For the cover of WWD Korea’s November issue, the editorial presents a refined dialogue between Lee Byung-hun’s commanding yet understated charisma and Zegna’s hallmark precision tailoring. Framed under the theme “The Weight and Elegance Shaped by Time,” the story explores how mastery and restraint coexist, much like Lee’s decades-long acting career, marked by quiet confidence and enduring sophistication.
Through each frame, Lee balances strength with subtlety, discipline with freedom. The result is a portrait of timeless grace, an actor and a brand both defined by evolution, craft and the elegance that only time can shape.
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Here, WWD Korea sat down with Lee to discuss the longevity of his career, reuniting with Park Chan-wook after two decades, what drew him to star in “No Other Choice” and more.
WWD Korea: You’ve built a singular world over a long career. How do you personally carry the weight of the name “Byung-Hun Lee?”
Byung-Hun Lee: There’s no denying that a certain weight and responsibility come with it. When a project becomes a major success, people naturally expect the next one to be bigger, more meaningful and more impressive. But the more you start thinking about those expectations, the more confined you become. It’s like being trapped in an ever-shrinking box.
Whenever I start to feel that pressure, I try to shake it off like a dog shaking off water. In this line of work, the most essential thing is freedom of thought. For me, I can only truly act when I’m free.
WWD Korea: That attitude of protecting your freedom seems to renew your presence on screen continually. With your 35th debut anniversary approaching, how do you look back on the journey of your career?
B.H.L.: I’ve always been the type to find satisfaction easily. Whether things are going well or not, I tend to tell myself, “It’s OK right now.” It’s not that I lack ambition, it just makes life a little less heavy.
I believe what really matters is the attitude with which you see life. Maybe it’s a bit spiritual. I think of life as walking a path that’s already laid out and even the difficult moments are just part of that journey. When I remind myself, “This is the path I’m on right now,” my heart feels lighter.
WWD Korea: Among the many motifs in ”No Other Choice,” what aspect of human nature did you most want to explore as an actor?
B.H.L.: I was drawn to the irony that the very systems and institutions created by humans often end up stripping away our humanity. Tools meant to make life easier can sometimes dull our sensitivity and sense of self.
When my character, Mansu, is caught between morality and conscience and finally says, “It can’t be helped,” what remains is only purpose, survival, duty and necessity. Yet even in that state, there’s a small part of his conscience that endures to the very end. That, to me, felt closest to the essence of being human.
WWD Korea: Your collaborations with director Park Chan-wook have always revealed new dimensions of your craft. Was there a particular moment from this project that stayed with you?
B.H.L.: Director Park and I have been saying for more than 20 years, “Let’s make something together one day.” After so many near misses, it finally happened.
It felt almost like a one-man show, the camera followed every emotional shift, from beginning to end. For the first time, I felt I had truly acted in a Park Chan-wook film, in every sense.
From a sweltering summer barbecue scene to the freezing finale in Gangwon Province, I didn’t just perform the film, I lived it. I experienced it physically, through the changing seasons.
WWD Korea: As the title suggests, the ideas of fate and choice echo throughout the film. Personally, the scene where Mansu pulls out his tooth felt less like resignation and more like a strange liberation. What did that moment mean to you?
B.H.L.: (Laughs) I love that scene, too. Mansu is wound so tightly under extreme pressure, holding in years of moral conflict and pain until he finally admits his own limits. It’s like a rubber band snapping after being stretched too far.
That moment, pulling out the aching tooth and taking a drink right after, was symbolic for me. It felt like releasing nine years’ worth of pent-up emotion. It’s a paradox, collapse and liberation, despair and freedom — all arriving at the same time. That’s exactly what I wanted the audience to feel.
WWD Korea: There’s also that fleeting moment of hope when Mansu talks about being rehired, only to have it quickly shattered. It felt like a reflection of today’s hyper-competitive world — a comment on survival itself.
B.H.L.: Acting is a profession where you’re almost always in a state of temporary unemployment until the next project is confirmed. I’ve been lucky, but for directors it’s even tougher. One failure can mean losing your next opportunity entirely.
These days, it’s less about physical endurance and more about mental resilience. I’m still learning how not to collapse in an unstable world, but to find my own sense of balance within it.
WWD Korea: The film seems to circle around a central question — “How do you accept life?” As actress Yum Hye-ran’s line suggests, it lies somewhere between inevitability and resistance. Where do you stand?
B.H.L.: If I had to choose, I wouldn’t say I’m someone who completely resists. More often, I calm myself by thinking, “It’s OK anyway,” and try to accept things as they are. When you push too hard to win, you end up breaking faster.
I’ve come to believe that people who know how to let go are actually the strongest. For me, that’s what balance looks like, not control, but acceptance.
WWD Korea: In the film, the pistol feels like both an inheritance from the father and a symbol of spirit. In real life, what values would you want to pass on to your children?
B.H.L.: Purity. That’s what I always tell them, being pure is right.
Once, the painter Kang Hye-jung asked me to write a short line for her work and I wrote, “In every heart lives a 10-year-old boy.” It was my way of saying I want to hold onto that boyishness, the sense of purity that keeps us curious and alive.
We grow up constantly hearing, “Be mature, be an adult,” but that mindset can suffocate imagination and limit creativity. The world moves so fast now and competition pushes kids to grow up too quickly. Even if it seems small or naïve, I believe in preserving one’s purity. That honest, unfiltered part of ourselves is the value that endures the longest.
WWD Korea: Today’s cover story centers on the theme “The Weight and Elegance Shaped by Time,” which also echoes Zegna’s philosophy of “dignity born from life.” In your view, what defines true value — and the kind of elegance that deepens with time?
B.H.L.: I believe true dignity comes from being genuine. It’s not about impressing others, it’s about the sense of ease and balance that comes when you can stand proudly before yourself.
People like that don’t need to say much. Their freedom naturally shows in their expressions, in the way they speak and move. Elegance that grows over time comes from that same place, it’s the determination not to deceive yourself. That’s the root of it. Not an elegance that’s manufactured, but one that seeps into your life quietly, through the way you live. That, to me, is real dignity and beauty shaped by time.
WWD Korea: The first line of ”No Other Choice” is, “It is finished.” Is there a goal you still hope to accomplish?
B.H.L.: Honestly, not really. People often assume I’m very ambitious because of my career, but I’ve always tried to find contentment in the moment. Whether things are going well or not, I tell myself, “It’s OK right now.”
Even when things didn’t work out, I thought, “Still, this is the path I’m meant to walk.” It feels a bit like following a line already drawn by fate. Maybe that’s a kind of self-consolation, but thinking that way brings me peace.
WWD Korea: You’ve mentioned that you often think about the finiteness of time.
B.H.L.: It’s something that weighs on me more as I get older. Realizing that time isn’t infinite naturally shifts your priorities. It changes how you see what truly matters.
For me, it always comes back to attitude, learning to let things flow instead of trying to control every outcome. As the years pass, that mindset feels more grounded, more real. I think that’s one of the quiet gifts of time.
Editor in Chief — Ruby Kim
Editor — Da Young Kim
Photographer — Jung Wook Mok
Hair — Chul Woo Lim
Makeup — Jung Nam Kim
Stylist — Hye Young Lee
To learn more, visit zegna.com.