Lee Mo Gae

Biography

Lee Mo-gae is a South Korean cinematographer and director of photography, born in 1972. He studied photography at Chung-Ang University and later earned a master's degree in film from the Korea National University of Arts.

He began his career working on film crews for acclaimed Korean filmmakers, including Lee Chang-dong's Peppermint Candy (2000) and Hong Sang-soo's Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors (2000). His breakthrough as a cinematographer came with Kim Jee-woon's horror film A Tale of Two Sisters (2003), for which he received the Best Cinematography Award from the Korean Association of Film Critics.

Lee became a frequent collaborator of director Kim Jee-woon, photographing visually distinctive films such as The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008), I Saw the Devil (2010), and Illang: The Wolf Brigade (2018). His gritty visual style has also featured prominently in action and thriller films including The Tiger (2015), Asura: The City of Madness (2016), and The Battleship Island (2017).

His later cinematography credits include Emergency Declaration (2022), Hunt (2022), 12.12: The Day (2023), Exhuma (2024), and Yadang: The Snitch (2025).

Lee has received numerous awards for his cinematography. His work on Hunt earned major recognition at the Blue Dragon Film Awards, Baeksang Arts Awards, Busan Film Critics Association Awards, and other Korean industry ceremonies.

Known for his intense close-ups, gritty textures, dynamic action photography, and atmospheric lighting, Lee Mo-gae is regarded as one of South Korea's prominent cinematographers, particularly in action, crime, thriller, horror, and large-scale commercial cinema.