View source for E J-yong

{{Short description|South Korean film director and screenwriter}}
{{Other people|Lee Jae-yong}}
{{family name hatnote|Lee||lang=Korean}}
{{Infobox person
| name         = E J-yong
| image        = 
| caption      = 
| birth_name   = Lee Jae-yong
| birth_date   = {{Birth date and age|1966|9|5}}
| birth_place  = [[Daejeon]], [[South Korea]]
| occupation   = [[Film director]], [[screenwriter]]
| years_active = 1990-present
| spouse       = 
| education    = [[Hankuk University of Foreign Studies]] - [[Turkish language|Turkish]] <br /> Korean Academy of Film Arts - Filmmaking
| module       = {{Infobox Korean name|child=yes|headercolor=transparent
 | hangul      = 이재용
 | hanja       = 李在容
 | rr          = I Jae-yong
 | mr          = I Chae-yong
}}}}
'''E J-yong''' ({{korean|이재용}}; born September 5, 1966) is a South Korean [[film director]] and [[screenwriter]]. His feature films include ''[[An Affair]]'' (1998), ''[[Untold Scandal]]'' (2003), ''[[Dasepo Naughty Girls]]'' (2006), and ''[[Actresses (film)|Actresses]]'' (2009).

==Early life==
E J-yong (his preferred stylized, [[phonetic]] spelling; more conventionally [[romanization|romanized]] as Lee Jae-yong) was born in [[Daejeon]], [[South Chungcheong Province]] in 1966. He studied [[Turkish language|Turkish]] at [[Hankuk University of Foreign Studies]]. After graduating from university, he went [[backpacking (travel)|backpacking]] around the world in the late 1980s and fell in love with cinema. E said, "I saw ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]'' in Germany, ''[[Au revoir les enfants]]'' in London, and ''[[Barry Lyndon]]'' and ''[[Pelle the Conqueror]]'' in Australia. After I came home, I had to choose a job and movies were the only thing I was interested in. I couldn't imagine wearing a suit and working in a bank."<ref>{{cite web|last=Johnston|first=Sheila|title=Film-makers on film: E J Yong|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmmakersonfilm/3641039/Film-makers-on-film-E-J-Yong.html|work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|access-date=2013-03-13|date=21 April 2005}}</ref> E entered the Korean Academy of Film Arts in 1990 and studied filmmaking.<ref name=page>{{cite web|last1=Lee|first1=Eunhye|last2=Paquet|first2=Darcy|title=The E J-yong Page|url=http://www.koreanfilm.org/ejyongpage.html|work=Koreanfilm.org|access-date=2013-03-13|date=23 December 2004}}</ref>

==Career==
He first became known for his 19-minute [[short film]], ''Homo Videocus'' (1990) which he co-directed with [[Daniel H. Byun]] (Byun Hyuk), and which won the Prix Recherche (Research Prize) and Prix de la Jeunesse (Youth Jury Prize) at the [[Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival]], and the Best Short Narrative award at the 1992 [[San Francisco International Film Festival]]. E went on to make other short films such as ''My Mother's Summer'' and ''Time in the Mirror''. In 1994 his documentary project, ''The Story of a City'', was stopped in mid-production due to problems with the production company.<ref name=page /><ref>{{cite web|title=E J-yong|url=http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/jsp/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10057210|work=Korean Film Biz Zone|access-date=2013-03-13}}</ref>

Finally breaking his long silence in 1998, he presented his feature film debut ''[[An Affair]]'', about a woman who starts an affair with her sister's fiance. It won great acclaim both from audiences and critics for E's minimalist, sophisticated sense of directing. The film, which resurrected the career of actress [[Lee Mi-sook]],<ref name=hangulcelluloid>{{cite web|title=E J-yong Interview|url=http://www.hangulcelluloid.com/ejyonginterview.html|work=Hangul Celluloid|date=23 February 2012|access-date=2013-03-13}}</ref> was presented at the third [[Pusan International Film Festival]], and went on to become the seventh highest-grossing Korean film of the year.<ref>{{cite web|title=Films Released in 1998|url=http://www.koreanfilm.org/films98.html|work=Koreanfilm.org|access-date=2013-03-13}}</ref> ''An Affair'' won the Grand Prize at the 1999 [[Fukuoka]] Asian Film Festival, as well as the Asian Cinema Kaleidoscope Prize at the [[Newport Beach Film Festival]], and the Critics Prize and Best Artistic, Technical, or Creative Contribution at the [[:it:Schermi d'amore|Verona Film Festival]].<ref name=page /><ref name=infosheet>{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Eunhye|title=E J-yong Info Sheet|url=http://www.koreanfilm.org/ejyonginfo.html|work=Koreanfilm.org|access-date=2013-03-13|date=23 December 2004}}</ref>

E's second feature, ''Asako in Ruby Shoes'' in 2000, is one of the first instances of a Korean-Japanese co-production that utilized cast and crew members in both countries on more or less equal terms. Using a Korean crew for the scenes set in Seoul, and a Japanese crew for the shooting in Japan, the film starred [[Lee Jung-jae]] as the protagonist (he was also the lead actor of ''An Affair'').<ref>{{cite web|last=Hartzell|first=Adam|title=Asako in Ruby Shoes|url=http://www.koreanfilm.org/kfilm00.html#asako|work=Koreanfilm.org|access-date=2013-03-13}}</ref>  Although not a commercial hit, the film played at several festivals, drawing notice among academics for its portrayal of the interplay between Japanese, Chinese and Korean cultures and receiving widely divergent critical assessments.<ref name=hangulcelluloid /><ref name=page /><ref name=infosheet />

Then in the fall of 2003, E presented his [[costume drama]] ''[[Untold Scandal]]'', based on the French novel ''[[Les Liaisons dangereuses]]'' but set in [[Joseon|18th-century Korea]]. An unexpected smash hit, it set a new record for the biggest opening weekend for a Korean film and went on to sell over three million tickets.<ref>{{cite web|last=Paquet|first=Darcy|title=Scandal erupts at South Korean box office|url=http://www.screendaily.com/scandal-erupts-at-south-korean-box-office/4015377.article|work=[[Screen International]]|access-date=2013-03-13|date=7 October 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Paquet|first=Darcy|title=An Interview with E J-yong|url=http://www.koreanfilm.org/ejyong.html|work=Koreanfilm.org|access-date=2013-03-13|date=8 October 2003}}</ref> The film also marked the first major film role of TV actor [[Bae Yong-joon]], who would go on to become a popular sensation in Japan in 2004. Staying true to the spirit of the original novel while giving it an entirely new [[aesthetic]], E kept a familiar story interesting with unexpected juxtapositions (for example, a mix of classical European and Korean music in the soundtrack), visual elegance, and efficient storytelling.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gowman|first=Philip|title=E J-yong is February's Director at the KCC.|url=http://londonkoreanlinks.net/2012/01/28/e-j-yong-is-februarys-director-at-the-kcc-first-up-an-affair/|work=London Korean Links|access-date=2013-03-13|date=28 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=That was about one year ago: Interview with E J-yong|url=http://www.koreasociety.org/interviews/that_was_about_one_year_ago_interview_with_e_j-yong.html|work=[[Korea Society|The Korea Society]]|access-date=2013-03-13}}</ref> The film won several awards at the 2004 [[:it:Schermi d'amore|Verona Film Festival]] and [[Shanghai International Film Festival]], including [[Golden Goblet Award for Best Director|Best Director]] for E.<ref name=page /><ref name=infosheet />

E cast [[Jo Hyun-jae]] and [[Lee So-yeon (actress)|Lee So-yeon]] (who played supporting roles in ''Untold Scandal'') in his short titled ''Joy of Love'', which was released online in late 2004.<ref name=page />

Given his demonstrated flair for scandalous topics and his new-generation attitude towards moral issues, for his next film E adapted the controversial [[webcomic]] ''Dasepo Girls'', which revolved around a high school where the students are sex addicts, the teachers are perverts, and virtually nothing was forbidden. His 2006 film ''[[Dasepo Naughty Girls]]'' was a [[campy]] and playful musical comedy, with a candy-colored palette and mildly racy content. Though praised for the diversity of its characters and their preferences, it grossed {{USD|3.8 million}}, which for Korean films of average budget is considered a disappointing performance.<ref>{{cite web|last=Paquet|first=Darcy|title=Dasepo Naughty Girls|url=http://www.koreanfilm.org/kfilm06.html#dasepo|work=Koreanfilm.org|access-date=2013-03-13}}</ref><ref name=hangulcelluloid />

E's next project ''Homecoming'' was selected by the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) in 2007. He described it as a "long look through the past" in order to understand his own father more deeply, including the [[Korean War]] ("a world colonized and liberated, a war, a country divided, the loss of his hometown, and a family separated"), and the death of E's mother.<ref>{{cite web|title=E J-YONG - Homecoming|url=http://www.screendaily.com/e-j-yong-homecoming/4034750.article|work=[[Screen International]]|access-date=2013-03-13|date=21 September 2007}}</ref>

In 2009, E gathered an ensemble cast of six of Korea's top female thespians ([[Youn Yuh-jung]], [[Lee Mi-sook]], [[Go Hyun-jung]], [[Choi Ji-woo]], [[Kim Min-hee (actress, born 1982)|Kim Min-hee]], [[Kim Ok-bin]]) for his low-budget, semi-[[improvisational]] [[mockumentary]] ''[[Actresses (film)|Actresses]]''. Set during a fashion magazine shoot on Christmas Eve, the film depicted the celebrity and humanity of actresses, with the cast all using their real-life names and telling candid stories. It became the third of E's creations to be invited to the [[Berlin International Film Festival]]'s Panorama section.<ref>{{cite web|last=Beck|first=Una|title=INTERVIEW: Director E J-yong of ''Actresses'' - Part 1|url=http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2009121114572214429|website=Asiae|access-date=2012-12-19|date=11 December 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Beck|first=Una|title=INTERVIEW: Director E J-yong of ''Actresses'' - Part 2|url=http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2009121017452242983|website=Asiae|access-date=2012-12-19|date=11 December 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Beck|first=Una|title=INTERVIEW: Director E J-yong of ''Actresses'' - Part 3|url=http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2009121017144954968|website=Asiae|access-date=2012-12-19|date=11 December 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Q&A with E J-Yong: The Director of Actresses Talks Rivalries, Egos and the Truth about Korean Celebrities|url=http://www.mtviggy.com/interviews/qa-with-e-j-yong-the-director-of-actresses-talks-rivalries-egos-and-the-truth-about-korean-celebrities/|work=[[MTV]] Iggy|date=12 July 2010|access-date=2012-12-19}}</ref>

E, along with fellow directors [[Kang Hyeong-cheol]] and [[Jang Hoon]] were commissioned by the producers of the [[Samsung Galaxy Note (original)|Samsung Galaxy Note]] in 2012 to make three short films for their [[product placement|PPL]]-frequent-film project ''Cine Note''. The team also included [[Lee Seung-chul]] for the music, and noted [[webtoon]] artists Sohn Je-ho and Lee Gwang-soo who created the film's animated content.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Claire|title=Smartphones help directors look at films from new angles|url=http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20120120000793|work=[[The Korea Herald]]|access-date=2013-03-13|date=20 January 2012}}</ref>

But while shooting his ''Cine Note'' short ''How to Fall in Love in 10 Minutes'', E simultaneously decided to expand the idea into an experimental feature about remote directing, i.e. making a movie via mobile devices and the Internet without being on set. The result was ''Behind the Camera'', in which E took the [[mockumentary]] genre a [[surrealism|surreal]] step further than ''Actresses'' by including himself in the cast. As E makes an unprecedented attempt to direct the film from [[Los Angeles]] via [[Skype]], chaotic and unpredictable circumstances arise behind the scenes as the cast and crew become frustrated without a director to guide them on set, blurring the line between fiction and reality. E said it was "difficult to decide how to classify the film in terms of genre. The feature film seems to be a [[documentary]] about the production process of a short film, but it also has dramatic elements similar to a [[reality show]]."<ref>{{cite web|last=Huh|first=Nam-woong|title=Director of BEHIND THE CAMERA E J-yong: What Could the Future & Filmmaking Be Like?|url=http://koreanfilm.or.kr/webzine/sub/interview.jsp?mode=A_VIEW&wbSeq=36|work=Korean Cinema Today|access-date=2013-03-13|date=4 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Park|first=Eun-jee|title=''Behind the Camera'' director works his magic - via Skype|url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2013/02/07/artsDesign/Behind-the-Camera-director-works-his-magic-via-Skype/2966832.html|website=[[Korea JoongAng Daily]]|date=February 8, 2013|access-date=2013-03-13|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411063931/http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2966832|archive-date=April 11, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Elley|first=Derek|title=Behind the Camera: Why Mr. E Went to Hollywood|url=http://www.filmbiz.asia/reviews/behind-the-camera-why-mr-e-went-to-hollywood|work=[[Film Business Asia]]|access-date=2013-03-13|date=14 January 2013}}</ref>

In 2014, E directed and co-wrote ''[[My Brilliant Life]]'', a film adaptation of [[Kim Aeran]]'s novel ''My Palpitating Life''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Song|first=Soon-jin|title=GANG Dong-won and SONG Hye-kyo to Collaborate on Human Drama|url=http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/jsp/news/news.jsp?mode=VIEW&seq=2811|work=Korean Film Biz Zone|access-date=2014-11-15|date=5 December 2013}}</ref> He cast [[Kang Dong-won]] and [[Song Hye-kyo]] as young parents of a boy with [[progeria]], a [[genetic disorder]] that causes rapid aging. Members of E's crew were trained by [[Academy Awards|Oscar]]-winning [[Prosthetic makeup|special make-up effects]] artist [[Greg Cannom]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sunwoo|first1=Carla|title=A-listers bring to life sad story of a fast-aging boy|url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=2993176|website=[[Korea JoongAng Daily]]|access-date=2014-11-15|date=8 August 2014}}</ref>

E next wrote the screenplay of ''[[The Bacchus Lady]]'', a film about a female senior citizens who sell sex and soft drinks to male senior citizens; it entered pre-production in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ha|first1=Sung-tae|title=E J-yong's THE KILLER WOMAN Selected as Next Feature Project of ''KAFA + Next D''|url=http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/jsp/news/news.jsp?mode=VIEW&seq=3508|website=Korean Film Biz Zone|access-date=2015-07-22|date=22 July 2015}}</ref>

== Filmography ==

=== Film ===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+List of Film
! rowspan="2" scope="col" |Year
! colspan="2" scope="col" |Title
! rowspan="2" scope="col" |Role
! rowspan="2" scope="col" class="unsortable" |Note
! rowspan="2" scope="col" class="unsortable" |{{abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}}
|-
!English
!Korean
|-
| 1998
| ''[[An Affair]]''
|
|director
|
|
|-
| 2000
| ''Asako in Ruby Shoes'' ({{lang|ko|[[:ko:순애보 (2000년 영화)|ko]]}})
| 순애보
| director, screenplay, editor
|
|
|-
| 2003
| ''[[Untold Scandal]]''
|
| director, screenplay
|
|
|-
| 2006
|''[[Dasepo Naughty Girls]]''
|
|director, screenplay
|
|
|-
|2009
|''[[Actresses (film)|Actresses]]''
|여배우들
| director, screenplay, producer
|
|
|-
|2013
|''Behind the Camera''
|뒷담화: 감독이 미쳤어요
| director, screenplay, executive producer
|
|
|-
|2014
|''[[My Brilliant Life]]''
|
|director, screenplay
|
|
|-
|2016
|''[[The Bacchus Lady]]''
|죽여주는 여자
| director, screenplay
|
|<ref>{{cite web |date=10 October 2016 |title=Working only with people you like is the best revenge: Yoon Yeo-jeong : 69-year old vet earns kudos for role of aged prostitute in 'The Bacchus Lady' |url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3024681 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161010085918/http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3024681 |archive-date=10 October 2016 |access-date=2 October 2018 |website=[[Korea JoongAng Daily]]}}</ref>
|-
|2019
|''The Big Picture''
| 
| director
|
|<ref>{{cite web|title=E J-yong Takes in THE BIG PICTURE with Mirovision|url=http://koreanfilm.or.kr/jsp/news/news.jsp?pageIndex=1&blbdComCd=601006&seq=4542&mode=VIEW|website=koreanfilm.or.kr}}</ref>
|}

===Short film===

* ''How to Fall in Love in 10 Minutes'' ([[short film]] from ''Cine Note'', 2012) – director
* ''Homecoming'' (2008) – director
* ''Joy of Love'' ([[short film]], 2004) – director
* ''My Mother's Summer'' (1999) – director
* ''Time in the Mirror'' – director
* ''Homo Videocus'' ([[short film]], 1990) – director, screenplay, cinematographer

== Accolades ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Award
!Category
!Recipient(s) and Nominee(s)
!Result
!Reference
|-
|2015
|Udine Far East Festival
|Audience Award
|''My Brilliant Life''
|3rd place
|
|}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*{{kmdb person|00001346|E J-yong}}
*{{IMDb name|0497489|E J-yong}}
*{{HanCinema person}}

{{E J-yong}}
{{Golden Goblet Award for Best Director}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:E, J-yong}}
[[Category:South Korean film directors]]
[[Category:South Korean screenwriters]]
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Daejeon]]