Lee Min-ho (actor, born 1987)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For an actor of the same name, see Lee Min-ho (actor born 1993).
This is a Korean name; the family name is Lee.
Not to be confused with Lee Min-hu.
Lee Min-ho
Born June 22, 1987 (age 30)
Seoul, South Korea
Education Konkuk University Department of Film
Arts
Occupation Actor, Singer
Years active 20032017 (Military enlistment)
Agent MYM Entertainment (Korea)
IMX Inc. (Japan)
Huayi Brothers (China)
Website www.leeminho.kr
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised l Minho
Romanization
McCuneReischauer Yi Min-ho
This article
contains Korean text.Without
proper rendering support, you may
see question marks, boxes, or other
symbols instead
of Hangul and Hanja.
Lee Min-ho (Hangul: ; Hanja: , born June 22, 1987) is a South Korean actor and
singer. He first gained widespread fame in Korea and parts of Asia with his role as Gu Jun-pyo
in Boys Over Flowers in 2009. The role won him a Best New Actor award at the 45th Baeksang Arts
Awards. He is noted for his leading roles in City Hunter (2011), The Heirs (2013) and The Legend of
the Blue Sea(2016). The success of Lee's television dramas throughout Asia established him as a
top Hallyu star. Lee starred in his first leading role in film with Gangnam Blues (2015), followed by
his first China-produced film Bounty Hunters (2016).
Contents
[hide]
1Early life and education
2Career
o 2.120062008: Beginnings
o 2.220092012: Breakthrough
o 2.320132016: International fame
3Personal life
o 3.1Military enlistment
4Filmography
o 4.1Film
o 4.2Television series
o 4.3Web series
5Discography
o 5.1Albums
o 5.2Singles
o 5.3Promotional songs
6Videography
7Awards and nominations
8Others
o 8.1Ambassador roles
o 8.2Social contributions
o 8.3Media influence
9References
10External links
Early life and education[edit]
Lee was born in Heukseok-dong, Dongjak-gu, Seoul. As a child, Lee had hoped to become a
professional football player. He was selected for the youth football class of South Korean manager
and former professional player Cha Bum-Kun, but an injury in the 5th grade of elementary school put
an end to this aspiration.[1] In his second year of high school, Lee turned to acting.
He majors in Film & Art at Konkuk University.[1]
Career[edit]
20062008: Beginnings[edit]
Lee started auditioning and landed minor roles in several television dramas such as Nonstop
5 and Recipe of Love. His official debut role was in an EBS series, Secret Campus(2003).[2] Early in
his career Lee went by the stage name Lee Min because his agency thought his birth name was too
ordinary. However, as his stage name was pronounced and written (Hangul) in the same way as the
Korean word imin, which means "immigration", it made it hard for him to show up his ball in internet
search results. He eventually went back to using his original name.[3]
In 2006, his acting career was put on hold for a year following a serious car accident, while riding
with fellow actor Jung Il-woo. Lee was severely injured and spent several months bedridden.[1] Upon
recovery, Lee received his first leading role in the high-school drama Mackerel Run in 2007, but the
series was reduced to only eight episodes due to low viewership ratings.[4] In 2008 he appeared in
various roles on television (dramas Get Up and I Am Sam) and two movies, Public Enemy
Returns and Our School's E.T.. During the shooting of the latter he became good friends with actor
Kim Su-ro, who later praised him on a variety show: "I recognize a star when I see one. When I was
doing Our School's E.T., I knew that Lee Min-ho would become one of the top actors in the
country".[5]
20092012: Breakthrough[edit]
In December 2012
Lee's breakthrough came in 2009 with the lead role of Gu Jun-pyo in KBS's Boys Over Flowers, the
Korean adaptation of the popular Shjo mangaof the same name. Competition for the leading role
was very intense and Lee only got to know he was cast from the newspapers.[6] The series attracted
high viewership ratings and buzz throughout South Korea during its broadcast,[7] Lee's new-found
popularity gained him many endorsement deals and created another Korean Wave throughout Asia
which made Lee a Hallyu star.[8][9]
In 2010, Lee starred in romantic comedy Personal Taste, in which he played an ambitious
perfectionist young architect who poses as a gay man to become roommates with a young woman,
leading to romantic complications. When asked about why he chose the role during an interview he
responded "I think I would do a better job playing heavy and more defined roles when I am older. I
think "Personal Taste" was perfect because it is bright, cheerful but you can also laugh and cry over
it as well."[10]
In 2011, he played the titular character in action drama City Hunter, which was loosely based
on Tsukasa Hojo's popular manga. The drama was a commercial success[11] across Asia,[12] and
contributed to Lee's growing popularity, most notably in Japan, Philippines, China,[13][14][15] and parts of
Europe.[16] He participated in a popular Chinese variety show Happy Camp in December 2011.[17]
In 2012, Lee starred in historical-medical drama, Faith with Kim Hee-sun.[18] Although the drama
garnered viewership ratings around the 10% range, it was a commercial flop due to its high
budget.[19]
20132016: International fame[edit]
In April 2013, Lee's wax figure was unveiled at the Madame Tussauds in Shanghai.[20] He then
released his first album "My Everything" in May 2013 and went on a fan meeting tour in Asia.[21][22]
In December 2013
Lee also announced his return to television with a new drama titled The Heirs, a teen drama written
by Kim Eun-sook.[23] On why he decided to take on the role of a chaebol heir in high school four
years after playing one in Boys Over Flowers, he answered "Before I grew past my 20s, I wanted to
play a more upbeat character, one that would allow me to return to that feeling of simple,
uncomplicated innocence that I had when I was younger."[23] Premiering on October 9, 2013, The
Heirs enjoyed immense popularity both locally, with a peak rating of 28.6%, and internationally,
having over one billion hits on the Chinese streaming website iQiyi.[24][25] Lee experienced an increase
in his popularity, particularly in China.[26][27][28]
On Jan 30, 2014, Lee became the first Korean celebrity to perform on China's CCTV Lunar New
Year gala.[29][30] He sang a song with Harlem Yu, the original singer of the theme song of Meteor
Garden, the Taiwanese version of Boys Over Flowers.[31][32] He was also invited to the third
conference of the South Korean Presidential Committee for Cultural Enrichment as the
representative for the entertainment industry, to share and contribute to the discussion of issues
related to developing Korea's cultural content.[33] Lee received the "Prime Minister Award" at the 5th
Korean Popular Culture & Arts Award for his contribution to Hallyu.[34]
Lee subsequently recorded and released his second EP Song for You in October 2014
under Universal Music. As with his previous album, he stated that the tracks were recorded for his
fans and that he had no ambition to pursue a singing career.[35][36] The album release coincided with
the start of his RE:MINHO fan meeting tour which spanned various Asian cities.[37][38][39]
He then took on a starring role Yoo Ha's noir action film Gangnam Blues (2015), set in the 1970s
when the real estate development boom swept across Gangnam. The movie, which co-stars Kim
Rae-won, marks Lee's first leading role in a feature film.[40][41]
In 2016, Lee starred in the action comedy Bounty Hunters, directed by Shin Terra.[42] The film topped
box office charts on its release date and went on to gross US$29 million in China.[43][44] Later in the
year, Lee made his small-screen comeback in the fantasy romance drama The Legend of the Blue
Sea alongside actress Jun Ji-hyun.[45]
Personal life[edit]
Lee has an older sister, Lee Yong-jung, who is the CEO of his current agency MYM
Entertainment.[3][46][47]
In March 2015, Lee and South Korean singer Bae Suzy were confirmed to be in a
relationship.[48][49] On November 16, 2017, the relationship was confirmed to have ended.[50][51][52]
Military enlistment[edit]
Lee Min-ho began his mandatory military service on May 12, 2017 at Gangnam District Office as a
public service officer.[53] Lee is unable to serve as an active duty soldier due to a car accident that
took place in August 2006 with fellow actor Jung Il-woo, which caused him to be bedridden for
months as he had suffered serious leg injuries. He suffered another car accident in 2011 while
filming City Hunter.[54][55]
Filmography[edit]
Film[edit]
Year Title Original Title Role Distributor
Public Enemy Returns : 1-1 Jung Ha-yeon CJ Entertainment
2008
Our School's E.T. Oh Sang-hoon Finecut
2015 Gangnam Blues 1970 Kim Jong-dae Showbox
Year Title Original Title Role Distributor
2016 Bounty Hunters Yi San Le Vision Pictures
Television series[edit]
Year Title Original Title Role Network
2003 Sharp Student KBS2
2004 Nonstop 5 5 MC Mong
MBC
2005 Recipe of Love Waiter
2006 Secret Campus Park Du-hyun EBS
Mackerel Run Cha Gong-chan SBS
2007
I Am Sam Heo Mo-se KBS2
2008 Get Up Min Wook-gi MBC
2009 Boys Over Flowers Gu Jun-pyo KBS2
2010 Personal Taste Jeon Jin-ho MBC
2011 City Hunter Yoon-sung SBS
Year Title Original Title Role Network
2012 Faith () Choi Young
,
2013 The Heirs Kim Tan
The Legend of the Blue Kim Dam-ryeong/Heo
2016
Sea Joon-jae
Web series[edit]
Year Title Original Title Role Network
Toyota Camry
2011 Joon / Kwon
The One and Only Season 1
Toyota Camry
Joon / Kwon
The One and Only Season 2
2012
Innisfree First Love Innisfree CEO
2014 Line Romance Min-ho iQiyi
2015 Innisfree Summer Love Himself
Naver TV
2016 First Seven Kisses Lee Min-ho
Cast
Discography[edit]
Albums[edit]
Album
Year Details Track listing
Title
Korea[56][57]
Released: May 22, 2013 (Online Release) : May 24, 2013
(CD Release)
Label/Distributor: LOEN Entertainment
Format: CD+DVD+photobook(+poster)
Language: Korean
Japan
My Limited Editions[58][59][60]
2013 Released: May 27, 2013 Track listing [show]
Everything
Label/Distributor: IMX Inc.
Format: CD+DVD (Jacket A), CD+photobook (Jacket
B)
Language: Japanese
Regular Edition[61][62][63]
Released: June 5, 2013
Label/Distributor: Universal Music Japan
Format: CD
Language: Japanese
Korea[64][65]
Released: Oct 10, 2014 (Online Release) : Oct 11, 2014
(CD Release)
Label/Distributor: Universal Music (South Korea)
Format: CD+DVD+Photo cards
Language: Korean
Japan
Limited Edition[66]
2014 Song for You Released: Oct 10, 2014 Track listing [show]
Label/Distributor: Universal Music Japan
Format: CD+Photo Cards+Polaroid+Draw to Meet
Artiste (Type I), CD+DVD+Photo Cards (Type II)
Language: Japanese
Regular Edition[67]
Released: Oct 16, 2014
Label/Distributor: Universal Music Japan
Format: CD
Language: Japanese
Singles[edit]
Title /
Year Album Notes Ref.
Track
Boys Over
"My [68]
2009 Flowers OST (F4
Everything"
Special Edition)
composed by Hwang
"Painful Chan Hee, lyrics are [69]
2013 The Heirs OST
Love" written by Kang Yi
Deun
lyrics by Lee Min-ho,
"Thank written by composer [70]
Thank You
You" and producer Hwang
Chan-hee
2015
"The Day"
The Day
"I Love you"
2016 "Run" Bounty Hunter OST with Yu Quan
[71]
2017 "Always Always by Lee Minho
Promotional songs[edit]
Year Song Title Artist Product Notes Ref.
Cass 2X
2009 "Extreme" with Jessica Gomes
Beer
Himself with Park Shin-
"You're so Lotte Duty
2014 hye, EXO, Super
Beautiful" Free
Junior Etc.
Videography[edit]
Year Title Details Track listing
Release Date: March 20,
2010 (Japan)
2010 Minoz Japan First Event[72]
Format: 2DVD Track listing [show]
Length: 142 min.
Release Date: February 2,
2011 (Japan)
2011 Lee Min Ho 20092010 DVD[73]
Format: 2DVD Track listing [show]
Length: 200 min.
Release Date: March 14,
2012 (Japan)
2012 Minoz Japan 2nd Event[74]
Format: 1DVD Track listing [show]
Length: 99 min.
Release Date: May 15, 2013
2012 MJ 3rd Event (Japan)
2013
-Lee Min Ho With Winter Symphony-[75] Format: 2DVD Track listing [show]
Length: 131 min.
Release Date: Sep 9, 2013
Lee Min Ho 2013 Global Tour 'My (Korea)
2013
Everything' in Seoul[76] Format: 2DVD Track listing [show]
Length: 118 min.
Release Date: Oct 16, 2013
Lee Min Ho 2013 Global Tour in Japan (Japan)
2013
My Everything[77] Format: 2DVD Track listing [show]
Length: 135 min.
Release Date: Apr 22, 2014
(Korea)
2014 Lee Min Ho All My Life[78]
Format: 2DVD Track listing [show]
Length: 183 min.
Release Date: Aug 8, 2014
Lee Min Ho Encore Concert 2014 My (Korea)
2014
Everything in Japan[79] Format: 2DVD
Length: 147 min.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Min-ho_(actor,_born_1987)
