Profile | Who is Lee Dong-wook, star of K-dramas A Shop for Killers and Tale of the Nine Tailed and a household name for the best part of 20 years?
- Lee Dong-wook is best known for playing the Grim Reaper in 2016’s Guardian: The Great and Lonely God, but the actor has been appearing in K-dramas since 1999
- Lee hit the big time in 2005 with a leading role in romantic comedy My Girl; he stars as a man with a secret, deadly identity in A Shop for Killers on Disney+
Given he could probably still pass for a 25-year-old, it is incredible to realise it has been 25 years since Lee Dong-wook made his screen acting debut.
That is a long time in the entertainment business but, after becoming a household name in South Korea in 2005, Lee is as popular as he has ever been. This month he takes on a new challenge, appearing in his first streaming series – A Shop for Killers on Disney+.
The series is an opportunity to see a different side of him. We have long been used to Lee taking on romantic roles or playing suave characters in popular fantasy dramas, but the gloves are off for this decidedly edgier series: his role, as a man who has kept his identity as an arms dealer a secret from his niece, seems a calculated move.
As Lee looks to the next stage of his career, he reminds us that perhaps there is more to him than meets the eye – that he is an actor possessing a range he has not always been given the chance to show.
Why we love him
Even among the ranks of handsome K-drama stars, Lee’s striking looks stand out.
His appearance has long been his calling card, ever since he won a major modelling contest as a teenager which landed him a part in a single-episode MBC drama in 1999.
This, in turn, got him noticed by a major television director, who cast him for an 11-episode arc in the second season of the popular “School” anthology series.
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He reprised his role in School 3, making his character Lee Kang-soon the only student character to appear as a lead in several seasons of the series.
After working diligently for the following few years – he had seven credits in 2001 alone – he hit the big time in 2005 when he took on one of the leading roles in the hit romcom drama My Girl opposite Lee Da-hae.
The role made him one of the Hallyu (Korean Wave) stars of the day.
Following the end of the series, Lee and Gong remained close and their friendship, which includes bantering on each other’s social media accounts and going on fishing trips, has long delighted fans of both stars.
Before becoming a star, Lee grew up in the countryside as the eldest of four children. Having never forgotten where he came from, he has always supported his family.
Aside from his many drama roles, Lee is also a very familiar face on other television programming, frequently appearing on reality shows and even hosting his own talk show (Wook Talk) – and Gong was his first guest.
The star-making role
In the romcom My Girl, which peaked with a 25 per cent viewership rating on SBS, Lee plays the dashing heir to the L’Avenuel Hotel who hires Lee Da-hae’s tour guide to pose as the long-lost granddaughter of his grandfather, to fulfil his dying wish.
But when the ailing mogul makes a miraculous recovery they must continue to pose as cousins. All the while, a forbidden love develops between them.
The iconic parts
In Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, arguably his most iconic role, Lee plays a cynical Grim Reaper who is doomed to guide people to the afterlife as he pays for the sins of a past life he does not remember.
He lives with a “goblin” (a protector of souls) played by series lead Gong and, after falling in love with a chicken restaurateur played by Yoo In-na, he begins to remember his past life as a corrupt Joseon era (1392-1910) king.
Lee takes on the main lead role in his own fantasy drama Tale of the Nine Tailed, playing a 1,000-year-old “gumiho” (aka a nine-tailed fox, a Korean mythological creature) Lee Yeon. Lee Yeon carries out missions for the Afterlife Immigration Office while seeking the reincarnation of his past love, played by Jo Bo-ah.
The unheralded performances
His most memorable film role is opposite Lee Yo-won and Ryoo Seung-ryong in The Recipe, a mystery drama about a bean paste stew recipe with the power to stop a serial killer in his tracks.
Tomorrow’s turns
In 2024, Lee will return as the grandson in a family of gangsters in The Good Man, the first drama from acclaimed filmmaker Song Hae-sung (Failan, Maundy Thursday).
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He is also set to play a role in the anticipated film Harbin, in which Hyun Bin plays Korean independence fighter An Jung-geun, who became a martyr after assassinating a Japanese politician who had served as the Resident-General of Korea.
