Lee Jung Eun
이정은 | Lee Jung Eun
Discover Lee Jung Eun's biography, age, K-dramas, movies, awards, and fun facts.
Lee Jung Eun Profile
- Birthday
- Jan 23, 1970
- Age
- 56
- Height
- 165 cm
- Nationality
- South Korean
- Blood type
- O
- MBTI
- ESFJ
- Zodiac
- Aquarius
- Place of birth
- Seoul, South Korea
Dramas & Roles3 titles
About Lee Jung Eun
Background
Lee Jung Eun (이정은) is a South Korean actress widely recognized for her exceptional versatility and memorable performances in films and television dramas. She gained international recognition for her portrayal of Moon Gwang, the former housekeeper in Bong Joon Ho's Academy Award-winning film Parasite (2019). She is also known for her roles in popular Korean dramas such as Mr. Sunshine (2018), When the Camellia Blooms (2019), Our Blues (2022), Daily Dose of Sunshine (2023), and Miss Night and Day (2024).
Lee Jung Eun began her acting career in theater in 1991, gradually establishing herself as a respected stage performer. Unlike many actresses who achieve recognition early in their careers, she spent decades working in theater and taking on smaller screen roles before becoming a household name.
During the 2000s, she supplemented her theater income by teaching acting. Among her students were actresses Ye Ji Won and Lee Eun Joo. She also became an acting instructor for singer Lee Hyo Ri after being recommended by a professor at Kookmin University.
Her film career gained momentum through supporting appearances in productions such as A Violent Prosecutor (2016), The Wailing (2016), and A Taxi Driver (2017). She also developed a strong working relationship with screenwriter Noh Hee Kyung, appearing in dramas including Dear My Friends (2016), Live (2018), and Our Blues (2022).
In 2019, Lee Jung Eun delivered one of her most recognizable performances as Moon Gwang in Parasite. Her character's unexpected return to the wealthy Park family's home became a pivotal moment in the film. The movie's international success brought her widespread attention and introduced her work to audiences around the world.
That same year, she received critical acclaim for her emotional portrayal of Jo Jung Sook in When the Camellia Blooms, earning the Best Supporting Actress award at the 56th Baeksang Arts Awards.
Lee continued to demonstrate her range through Our Blues, portraying Eun Hui, a successful fish market businesswoman navigating complicated friendships and relationships on Jeju Island. In Daily Dose of Sunshine, she played Song Hyo Shin, an experienced psychiatric nurse who supports younger colleagues through the challenges of mental healthcare.
In 2024, she took on a leading role in the fantasy romantic comedy Miss Night and Day, portraying the daytime version of a young woman who mysteriously transforms into a woman in her fifties. Her comedic timing and energetic performance showcased another side of her acting abilities.
Known for bringing authenticity, humor, and emotional depth to her characters, Lee Jung Eun has become one of South Korea's most respected character actresses, proving that major career breakthroughs can happen at any stage of life.
Fun facts
- Lee Jung Eun's decision to pursue acting was influenced by the political unrest she witnessed as a teenager in South Korea. The death of student activist Lee Han Yeol in 1987 encouraged her to reconsider her future and pursue something she genuinely loved.
- She originally hoped to study directing rather than acting and changed her academic plans just two months before her university entrance examinations.
- Her first stage production was William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1991, before she graduated from university.
- Although she began performing professionally in the early 1990s, she spent much of the following two decades working in theater rather than television or film.
- Her early experiences acting in front of film cameras were so uncomfortable that she temporarily stepped away from screen acting and returned to theater.
- During financially difficult periods, she worked as an acting instructor to support herself while continuing to perform onstage.
- Among the performers she taught were actresses Ye Ji Won and Lee Eun Joo, as well as singer and television personality Lee Hyo Ri.
- Her involvement in the Korean musical Laundry helped change the direction of her career. She performed in the production during several periods between 2008 and 2017.
- Director Bong Joon Ho discovered her theatrical talent after attending a performance of Laundry, leading to her appearance in his 2009 film Mother.
- Before portraying Moon Gwang in Parasite, she worked with Bong Joon Ho on Okja (2017), providing the Korean voice of the genetically modified super pig.
- Bong Joon Ho already had Lee Jung Eun in mind for the role of Moon Gwang while developing Parasite. He approached her about the project well before filming began.
- Her character's appearance in Parasite was kept largely secret before the movie's release because revealing her role would have spoiled a major plot twist.
- In a 2019 interview, she revealed that the heavy rain during Moon Gwang's dramatic return scene affected her facial expressions, unintentionally contributing to the character's unsettling appearance.
- She received multiple Best Supporting Actress awards for Parasite, including honors at the Blue Dragon Film Awards and Grand Bell Awards.
- She shared in the historic Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture when Parasite became the first non-English-language film to win the category in 2020.
- In 2016, she received a Best Acting award at the Seoul Theatre Festival for her performance in the stage production Feast.
- Her performance in the fantasy drama The Light in Your Eyes, also known as Dazzling (2019), earned her the Best Supporting Actress award in television at the 55th Baeksang Arts Awards.
- She has collaborated repeatedly with acclaimed screenwriter Noh Hee Kyung, appearing in productions including Dear My Friends, Live, and Our Blues.
- In Our Blues (2022), she portrayed Jung Eun Hui, a successful fish market owner whose story explores friendship, first love, and the emotional complexities of growing older.
- She received her first major leading film role in Hommage (2022), portraying a struggling filmmaker who investigates the life of a pioneering Korean female director.
- In Miss Night and Day (2024), she shared a single character with Jung Eun Ji of Apink. Jung Eun Ji portrayed the character's younger nighttime self, while Lee Jung Eun played her older daytime appearance.
- She played a mysterious police officer in the Netflix thriller The Frog (2024), a role that contrasted sharply with her comedic performance in Miss Night and Day that same year.
- In Heavenly Ever After (2025), she appeared alongside acclaimed veteran actress Kim Hye Ja in a fantasy romance exploring love and relationships in the afterlife.
- She played Kim Bam Soon in the 2025 comedy film My Daughter Is a Zombie, appearing alongside Jo Jung Suk in a story about a father protecting his daughter during a zombie outbreak.
- She joined the cast of the 2026 medical drama Doctor X: Mafia in White as Jang Hui Suk, the head of a doctor placement agency who helps bring the brilliant surgeon Gye Su Jeong to Guseo University Hospital.
- Lee Jung Eun's decision to pursue acting was influenced by the political unrest she witnessed as a teenager in South Korea. The death of student activist Lee Han Yeol in 1987 encouraged her to reconsider her future and pursue something she genuinely loved.
FAQ
- How tall is Lee Jung Eun?
- Lee Jung Eun is 165 cm tall.
- How old is Lee Jung Eun?
- Lee Jung Eun is 56 years old.
- Where is Lee Jung Eun from?
- Lee Jung Eun is from South Korean.
- What is Lee Jung Eun's MBTI?
- Lee Jung Eun's MBTI type is ESFJ.
