Kwon-taek’s <Chihwaseon> (2002)) and learned the trade with him. After working as a set decorator on IM Kwon-taek’s...More

A graduate of Korea National University of the Arts in stage design, LEE Ha-jun first worked on stage productions, until a friend helped him find a job as a set decorator assistant on <Scent of Love> (2003). As this experience encouraged him to pursue this direction, he was contacted by his former professor JOO Byung-do (production designer on IM Kwon-taek’s <Chihwaseon> (2002)) and learned the trade with him. After working as a set decorator on IM Kwon-taek’s following title <Low Life> (2004), LEE made his name as an art director on the Joseon Era-set period films <Shadow in the Palace> (2007) and <Portrait of a Beauty> (2008). One of his first projects as a production designer, IM Sang-soo’s 2010 remake of the cult classic <The Housemaid> earned LEE the Blue Dragon Film Award for Best Artistic Direction. After he was credited for blockbusters, including the caper film <The Thieves> (2012) and the period drama <The Face Reader> (2013), LEE had his first collaboration with BONG Joon-ho on <Haemoo> (2014), with BONG serving as producer, for which he would pick up another Blue Dragon Award. After reuniting on BONG’s film <Okja>, his work reached an international audience with their next project together, the Palme-d’Or and Oscar for Best Picture winner <PARASITE> (2019). With the carefully designed sets that serve as the film’s essence, LEE’s contribution was praised in Korea and abroad. Although he lost the Academy Award for Best Production Design (with CHO Won-woo) to <Once Upon a Time in Hollywood>’s Barbara LING and Nancy HAIGH, he still received his share of awards, including Best Production Design from the International Cinephile Society and the Excellence in Production Design for a Contemporary Feature Film from the US-based Art Directors Guild Awards.
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