Lee Joon-ik visited Sydney last week as his films, The Throne (2015) and Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet (2016) have been invited to the 2016 Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA).
Lee has established himself as a pioneer of the Korean historical film known as sageuk such as King and the Clown (2005), The Throne (2015) and Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet (2016). He has constantly been saying that he always tries to make films based on historical fact. However, The Throne (2015), featuring the life of the tragic Crown Prince Sado, has caused controversy among many Korean historians who argued about whether it is based on facts or not. Lee said he just focused on the relationship between the father King Yeongjo and his son, Sado in the film.
Lees most recent film, Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet (2016), depicting the life and death of poet Yun Dong-ju who grew up during the Japanese colonial era, marks his first foray into indie filmmaking. Lee said he hops the film encourages and cheers for todays young people like Song Mong-gyu, an outgoing independence activist. However he said he is anxious about the young peoples indifference to our society.
