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Lee Jong-suk (이종석, born September 14, 1989) is a South Korean actor and model. He debuted in 2005 as a runway model, becoming the youngest male model ever to participate in Seoul Fashion Week. Lee's breakout role was in School 2013 (2012) and he is also well known for his roles in I Can Hear Your Voice (2013), Doctor Stranger (2014), Pinocchio (2014), W (2016), While You Were Sleeping (2017), The Hymn of Death (2018), and Romance Is a Bonus Book (2019).
Education[]
Lee majored in Professional Motion Pictures and Art at Konkuk University and graduated from the university in 2016.
Career[]
2005–2010: Beginnings[]
At 17, Lee began his modelling career at the Seoul Collection walkway in 2005, making him the youngest male model to debut in the Seoul Collection program at Seoul Fashion Week. Since then, he has walked in a number of fashion shows.
Lee trained as an idol group member for three months, and had signed on with an agency to debut. However, he quit after the agency broke their promise of debuting him as an actor. He took part in a selection for actors at SBS TV station when he was in middle school.
In 2010, Lee made his official acting debut in the South Korean TV series Prosecutor Princess. He also made his big-screen debut in the horror movie Ghost.
2011–2013: Rising popularity and breakthrough[]
Lee started to gain recognition following his supporting role in the hit drama Secret Garden where he played a talented young composer with a surly attitude and a forbidden crush on the second male lead.
In 2011, he appeared in MBC's sitcom High Kick Season 3 where he gained further popularity. Lee also co-starred in the film R2B: Return to Base in 2012, a loose remake of the critically acclaimed 1986 film Top Gun.
Lee's breakout role came as a high school student in the teen drama School 2013. He received his first acting award for the role at the 2012 KBS Drama Awards under the category Best New Actor. He also ranked fifth according to a survey entitled 'Actors Who Lit Up 2013' by Gallup Korea.
Following the success of School 2013, Lee starred in the critically acclaimed drama series I Can Hear Your Voice with Lee Bo Young. He played Park Soo-ha, an intelligent young man who can read minds. Originally slated for 16 episodes, the drama was extended by two episodes due to its successful ratings. He received the Excellence Award in the male category at the Korea Drama Awards for his performance. Lee then starred in the sports film No Breathing and had a supporting role in the box office hit The Face Reader.
2014–present: Mainstream popularity[]
In 2014, he starred in teen romantic comedy Hot Young Bloods, playing a cheesy womanizer. Lee then starred in hit medical drama Doctor Stranger, playing a North Korean defector who works as a doctor in South Korea. The drama was a success in China, gaining 400 million views. Lee next starred in Pinocchio opposite actress Park Shin Hye, and played the protagonist Choi Dal-po, a first year reporter at a broadcasting company who struggles with the idea of justice and truth in a world where everyone wants to hide the facts. Pinocchio was another hit, with a reported revenue of 6.2 billion won (US$5.62 million) for broadcasting rights in just one year. Lee's performances in the dramas Doctor Stranger and Pinocchio earned him acting accolades, including the Male Top Excellence Award at the 8th Korea Drama Awards. He also became the youngest actor to win the Best Actor award at the 27th Grimae Awards, chosen by television cinematographers.
Lee then embarked on an Asia fan-meeting tour, and released a photobook titled 2014-2015 Asia Tour Story ~With~, comprising photos taken of Lee's meetings with fans in seven Asian cities during the nine-month tour. Lee was also cast in his first Chinese drama entitled Jade Lovers alongside actress Zheng Shuang. The drama, filmed in Shanghai, is described as a fantasy romance series set in the 1930s. Due to Lee's success in China, a wax figure of him went on display in Hong Kong's Madame Tussauds, which the actor unveiled himself in a ceremony. In December 2015, Lee left his previous agency Wellmade Yedang and signed an exclusive contract with YG Entertainment on May 10, 2016.
In July 2016, Lee returned to the Korean small screen with MBC's fantasy thriller W alongside Han Hyo Joo. The drama topped popularity charts in Korea and Lee won the Daesang (Grand Prize) at the year-end MBC Drama Awards. The same year, he co-starred in the promotional web drama First Seven Kisses for Lotte Duty Free.
In 2017, Lee starred in the crime film VIP, marking his first lead role as a villain. Lee then starred in the supernatural-procedural drama While You Were Sleeping alongside Bae Suzy in September. In July of the same year, Lee was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Korean tourism by the Korea Tourism Organization. The organization also released promotional videos featuring the actor, titled "8 Episodes of Korea", which focused on tourist spots in 10 different regions including Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Jeju and Gyeongju.
In 2018, Lee was cast in the two-episode drama The Hymn of Death, a remake of the 1991 film Death Song. Lee signed with new management agency YNK Entertainment once his contract with YG Entertainment ended, but terminated his contract five months later, and established his own agency "A-man Project"
In 2019, he starred in his first romantic comedy drama Romance Is a Bonus Book alongside Lee Na Young.
Personal life[]
Military enlistment[]
Lee began his mandatory military service on March 8, 2019. Lee was deemed unfit to enlist as an active duty soldier as a result of going through a car accident when he was 16 and tore his anterior cruciate ligament. Therefore, he is confirmed to work as a public service officer. Lee is expected to be discharged on January 2, 2021.
Relationship[]
On December 31, 2022, Dispatch reported that IU and Lee Jong Suk were in a relationship and have been for about four months. Both agencies confirmed the reports.[1]
Filmography[]
Discography[]
Soundtrack appearances[]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions |
Sales | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR Gaon | ||||
| "Come To Me" ("내게 와") | 2017 | — | N/A | While You Were Sleeping (2017) OST |
| "Would You Know" ("그대는 알까요") | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. | ||||
Awards and nominations[]
Trivia[]
| “ | My father was strict only towards me. I think he was displeased with me because I am the eldest and I am quiet and timid compared to my siblings. It's not as bad as it was before but I still can't look over to the main room when my father is there because he is scary. | ” |
—Lee Jong Suk about his family | ||
- His family consists of his parents, his younger brother of two years, and younger sister of four years.
- He was born in Yongin but moved to Seoul for high school.
- He was one of the 2220 students out of 21268 to pass the entrance exam for Konkuk University.
- He was the youngest male model of the Seoul Collection program.
- He was an idol trainee under SM Entertainment for 3 months and was even scheduled to debut but resigned from the company after they refused to also debut him as an actor as initially planned.
- He initially planned to enlist in 2018 but had to delay his enlistment due to his busy schedule.
- When he was still in school, he was so shy that he couldn't even do a presentation.
- After watching "Full House", Rain became his role model.
- He can do taekwondo and knows how to play the piano.
| “ | I learned how to play the piano, do taekwondo, draw and play baduk [Korean chess]. I somewhat liked to play the piano but I was forced to take taekwondo lessons. I once got in a car accident on the way to taekwondo and I tore my cruciate ligament. I was glad thinking that I didn't have to go to taekwondo anymore but as soon as I was released from the hospital my father told me to go back. | ” |
- He's friends with SNSD's Yoona and Hyoyeon since before their debut.
- He's also friends with his co-stars and former models Kim Woo Bin and Young Kwang.
- He gets embarrassed and intimidated whenever he's the center of attention. It's okay when less than eight people are watching him but as soon as it becomes more, he'll get nervous.
- He prefers going to cafes over clubs.
- He's a lightweight drinker.
- He likes holding hands when he's comfortable around a person.
| “ | It's just natural for me to touch people, so I like holding the hand of the person I'm talking to, whether it's a guy or a girl. If I'm with someone I'm comfortable with, I hug that person or touch them. Sometimes people misunderstand. I've come to realize there are people who don't like such skinship. | ” |
| “ | If I had to pick among celebrities, Lee Na Young is the closest to my ideal woman. I chose her previously and she still is my ideal type. I really like Lee Na Young's distinctive talking style. It's very charming. | ” |
—Lee Jong Suk about his ideal type | ||
- Lee is best friends with fellow model-actor and School 2013 co-star Kim Woo Bin, whom he has known since their modeling days.
- He is the owner of the dining cafe, 89Mansion.
Gallery[]
(2018)
(2019) (1)
(2019) (2)
