Lee had no formal training in filmmaking. He was approached by Park Kwang-su to write the screenplay for "To the Starry Island." Lee negotiated for an assistant director (AD) position as part of the deal and was promoted to first AD on the first day of the shoot when the original first AD failed to show up. The film was released in 1993. He went on to write "A Single Spark" in 1995, which won Best Film at the 1995 Blue Dragon Film Awards.