Foley artist Lee Chung-gyu says his best work is the kind you won’t notice — perfectly natural, seamlessly part of the story

Foley artist Lee Chung-gyu poses for a photo before his interview with The Korea Herald on Jan. 13.  (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)
Foley artist Lee Chung-gyu poses for a photo before his interview with The Korea Herald on Jan. 13. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)

In the second season of “Squid Game,” players vote to end the deadly competition by pressing buttons marked "O" and "X." And in a small studio in Gangnam, Seoul, Foley artist Lee Chung-gyu is bringing that tense moment to life — not by pressing real buttons, but by using children’s toys to mimic the sound.

When the recruiter character, played by Gong Yoo, faces off against Ki-hoon, played by Lee Jung-jae, in a game of Russian roulette, the clicks of the gun and the scraping sound of metal as they aim and pull the trigger don’t come from real firearms. Instead, Lee uses scrap metal salvaged from construction sites to recreate such sounds.

And in a scene where rapper Thanos (played by Choi Seung-hyun) opens a cross-shaped locket to reveal a hidden drug, it’s the work of Lee again — this time by opening a metal hinge and jangling a chain in his studio.

For more than 20 years, Lee has crafted the soundscapes for some of Korea’s most iconic films and series, from the recent historical epic “Harbin” to the Oscar-winning “Parasite,” and of course, both seasons of Netflix’s global hit series “Squid Game.”

During an interview with The Korea Herald on Jan. 13, Lee summed up the essence of his craft in one sentence: “Any sound created by human interaction is what a foley artist works on. "

Sounds like a car crash or a cannon firing, which aren’t created through direct human interaction, are not the foley artist’s work. But everything else is, Lee explained.

When first hearing raw, unprocessed sound from a film set, it can feel jarring and far from the immersive audio we’re used to experiencing in everyday life. But enhanced with Lee’s Foley work, the same scene becomes natural and believable.

Lee said that this sense of creating a natural sound that does not stand out is what defines Foley's work.

“I believe the best movies are the ones where I watch and don’t even pay attention to the sound details. If, after watching a movie, I think, ‘Oh, I should’ve paid more attention to the foley work,’ then I know the sound is really well done.”

Foley artist Lee Chung-gyu poses for a photo before his interview with The Korea Herald on Jan. 13.  (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)
Foley artist Lee Chung-gyu poses for a photo before his interview with The Korea Herald on Jan. 13. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)

Looking back, Lee shared that when he first started in 2004, he didn’t fully understand this idea.

“In the final mix, my work was barely audible. Back then, I thought, ‘Oh, I need to make it louder,’” Lee recalled. “But over time, I learned that the most important thing is making the sound feel natural.”

Lee also explained how he got into this rare profession in Korea — where only about a dozen people work as Foley artists.

While serving his mandatory military service, Lee saw a show about the profession on TV. As a student studying audio technology, he became instantly intrigued.

“I asked around at school and found out there was a senior student older than me who was working as a foley artist,” he said. After visiting that older student's studio and seeing the craft in action, he was hooked.

“The idea of creating sounds with your body or tools was fascinating,” Lee said. “I’ve always been the type of person who dives in head first. So, I thought, ‘I have to try this.’”

When asked if he thinks AI could replace his job, Lee isn’t convinced.

“I believe we convey emotion through sounds we create, and that’s something I don’t think can be replaced (by AI),” he said.

As an example of how characters’ emotions are conveyed through sound, Lee referenced a protagonist played by Lee Byung-hun in the 2010 thriller “I Saw the Devil.”

“After he gets his revenge, Lee Byung-hun walks away while crying. The character is smiling through his tears. The sound of his footsteps has to express the emotion of vengeance, but also the emptiness he feels as he realizes that it's been done and now he’s become the devil,” Lee explained.

“It’s hard to say exactly how I did it, but I focused on showing the character’s emotions through how he drags his feet and how his weight shifts as he walks.”

Lee also shared that while he sometimes uses the same object to re-create a sound — like using real "gonggi" stones (referring to the pieces in the traditional Korean game) for the gonggi playing scene in "Squid Game" season two — that’s not always the case.

“Usually, we layer sounds. For example, to make the sound of putting down a smartphone, I’ll layer the sounds of a radio, some random items and a few other noises to make it sound more realistic,” he said.

Foley artist Lee Chung-gyu poses for a photo before his interview with The Korea Herald on Jan. 13.  (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)
Foley artist Lee Chung-gyu poses for a photo before his interview with The Korea Herald on Jan. 13. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)

When asked what kinds of skills are needed to be a successful Foley artist, Lee emphasized curiosity in how different sounds are made and an understanding of films and series.

“Foley artists don’t consider ourselves as ‘sound people’ — we’re ‘film people’,” he explained. “While it’s important to be passionate about sound, understanding how it works with visuals is just as crucial.”