Actor Lee Sun-kyun (Parasite) wins posthumous award for 'Sleep'

Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, known for his role in the awarded movie ‘Parasite’, suddenly passed away at the age of 48. It happened on December 27, 2023.

A month after his passing, Lee Sun-kyun was posthumously awarded for his role in the film 'Sleep.' He won the honor at the French Gérardmer International Fantastic Film Festival on January 29, 2024.

Image: Lotte Entertainment

Korea JoongAng Daily report notes that there is still one more Lee Sun-kyun work to be released posthumously. 'Project Silence' is the last of Lee Sun-kyun's acting works and is due to be released in 2024.

Image: CJ ENM

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According to The Korea Times, Lee's body was discovered on the morning of December 27. The actor lay unconscious in his car in a park in Seoul. According to an official, "he was pronounced dead" on the spot, and "he wasn’t taken to hospital."

The police declared that Lee had left his home early that morning and gone to the park to take his own life. His wife found a note in his house that appeared to be a farewell message.

At the time of his death, the actor had been the subject of a scandal in his home country. Since October 2023, he had been under investigation for using marijuana and other illegal substances.

According to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, Lee had undergone three rounds of police questioning, a total of 19 hours, on the matter of his alleged drug use. The Korea Times reported that he was also banned from leaving the country.

According to the actor's statement, cited by Korea JoongAng Daily, he was tricked into taking drugs by an employee in a bar. In fact, he said, the bar personnel then even proceeded to try and blackmail him.

Photo: JTBC

South Korea has rigorous drug laws with high sentences for the use of any kind of substance, the South China Morning Post reports. Regardless of the kind of drug, its use is considered a crime punishable by at least six months in prison. Repeat offenders and dealers can get up to 14 years.

Police have revealed little about the content of the farewell note and the circumstances of the actor's death. It is unclear whether it is related to the drug scandal.

Born on March 2, 1975 in Seoul, Lee Sun-kyun was known for his roles in the thriller 'Helpless' (2012), the romantic comedy 'All About My Wife¡ (2012), and the black comedy 'A Hard Day' (2014). Across the world, he became famous for the Oscar-winning movie 'Parasite'.

Lee Sun-kyun began as a musical actor who gained recognition with the role of Brad Majors in the Korean adaptation of 'The Rocky Horror Show' (2001) and that of Danny Zuko in 'Grease' (2003).

Over time, the actor became a familiar face in Korean pop culture thanks to his roles in TV series. Major K-dramas he appeared in, were ‘Coffee Prince’ and ‘Behind the White Tower’ in the early 2000s.

Picture: JTBC

The Korean Film Council states that Lee Sun-kyun was a household name in the 1990s and 21st century for his roles on TV and in Korean arthouse movies. Greater fame was yet to come.

Despite already being a recognizable face among K-drama fans, Lee Sun-kyun gained mainstream international recognition with his work in Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning film ‘Parasite’ (2019).

In the film ‘Parasite,’ a critique of social inequality in South Korea, Lee played a wealthy businessman whose house is occupied by a poor family.

Image: CJ Entertainment

The film was critically acclaimed and won a remarkable number of awards at western film galas, including the 2020 Oscar for Best Picture, the Palme D'Or in Cannes, and the SAG and Critic Choice Awards for Best Acting Ensemble.

After 'Parasite,' Lee Sun-kyun appeared in a handful of Korean films and in several TV series. Among them was 'Dr Brain' on Apple TV (image). Allkpop reported in late 2023 that he had to drop out of another TV project, 'No Way Out,' due to the drug scandal.

With Lee Sun-kyun, a big name in cinema has gone. The circumstances of his tragic death, as well as his legacy in film around the world, will be the subject of debate in Korean and international media for the time to come.

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