News
AMPAS Invites New Korean Members
LEE Byung-hun, PARK Chan-wook, LEE Chang-dong Added to Academy Roster
In its continuing push for diversity, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which stages the annual Academy Awards, has swelled its ranks with more members of the Korean film industry. New Oscar voters include global star LEE Byung-hun, genre filmmaking superstar PARK Chan-wook and acclaimed arthouse filmmaker LEE Chang-dong.
Also joining this year’s ranks are Korean-Americans such as director KIM So-yong, Lost actor Daniel Dae KIM, DreamWorks cinematographer JHUN Yong-duk and film producer Roy LEE.
This marks the second year in a row that the Academy has added new members from the Korean film industry, following the invitations of directors BONG Joon-ho and IM Kwon-taek, and actors CHOI Min-shik and SONG Kang-ho, and animator KIM Sang-jin last year.
LEE Byung-hun, who presented an award at this year’s Oscar ceremony, first became a superstar in Korea, appearing in fare such as A Bittersweet Life (2005), before conquering the global scene, starring in action titles such as Red 2 (2013) and the G.I. Joe films.
PARK Chan-wook is famous around the world for Old Boy (2003), which launched international interest in Korean genre films and received the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, while LEE Chang-dong is a recognized master of the medium and Best Screenplay winner at Cannes for Poetry (2010). Director KIM So-yong made the Korean indie Treeless Mountain (2009) and the US title For Ellen (2013) starring Paul Dano.
