Actor Lee Jung-jae, best known for his global hit Squid Game, has achieved another milestone — becoming the first Korean to receive the Charlie Chaplin Award for Lifetime Achievement. The honor was announced by his agency Artist Company on October 4, following the ceremony held in Singapore a day earlier.
About the Charlie Chaplin Award
The Charlie Chaplin Award, presented by the U.S. film organization Film at Lincoln Center, has been honoring influential figures in cinema since 1972. It was created to commemorate Charlie Chaplin’s return to the United States after his exile, with the first award given to Chaplin himself. The Asian section, launched in 2018, selects only one recipient each year—previous winners include Zhang Yimou and Tony Leung Chiu-wai. Lee Jung-jae is now the first Korean to join that distinguished list.
In his acceptance speech, Lee Jung-jae said, “Receiving this award in the name of Charlie Chaplin, a respected filmmaker, artist, and artisan, makes me nervous and even more anxious due to the weight of it. As an Asian filmmaker, I will strive to have a positive influence.”
Lee Jung-jae’s global recognition began with Squid Game, which earned him the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series award at the 2022 Emmy Awards — another first for a Korean and an Asian actor. The New York Times highlighted that he was “the first Korean to win an Emmy for acting, and the first Asian to take on the role of a Jedi Master in the Star Wars series.”
Recently, Lee Jung-jae appeared in the Disney+ series The Acolyte, expanding his footprint in Hollywood. His next project is the tvN drama Nice to Not Meet You, set to premiere on November 3, where he stars alongside Lim Ji Yeon. The romantic comedy follows actor Im Hyeon-joon (Lee Jung-jae), who’s lost his passion, and entertainment reporter Wi Jeong-sin (Lim Ji Yeon), who reignites it.
Beyond acting, Lee Jung-jae’s impact extends to the business side of entertainment. In 2016, he co-founded Artist Company to support emerging talent, later producing works like the Netflix series The Silent Sea and the film Hunt. After merging with Artist United, he formed Artist Group, now a comprehensive entertainment company.
Just last month, Artist Group secured a ₩18 billion (approx. $12 million) investment from the Maeil Business Newspaper Media Group (MBN) to strengthen their global K-content strategy. The partnership also includes Artist Studio, which co-produced the MBN drama First Lady. The series debuted on September 24 and ranked second in South Korea’s “Top 10 Series Today” shortly after its release.
Lee Jung-jae began his career with the SBS drama Dinosaur Teacher (1993) and the film The Young Man (1994). His breakthrough came when he won Best Actor at the Blue Dragon Film Awards for City of the Rising Sun (1999). Three decades later, his achievements continue to shape both Korean cinema and global entertainment.
With multiple “firsts” — from the Emmy Awards to Star Wars, and now the Charlie Chaplin Lifetime Achievement Award — Lee Jung-jae’s journey reflects a growing global spotlight on Korean actors and K-content expansion across international media.
