Biographie
Yong Suk Lee (Alan Lee) is a Korean drama executive, director, and producer with thirty years of experience across the full development-to-broadcast lifecycle of Korean television, and the founder and CEO of Big Picture Media, an independent studio developing original Korean series for both domestic broadcast and global streaming platforms. Since founding the studio in March 2020, he has built a four-project development slate, including the Crown-style prestige historical drama "The Young King" (set in the court of King Sukjong), the psychological thriller "Chaser," the family comedy "Let's Be Close," and the Jane Eyre-inspired romance "The Governess," reflecting his sustained focus on genre-diverse IP built for global adaptability.
He most recently directed "Doctor Lawyer" (MBC, 2022), a legal-medical thriller distributed worldwide via Disney+. From 2020 to 2024, he simultaneously served as Chief Creative Officer of Mongjakso, advising on story development and production feasibility across multiple drama projects.
Before founding Big Picture Media, Yong Suk spent 27 years at SBS, Korea's leading commercial broadcaster, rising to Executive Producer of the Drama Division (2014-2020), where he oversaw greenlighting, budgeting, casting, and production for a continuous slate of prime-time series spanning from romantic comedy to crime thriller, including "While You Were Sleeping," "Pinocchio," "Saimdang: Memoir of Colors," "Hyena," "Secret Boutique," "VIP," and "Haechi" (which also aired on Japan's NHK).
He earlier led SBS The Story Works (2013-2014), the broadcaster's in-house unit for scouting and developing original IP, and spent two decades as a producer-director on series ranging from daily dramas to large-scale event programming, including the breakout historical drama "Iljimae, the Phantom Thief" (2008), which established his reputation as a director of prestige costume drama.
Alongside his production career, Yong Suk holds a Ph.D. in Communication from Korea University (2013-2021) and maintains an active peer-reviewed research record on platform power in the Korean drama industry, including published work on how Netflix has reshaped Korean TV drama's production ecology. Since 2025, he has served as an adjunct professor at Korea University, teaching Drama Production and Creative Writing. His dual fluency in the creative and business sides of the industry, including building and leading writers' rooms, mediating between creative and platform stakeholders, and identifying market-ready IP for global audiences, defines his approach to original series development.
