Lee Donghae facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lee Dong-hae
이동해
Donghae in 2017
Born	Lee Dong-hae (1986-10-15) October 15, 1986 (age 38) Mokpo, South Korea
Occupation	Singer songwriter composer actor
Musical career
Genres	K-pop R&B soft rock synthpop
Instruments	Vocals keyboards guitar
Years active	2001–present
Labels	SM Label SJ ODE
Korean name
Hangul	이동해
Hanja	李東海
Revised Romanization	I Donghae
McCune–Reischauer	I Tonghae

Lee Dong-hae (born October 15, 1986), known as Donghae, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He joined SM Entertainment in 2001 after winning a contest. After four years of training, Donghae became a member of the boy group Super Junior in November 2005. He also joined its smaller groups, Super Junior-M and Super Junior-D&E.

In July 2023, Donghae left SM Entertainment. However, he is still a member of Super Junior. A few months later, he and fellow member Eunhyuk started their own company called ODE.en. This company helps manage their solo work and their group activities as Super Junior-D&E. Donghae is a co-founder of this new company.

Career Journey: From Trainee to Star

Early Life and First Steps (1986–2011)

Donghae was born in Mokpo, a city in South Korea. He has an older brother named Lee Dong-hwa. When he was young, Donghae dreamed of becoming a football player. However, his father wanted him to be a singer, a dream his father had given up on.

In 2001, Donghae signed with SM Entertainment after winning a prize in their Youth Best Contest. At SM Entertainment, he took lessons in singing, dancing, and acting. He was almost part of a five-member boy band called Smile with Leeteuk, who later became his bandmate. But this plan did not happen. In 2004, Donghae and Leeteuk joined a new twelve-member boy band called Super Junior 05.

Donghae officially started his career with Super Junior 05 on November 6, 2005. He also began acting in a horror show called Mystery 6 in early 2006. This show was about Donghae's special ability to see ghosts. In August 2006, he acted in the Korean music video drama for BoA's song "Key of Heart".

In April 2008, a Chinese subgroup of Super Junior called Super Junior-M was formed. Donghae joined this group along with Hangeng, Siwon, Ryeowook, Kyuhyun, Henry, and Zhou Mi. Their first album, Me, became very popular in China.

In 2010, Donghae acted in a drama called It's Okay, Daddy's Girl. In April 2011, he starred with Siwon again in the Taiwanese drama Skip Beat!. He also sang the ending song for the drama, "This is Love," with Henry. Donghae also sang "Dreams Come True" with Seohyun of Girls' Generation for the 2011 8th Asia Song Festival.

On December 16, 2011, Donghae and Eunhyuk formed a new Super Junior subgroup called D&E. They released their first song, Oppa, Oppa. This song was also released in Japanese in April 2012.

Acting, Songwriting, and Military Service (2012–2015)

Lee Donghae at a press conference for Super Junior M Breakdown in Bangkok

In May 2012, Donghae played the main role of Mr. Hedgehog in the romantic comedy Miss Panda and Mr. Hedgehog. He also sang his character's theme song, "Plz Don't."

For Super Junior's album Spy, Donghae helped write the lyrics for "Only U" with Leeteuk. He also helped compose "Haru." In December 2012, Donghae joined a new dance group from SM called S.M. The Performance. They performed a cover of Zedd's "Spectrum."

Donghae was offered a role in a horror film but could not take it due to other plans. However, he later starred in the short film The Youth-The Rumor. Donghae also joined the cast of Quiz of God Season 4 as a medical researcher. The show started airing on May 18, 2014.

In August 2014, Super Junior released their seventh album, Mamacita. Donghae helped create the music and lyrics for the song "Shirt."

In March 2015, D&E released their first Korean album, The Beat Goes On. Donghae helped write and compose two songs for the album: "Growing Pains" and "Mother."

In July 2015, Super Junior released a special album called Devil to celebrate their 10th anniversary. Donghae also helped write and compose two songs for this album: "Don't Wake Me Up" and "Alright."

On September 2, 2015, it was announced that Lee Donghae would start his mandatory military service as a policeman. He began his service on his birthday, October 15, 2015, at the Nonsan Army Training Center.

Return to Super Junior and New Music (2017–Present)

Donghae finished his military service on July 14, 2017, after serving for 21 months. After his service, he and Eunhyuk held a fan meeting for Super Junior-D&E called Hello Again. They also performed at the SM Town Live World Tour VI in Japan.

On September 27, 2017, Super Junior announced their comeback for their 8th album, set for November 6. A reality show called SJ Returns showed how the group prepared their album. Donghae helped write and compose a song called "One More Chance" with Eunhyuk. The music video for "One More Chance" was released on October 30, 2017. On November 6, 2017, Super Junior's eighth album Play was released to celebrate their 12th anniversary.

In 2017, Donghae and Eunhyuk announced that Super Junior-D&E would release a new Japanese song every month starting in November 2017. They planned to put all these songs together into a full Japanese album later in 2018. They released singles like "Here We Are," "You don't go," "If You," "Circus," and "Lose It."

In December 2017, Donghae worked with Cadillac on a song called "Perfect," which he also helped write.

Because SJ Returns was so popular, Donghae and other Super Junior members started a new show called Super Junior's Super TV in January 2018. In this show, they tried out different entertainment formats.

Donghae during Analog Trip press conference in September 2019

In October 2022, Donghae was cast in the romantic comedy series Oh! Youngsim with Song Ha-yoon. This was his first acting role since 2014.

On July 14, 2023, it was announced that Donghae, Eunhyuk, and Kyuhyun would not renew their contracts with SM Entertainment. However, they would continue to be part of Super Junior's group activities with SM.

Music Releases

Songs (Singles)

Other Songs

Songs Written or Composed by Donghae

Acting Roles

Movies

TV Series

TV Shows

Web Shows

Awards and Recognitions

See also

In Spanish: Donghae (cantante) para niños