Lee Dong-wook is one of South Korea’s biggest actors. Let’s check out some of Lee Dong-wook’s best K-Dramas!
Having become increasingly popular over the past couple of years, South Korean dramas may remain in the consciousness of global audiences for some time. For some of the hottest players, this translates into brand recognition, which ranges from advertising food products to international cosmetics companies. Among these actors is Lee Dong-wook, who in addition to starring in some of the most popular Kdramas of the past decade, has gone on to host his own talk shows and appear on reality and television shows. varieties in South Korea.
Making his debut in 1999, at the age of 18, Lee has continued to appear in shows and films since then. His breakthrough came six years later, when he starred in the Kdrama My Girl, which is one of the first Korean series to achieve global success, in fact its popularity is not only in Korea. His success is far from over as even today he continues to star in some of the best series in Korean cable history, demonstrating the strength of the roles and series he chooses to portray.
Lee is expected to appear in the Tale of the Nine Tailed prequel in 2023, as well as the romantic comedy Single in Seoul. In the meantime, you will find the ranking of its best television series below.
- The Beauty Inside
Based on the 2012 American film of the same name, The Beauty Inside tells the story of an 18-year-old who wakes up on his birthday to realize that he is not in his body. On this day, an endless cycle is started because every time he wakes up in the morning, he acquires a new face and a new body. It is only to a few people, including his mother and his friend, that he talks about it and he must learn to cope with the extent of his condition. While starting his own furniture business in his home, he falls in love with a store employee, making his life even more difficult than it already is.
- Tale of the Nine Tailed
In Tale of the Nine Tailed, a fantasy Kdrama released in 2020, Lee co-starred with Kim Bum and Jo Bo-ah to bring myths from Korean history to life. He plays Lee Yeon, a thousand-year-old gumiho, or nine-tailed fox, who helps protect the mortal world from vengeful spirits and beings. One day, he meets a woman (Jo) who accidentally discovers his secret, and whose memory he is unable to erase about what she saw. A dangerous affair begins between them, and when he discovers that she is the reincarnation of his first love, other dangerous figures begin to emerge from the shadows.
- A Year End Medley
Directed by a group of actors and released in 2021, the film A Year End Medley became so popular that it gave rise to the creation of a small mini-series of six episodes featuring the characters from the film. Gathered in a magnificent hotel during the end-of-year holidays, several characters end up meeting during their vacation. They all have a particular past, and if a few sparks fly between some of them, others are confronted with the impact of their past on the present.
- Touch Your Heart
Having starred together in the huge hit Guardian: The Great and Lonely God, Lee and Yoo In-na found themselves in the lead roles of Touch Your Heart in 2019. Yoo plays the role of a struggling actress who, following of a major scandal revealed by the press, sees his career shattered. Unable to find work, she decides to find a job in a law firm to get out of the hole she has dug for herself. She becomes the secretary of a lawyer played by Lee, and although he initially sees her as just another celebrity, they both become closer and have a romantic relationship throughout the series.
- My Girl
Lee’s career took off again thanks to My Girl, released in 2005, which made him one of the most recognized fictional actors in South Korea. Lee Da-hae plays Joo Yoo-rin, a native of Jeju Island who, after growing up with a father addicted to gambling, must face the consequences of his actions when he leaves the island, leaving his family struggling with its debtors. After being hired by the heir of a large hotel company (Lee Dong-wook) following a promise made to her grandfather, she is led to pose as the granddaughter of the family, long lost sight of.
- Life
Available for international streaming on Netflix, 2018’s Life is a medical Kdrama starring Lee Dong-wook, Won Jin-ah, Cho Seung-woo and Lee Kyu-hyung. Events unfolding at a single hospital continue to spiral out of control of local doctors and residents throughout 16 episodes. Without getting completely involved in the medical aspect due to the fact that it takes place in a university hospital, the series easily addresses the subjects and difficulties linked to this type of work environment, in particular during the appointment of a new president and CEO.
- Bad and Crazy
Starring Squid Game’s Lee Dong-wook and Wi Ha-joon as the lead actors, Netflix’s Bad and Crazy is a crime Kdrama that doesn’t lack comedic dynamism. Lee plays Su-yeol, a Korean police officer willing to do anything to get his job done, even if it means bending rules and ethics to complete his mission. His encounter with a mysterious individual named K, who has a fair approach to how justice is dispensed, however, pushes him to question his previous tactics and fight for what is right. Faced with the sudden rise of Kdrama within the department, there is reason to ask questions about himself and others.
- Bubble Gum
First broadcast in 2015, Bubble Gum stars Jung Ryeo-won and Lee. The latter plays the role of a son from a rich family who now owns his own medical clinic after becoming a doctor. He has always kept in touch with his childhood best friend Haeng-ah (Jung), who was raised by her mother after both her parents died when she was a child. The fact of having been raised as brothers and sisters does not prevent them from having feelings for each other, but several external factors hinder their relationship, namely his mother, who would not approve of this relationship. , as well as Haeng-ah’s wealthy ex-boyfriend, who is keen to win her back.
- Hell is Other People
Directed by Im Si-wan and Lee in 2019 through ten energetic and wild episodes, Hell is Other People tells the story of a young man (Im) who moves to Seoul to find better career opportunities . After landing an internship, he decides to temporarily move into an inexpensive dorm called Eden, although he has reservations about some of its missing qualities. The true nature of the building begins to reveal itself to him, however, after a series of arguments with his neighbor (Lee Dong-wook) and other incidents.
- Scent of a Woman
In Scent of a Woman, we discover the story of a woman in her thirties who is struck by a series of horrible news. She is first accused of stealing from one of her clients at work, which forces her to resign, and she has just been diagnosed with gallbladder cancer which leaves her with only six months to live. live. Deciding to go to Japan, she meets a rich, cynical heir to her former boss’s company, who in fact turns out to be the ideal man for her. As she lives out what could be her final days, the two end up forming a perfect couple.
- King Hotel
Almost ten years later after starring together in My Girl, Lee Da-hae and Lee Dong-wook reunited for the Kdrama Hotel King. Lee Dong-wook finds himself running a posh local hotel, whose past has left him with a lot of emotional trauma and heavy baggage.
Following his meeting with a rich heiress (Lee Da-hae) without the slightest experience but who now owns the hotel after losing her father, he decides to help her. Full of romance, Hotel King is one of the most important Kdramas of the 2010s.
- Guardian: The Great and Lonely God
Also known as Goblin, Guardian: The Great and Lonely God is one of the most iconic Korean series of the 2010s, if not all time. In the main story, Gong Yoo plays an immortal goblin who meets his faded fiancée (Kim Go-eun) whose protection he must ensure while accepting the fact that she is mortal. As for the secondary story, Lee Dong-wook plays a reaper who falls in love with the owner of a chicken shop (Yoo In-na), a love that does not go smoothly, due to the appearance of new problems.