Legendary South Korean director Lee Doo-yong, who laid the groundwork for South Korean films to expand to the global stage, has died at the age of 82.

According to the film industry, Lee died at 3 a.m. on Friday at a hospital in Seoul. The deceased had been fighting lung cancer since last year.  

Kim, who worked for nearly ten years as an assistant director, debuted as a director with the 1970 film “The Lost Wedding Veil.” He then went on to make six Taekwondo films. 

The iconic filmmaker laid the foundation for the globalization of South Korean movies by being invited to major international film festivals in the 1980s when South Korean films were not widely recognized among the international audience. 

Kim became the first South Korean to win an award in the Venice International Film Festival. He received the Integrated Social Development Assistance Program Award for his 1980 film “The Hut.” 

His 1984 film “Mulleya Mulleya” also known as "The Wheel" became the first South Korean movie to enter the Cannes Film Festival after it was invited to be screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the festival.