Yong Ok Lee is a Los Angeles-based production designer. She received her MFA in Production Design from the American Film Institute. She is originally from Seoul, South Korea, where she began her career in the fashion industry as a buyer and merchandiser for F&F before becoming a fashion editor for industry publication Fashion Biz. Her work in Korea include box office top 10 hits such as SEVEN DAYS, starring Yunjin Kim (Lost, Mistresses). Projects now take her across the United States, in addition to South Korea and China.
THE FAREWELL, starring Awkwafina, first screened at 2019 Sundance and went on to win Best Actress - Musical or Comedy at the 2020 Golden Globes along with another 30+ awards from around the world. An excerpt from The Hollywood Reporter:
“Cinematographer Anna Franquesa Solano and production designer Yong Ok Lee fill the widescreen frame with eye-catching visuals that never feel too studied.” - full review Her most recent work MINARI, starring Steven Yeun, won the Grand Jury Award and Audience Award at 2020 Sundance. An excerpt from IndieWire:
“Production designer Yong Ok Lee does a brilliant job of gradually filling the once empty trailer with a rich sense of personal history over the course of the film” - full review
Her other US credits include THEY (Cannes), DEAD WOMEN WALKING (Tribeca, Venice) and MARVELOUS AND THE BLACK HOLE (Tribeca) among many others.