Cover Everything you need to know about South Korean actor and presenter Lee Dong-wook (Photo: Instagram/@leedongwook_official)
Everything you need to know about South Korean actor and presenter Lee Dong-wook (Photo: Instagram/@leedongwook_official)
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The charmer of hearts and an oppa to fans around the world, Lee Dong-wook has been making waves in the Korean entertainment industry over the last two decades
If you’ve dipped your toes in the world of Korean entertainment, chances are you’ve come across a Hallyu actor that’s virtually impossible to take your eyes off of–Lee Dong-wook. The charismatic actor first captured hearts with his breakthrough role and performance in the 2005 coming-of-age K-drama, My Girl, which skyrocketed his popularity and made him a household name in South Korea and across Asia.
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Since then, he has taken on numerous projects and roles, showcasing his versatility and remarkable range as an actor and a presenter. Continuing to make waves in the Korean entertainment industry, Lee will be making a special appearance in the highly anticipated 2024 biographical period drama film Harbin (which also stars fellow Hallyu actor Hyun Bin).
Before you catch a glimpse of him in Harbin, here's what you need to know about the multifaceted Korean A-lister.
1. Home is where the heart is
Born on November 6, 1981, in Seoul to a middle-class family, he has one younger sister and they used to live in a rural area with his parents. His father was a police officer and his mother was a homemaker.
Popular Korean talk show Healing Camp once aired a video message from his sister, Lee Seong-hee, who said, “My brother is truly the best brother with no flaws. He’s good, but he overdoes it at times.” insinuating that while he’s close to his family, he’s also very protective. The elder Lee joked that in his family, he’s known to be the one to nag. His father would ask for permission to stay out late drinking with his friends. “I think I made my family very tired [of my nagging],” he joked.
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While his parents are of Korean descent, in a 2020 Wook Talk episode, guest and forensic professor Yoo Sung-ho revealed Lee’s genealogical DNA test results, which suggests that a significant part of his mother’s genetic makeup matches that of Koryaks and Khakas people, which are ethnic groups that are indigenous to Siberia.
2. Start ‘em young
His family was neither rich nor poor but from an early age, he financially supported his family. He got into showbiz young, starring in an MBC single-episode drama after winning the grand prize in the V-NESS model contest–Lee was only 18 years old at the time.
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In an episode of Roommate, his sister said that seeing Lee on the show was a bit emotional. “I was jealous of him growing up so I always badgered my mother and asked why she favoured him over me. One day, she said, ‘You can do anything you want. He doesn’t have that privilege.’ I didn’t understand it then, but I thought about it later and… it was true–he never got to do anything he wanted to do. He was always either shooting or at home. When he came home, he would have a beer and read a comic book,” she called.
“I realised that Roommate was what he wanted to do–have some friends and hang out. I did that in my 20s, he’s getting to do that now. That’s why I always cry when I watch the show,” she added.
3. Well-loved and endearing
Filial son and brother aside, Lee is also known as a wholesome person on and offscreen–kind-hearted, hardworking, and considerate. He also boasts a remarkably clean record, with no scandals or controversies to his name.
He shared on the popular SBS YouTube show MMTG that his secret lies in his mantra. “I don’t do what people tell me not to do and I stay out of things that violate the law,” he divulged, adding that the fear of ruining his life with one single mistake act grounds him and acts as a driving force, helping him stay out of trouble.
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His squeaky clean image and warm demeanour have earned him an affectionate nickname. Lee is fondly known as “Wookie” to his fans. Not to be confused with the fictional tall species of furry humanoids from the planet Kashyyy in the Star Wars universe, “Wookie” is a playful nickname that’s a spin-off of his full name, Lee Dong-wook. Among his colleagues and the people he has worked with, he’s known as “Milky”, owing to his fair complexion.
4. The height of fame
Despite his humility, it’s undeniable that Lee’s fame is out of this world. Towering over most actors at six feet tall and with traffic-stopping features that make him look like he belongs on magazine covers, GQ Korea crowned him Man of the Year for three consecutive years–2018, 2019, and 2020.
While 2005’s My Girl put him on the map and gave him a leg up into the Korean entertainment industry, his claim to international fame came when he gave a masterclass performance as the Grim Reaper/Wang Yeo in the 2016 K-drama Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (aka Goblin). Fans applauded him for his portrayal of death himself and his ability to flex his duality, making the character both heartbreaking and hilarious.
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He continued to hone his craft after Guardian: The Lonely and the Great God, his schedule jam-packed with taking on lead K-drama roles in Life (2018), Touch Your Heart (2019), Hell is Other People (2019), Tale of the Nine Tailed (2020), Bad and Crazy (2021), and Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 (2023).
Fans also appreciate his appearances, as a host or a guest, through which he flaunts his quick wit and impeccable comedic timing on TV such as in Strong Heart, Roommate, Produce X101, Sea of Hope, and his very own talk show, Wook Talk.
5. His other, childlike side
When he’s not busy burying his face in scripts, he’s poring over pages of manhwa (South Korean comic) books. In an episode of tvN’s Taxi, he revealed that he has a collection of over 200 manhwa books. “I liked reading them since I was a kid but back then, I couldn’t read as many manhwa books as I had wanted because of my family’s financial situation. Now, I buy as many as I want and that’s how I ended up with several hundred,” he sheepishly admitted.
He confessed that it was through manhwa books that he developed his dream of becoming a movie director someday.
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Lee is also exceptionally close and playful with fellow Hallyu star Gong Yoo. The two formed a close bond when they co-starred in Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, and this continued long after filming for the K-drama wrapped. They’re often noticed for their evident “bromance” and are childlike with each other–a testament to how genuinely comfortable they are in their long-standing friendship.
6. Neohee
In conjunction with the 25th anniversary of his debut, Lee made an exciting announcement–his official fan club (and it took him a long time to reach this milestone). The actor named his fan club, ‘Neohee’, which means “you guys”, as a nod to what he affectionately calls his fans on the Bubble app (a paid service for fans to receive messages, photos, and videos from their favourite celebrities).
Recruitment for the fan club began on August 26, 2024, and ran until September 15, 2024, and each sign-up comes with a host of exclusive benefits: an official fan club kit, early access to tickets fan meetings, exclusive content, and updates on Lee’s latest projects as well as personal life.
Read more: 23 Korean celebrities with unofficial “titles” and what they mean
Lee also teased an official fan club light stick, which is rare for an actor. For the uninitiated, light sticks are usually a staple K-pop merchandise that fans use to cheer on their favourite K-pop artists during performances. Aside from Lee, only a handful of actors have their own light sticks such as Jung Hae-in, Park Bo-gum, and Park Eun-bin.
Other fun facts about Lee include:
- He’s good with kids. Really good with kids. He has been featured on the Korean reality-variety TV show The Return of Superman (in which celebrity dads are tasked to care for their kids alone) twice and was very popular with former professional footballer Lee Dong-gook’s children. Lee also mentioned on the show that he “wants three kids, at least”.
- In addition to being incredibly talented as an actor, he also has a flair for singing, which he showcased during his City of Stars duet with Lee Su-hyun of sibling duo AKMU and SHINee’s Encore duet with Onew on Sea of Hope, and on another occasion with the “Queen of Pop” BoA. He also lent his vocals to the 2015 K-drama, Bubble Gum, singing My Time Towards You for the OST.
See also: 18 popular K-drama title songs that will give you an earworm–or two
- Lee has an “alter ego” or rather, an “official character”–a baby white lion named Wookdong-i that loves peaches. It’s said that the character closely resembles the actor, from the details of his face such as white skin, big eyes, and moles on his cheeks to his favourite fruits and hobbies. Wookdong-i even has an Instagram account (@wookdonglee_official) and its own merchandise.
- Brands love him, engaging him as their ambassador, the face of their campaigns, or to star in commercials. To date, Lee has worked with Chanel, Valentino, Fendi, La Mer, Samsonite, Tissot, Cass, Downy, Chevrolet, and more. In 2018, he was made honorary ambassador of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
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Lainey was the Digital Director of Tatler Malaysia. When not whiling away the hours watching documentaries, the latest K-drama, or reruns of Friends, she can be found indulging her wanderlust by stalking travel platforms or feeding her obsession with music. She loves animals, running, all things social media, a good conversation over coffee or soju or wine (often rambling on if nobody pulls the brakes on her), and is an avid fan of bursting-at-the-seams laughter.
