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Lee Dong-wook
Lee Dong-wook at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (cropped).jpg
Lee at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival
Born (1981-11-06) November 6, 1981 (age 43)
Seoul, South Korea
Education Joongbu University
Occupation
Years active 1999–present
Agent King Kong by Starship
Korean name
Hangul 이동욱
Hanja 李棟旭
Revised Romanization I Donguk
McCune–Reischauer I Tonguk
Signature
Signature of Lee Dong-wook

Lee Dong-wook (Hangul: 이동욱; born November 6, 1981) is a South Korean actor and presenter. He is best known for his leading roles in the television dramas My Girl (2005), Scent of a Woman (2011), The Fugitive of Joseon (2013), Hotel King (2014), Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (2016–2017), Life (2018), Hell Is Other People (2019), Tale of the Nine Tailed (2020), Bad and Crazy (2021), and Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 (2023) in the title role. He is also the host of the talk show Strong Heart (2012–2013), boy group survival reality show Produce X 101 (2019), and his own American-style talk show Wook Talk (2019).

Early life and education

In 2005, Lee enrolled in Joongbu University, majoring in media and broadcasting arts.

Career

Lee made his acting debut in 1999 in an MBC single-episode drama after winning the grand prize in the V-NESS model contest of the same year. The PD of the drama saw Lee, and proceeded to cast him in the teen drama School 2. Lee started to gain recognition with his performance in School 3.

Lee hit stardom with 2005 romantic comedy My Girl. The drama series became a hit during its run both domestically and across Asia, and made Lee a Korean Wave star.

He has since starred in noir Bitter Sweet Life (2008), courtroom dramedy Partner (2009), melodrama Scent of a Woman (2011), baseball rom-com Wild Romance (2012), period thriller The Fugitive of Joseon (2013), and revenge drama Hotel King (2014), in which he reunited with My Girl co-star Lee Da-hae. He then starred in fantasy-action series Blade Man (2014) and romance drama Bubble Gum (2015).

Lee and comedian Shin Dong-yup took over as MCs of talk show Strong Heart from April 2012 to January 2013. Lee also joined the reality show Roommate, which aired from 2014 to 2015.

From 2016 to 2017, Lee starred alongside Gong Yoo in Kim Eun-sook's fantasy-romance drama Guardian: The Lonely and Great God playing a grim reaper. The drama was a hit, and along with its success, helped in the resurgence of Lee's acting career.

In 2018, Lee starred in the medical drama Life as a doctor who works at the ER Department.

In 2019, Lee starred in the romance comedy drama Touch Your Heart alongside Guardian co-star Yoo In-na, playing a workaholic lawyer. The same year, he was confirmed as the host for Produce X 101, the fourth season of survival audition program Produce 101. He then starred as the main antagonist in the thriller drama Hell Is Other People as a dentist in the morning but a psychopath in the evening. He also started hosting his own talk show, Wook Talk, to celebrate his 20th anniversary since debut.

In 2020, Lee was cast in the fantasy drama Tale of the Nine Tailed as a nine-tailed fox who used to be a mountain god, and is now working as a civil servant. He also confirmed to appear in the romantic comedy film Single in Seoul alongside Im Soo-jung.

In December 2020, he was listed as Asia-Pacific's Most Influential Celebrities on Social Media.

In 2021, he appeared in A Year-End Medley, a romantic comedy film by Kwak Jae-yong and in an iQIYI original mystery drama Bad and Crazy, which aired on December 17, 2021.

In 2022, Lee joined the Universe communication platform.

In 2024, Lee is starring on the Disney+ web series A Shop For Killers.

Other activities

Philanthropy

On March 11, 2022, Lee made a donation 50 million to the Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association to help the victims of the Uljin forest fire 2022, which devastated the area and then spread to Samcheok, Gangwon Province, South Korea.

Personal life

Lee enlisted in the military in August 2009, serving under the National Defense Public Relations Service. He was discharged in June 2011.

Ancestry

His parents are mainly of Korean descent. In a Wook Talk episode that aired on January 22, 2020, guest and forensic professor Yoo Sung-ho revealed genealogical DNA test results for him and one of the show's producers. According to Lee's results, a significant part of his mother's genetic makeup matches that of Koryaks and Khakas people—both ethnic groups that are indigenous to Siberia (to be more specific, Kamchatka and Khakassia respectively).

Filmography

Ambassadorships

Year Title Ref.
2018 Honorary Ambassador for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
Tourism Ambassador of Gangwon Province
2024 Olympic Friends of 2024 Winter Youth Olympics

Awards and nominations

Year presented, name of the award ceremony, award category, nominated work and the result of the nomination
Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
1999 V-NESS Model Awards Grand Prize N/A Won
2001 9th Korean Most Popular Entertainment Awards New Generation Actor N/A Won
2002 10th Korean Most Popular Entertainment Awards Best New Actor (TV) Loving You Won
2003 SBS Drama Awards New Star Award Land of Wine Won
Best Supporting Actor Nominated
2007 1st Korea Movie Star Awards Best New Actor The Perfect Couple Nominated
2009 KBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Partner Nominated
2011 8th Cosmopolitan Beauty Awards in China Most Attractive Actor in Asia N/A Won
SBS Drama Awards Top 10 Stars Scent of a Woman Won
Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Weekend Drama Won
2012 SBS Entertainment Awards Best Newcomer, MC category Strong Heart Won
Best Couple Award
with Shin Dong-yup
Won
KBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Wild Romance Nominated
2013 PC LADY & Tudou Fashion Awards Asia Fashion Star Award N/A Won
KBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Mid-length Drama The Fugitive of Joseon Nominated
2014 9th Asia Model Awards Fashionista Award N/A Won
3rd APAN Star Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama Hotel King Nominated
MBC Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Project Drama Nominated
2017 5th Annual DramaFever Awards Best Supporting Actor Guardian: The Lonely and Great God Won
10th Korea Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor Nominated
3rd Fashionista Awards Global Icon N/A Nominated
2018 6th APAN Star Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Life Nominated
K-Star Award Nominated
Korea Fashion Photographers Association Photogenic Award of the year N/A Won
13th Annual Soompi Awards Best Supporting Actor Guardian: The Lonely and Great God Won
2019 OCN Awards "Dangerously Attractive Character" Award Hell Is Other People Won
2021 Korea First Brand Awards Best Actor N/A Won
I-Magazine Fashion Face Award Asian Male N/A Won
IQIYI Awards The Most Popular Actor Tale of the Nine Tailed Won
2023 Brand of the Year Awards Male Actor of the Year (Drama) N/A Won

State and cultural honors

Name of country or organization, year given and name of honor
Country or organization Year Honor Ref.
South Korea-Japan Culture Awards 2011 Grand Prize for Cultural Diplomacy

Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement
Publisher Year Listicle Placement Ref.
GQ Korea 2019 Men of the Year Placed

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Lee Dong-wook para niños

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