Lee Sung Jin

For the Olympic archer, see Lee Sung-jin.
In this Korean name, the family name is Lee.
Lee Sung Jin
Born1981 (age 43–44)
South Korea
Other namesSonny Lee
EducationUniversity Of Pennsylvania (BA)
Occupations
Years active2007–present
SpouseCaty Solone

Lee Sung Jin (Korean: 이성진; born 1981), also known as Sonny Lee,[1] is a Korean-American writer and director. He is known for creating the Netflix series Beef, for which he received the 2023 Primetime Emmy Awards for directing and writing for a limited series.[2]

Early life and education

Lee Sung Jin was born in South Korea in 1981.[3] His family moved frequently in his youth; he moved to the United States when he was nine months old, and returned to Korea for third through fifth grade.[4] He then relocated from Seoul to Minnesota, United States, in sixth grade.[5] He also lived in Illinois, Louisiana, Iowa, and Texas.[6] He recalls it being “a horrible time to have a name no one can pronounce" and chose to go by "Sonny" instead.[7]

He attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he sang in an a cappella group.[8] He graduated in 2003 with a degree in economics.[9][4]

Career

After graduating from college, Lee worked a variety of part-time jobs while writing scripts.[4] He interned at the Sony record label Barsuk Records.[8] He wrote for the series Undone, Tuca & Bertie, Dave, and Silicon Valley.[7] In 2008, he worked as a screenwriter for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.[4]

He was inspired to create Beef by a road rage confrontation he experienced with a middle-aged white man in Los Angeles.[10] "I thought there was something interesting there, how we’re all locked in our subjective world views, and we go around projecting a lot on the other person and not really seeing things for what they are," he said of the incident.[11] He also served as director, executive producer and showrunner on the series, forced to remotely direct scenes for the season finale "with my face on an iPad" because of a COVID-19 infection.[1][12]

In August 2023, he visited South Korea to speak at a conference on the creation of films. During this, he said that he had not been back to South Korea for around 25 years, since his childhood.[3]

In November 2023, Variety reported that Lee had signed a multiyear deal to produce content for Netflix.[1]

Lee is the screenwriter for the 2025 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thunderbolts*, which is his first credit for screenwriting on a produced film.[13]

Lee wrote, directed and produced the music video for BTS leader RM's "Come Back to Me," a prerelease track from his second solo album Right Place, Wrong Person, released May 2024.[14]

Personal life

Lee lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Caty Solone, and three dogs.[6][15][16] He plays the violin, guitar and piano.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c Otterson, Joe (2023-11-21). "'Beef' Creator Lee Sung Jin Signs Netflix Overall Deal". Variety. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  2. ^ Bergeson, Samantha (2024-01-16). "'Beef' Wins Outstanding Limited Series Emmy". IndieWire. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  3. ^ a b 최, 민지 (2023-08-16). "넷플릭스 '성난 사람들' 이성진 감독 "한국적인 것, 있는 그대로 보여주면 통한다"". 경향신문 (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  4. ^ a b c d "미드 '성난 사람들' 이성진… "한국계 정체성 드러내자 오히려 인기"". 조선일보 (in Korean). 2023-08-16. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  5. ^ Rose, Lacey (2023-08-16). "'Beef' Creator Lee Sung Jin on his Original Ending, "Life-Affirming" Feedback and Season 2 Plan". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  6. ^ a b Cardenas, Cat (2023-04-13). "'Beef' Creator Lee Sung Jin On the Show's Final Scene and Whether There Should Be a Season Two". GQ. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  7. ^ a b MacDonald, Joan. "How Rage Drives Revenge In Lee Sung Jin's Netflix Dramedy 'Beef'". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  8. ^ a b "S1:E2 Lee Sung Jin and the Octopus". The Smith Society Podcast. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  9. ^ a b Paik, Sarah (2023-05-18). "Lee Sung Jin's "Beef" Destroys the Model Minority Myth". Best of Korea. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  10. ^ Blake, Meredith (2023-04-05). "In 'Beef,' Ali Wong and Steven Yeun explore the underpinnings of road rage". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  11. ^ Ito, Robert (2023-04-01). "In 'Beef,' Road Rage Is Only the Beginning". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  12. ^ Wang, Jessica (2023-04-10). "'Beef' creator on the 'deaths everywhere' in original script". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  13. ^ Seo, Rachel (2023-03-29). "Marvel's 'Thunderbolts' Adds 'Beef' Creator Lee Sung Jin as Writer (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  14. ^ Shim, Sun-ah (2024-05-07). "BTS' RM to prerelease 'Come Back to Me,' music video directed by Lee Jung-jin of 'Beef'". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  15. ^ Phillips, Zoe G. (2024-01-16). "'Beef' Creator Humbled By "Life Affirming" Response in Limited Series Emmy Win". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-01-17. In conclusion, he quipped: 'everything I do is for my three dogs, so the Federal Drug Administration, if you could please fast track that canine anti-aging pill, that would be so lovely.'
  16. ^ Grindell, Samantha. "The best-dressed couples at the 2024 Emmy Awards". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-10-23.