Lee Min-ho

Lee is a common Korean surname. For others who share the name, see Lee.

Lee Min-ho (Hangul: 이민호, born June 22, 1987 in Seoul, South Korea) is a South Korean actor, who rose to fame with his role as Gu Jun-pyo in Boys Over Flowers. He is also well known for his work in City Hunter, The Heirs, Gangnam Blues, Legend of the Blue Sea, and The King: Eternal Monarch. Lee has established himself as one of South Korea's most popular stars.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Lee was born on June 22, 1987 in Seoul.^[1] He has an older sister.^[2] Lee was considered a "rising soccer star" when he was child. He was selected for a competitive class taught by professional Cha Bum-kun. At age twelve, he broke his arm during a game. His father subsequently pulled him out of soccer, instead having him focus on studying. In high school, Lee began aspiring to become an actor.^[3]

Career[]

Rise to fame[]

In 2003, Lee had a bit part in the television series Sharp.^[4] After graduating from Konkuk University, he began actively acting and made his official debut in Secret Campus (2006).^[5] For about two years, Lee went by the stage name "Lee Min". He changed it back due to it being difficult to find himself in internet search results because of its similarity to the Korean word for immigration.^[6] In August 2006, Lee and close friend Jung Il-woo were injured in a serious car accident. Lee's injuries required several months of hospital treatment.^[7] After his recovery, Lee was cast in his first lead role in Mackerel Run (2007). The series was cut short at eight episodes due to low ratings.^[8] His subsequent roles were on television, I Am Sam (2007) and Get Up (2008), and film, Public Enemy Returns and Our School's E.T. (both 2008).^[9]

BoysOverFlowers-conference — Lee at a conference for *Boys Over Flowers*

Lee beat out numerous hopefuls for the role of Gu Jun-pyo in Boys Over Flowers, which aired in 2009. He learned he won the part from reading a newspaper.^[10] The drama's popularity launched Lee into stardom overnight throughout Asia.^[11]^[12] He won multiple awards for Boys Over Flowers, including Best New Actor at the 45th Baeksang Arts Awards.^[13] Lee's next role was in Personal Taste (2010) starring Son Ye-jin.^[14] He won a MBC Drama Award for his performance.^[15] In 2011, he starred in City Hunter which enjoyed high ratings^[16] and earned Lee further accolades.^[17] He starred in the historical fantasy series, Faith (2012), with Kim Hee-sun.^[18] Lee followed with the immensely popular drama, The Heirs (2013), opposite Park Shin-hye. He won an award at the SBS Drama Awards for his role as Kim Tan.^[19]

Established star[]

In 2015, Lee starred in his first film, Gangnam Blues, as a gangster in the 1970s.^[20] It topped the box office on its first day.^[21] Lee's next role was in a Korean-Chinese action-comedy film, Bounty Hunters (2016) starring alongside Wallace Chung.^[22] The same year, he starred with Jun Ji-hyun in Legend of the Blue Sea, which was based on a classic Korean legend.^[23] On May 12, 2017, Lee began his mandatory military service. He was exempt from active duty because of his 2006 car accident.^[24] During his service, Lee hosted DMZ, The Wild, a documentary that aired on MBC.^[25] He was officially discharged on April 25, 2019.^[26] Lee made his comeback in the historical fantasy drama, The King: Eternal Monarch (2020).^[27] In 2022, he made his Hollywood debut in Apple TV+'s Pachinko alongside Kim Min-ha.^[28]

Lee returned to star in the second season of Pachinko, which was released in mid-2024.^[29] In early 2025, he starred as Gong Ryong in the sci-fiction romance When the Stars Gossip opposite Gong Hyo-jin.^[30]

Personal life[]

Lee met actress Park Min-young on the set of I Am Sam (2007). They started dating while filming City Hunter four years later in 2011.^[31] Due to their busy schedules, they ended their relationship just a few months after going public.^[32] From 2015 to 2017, Lee was in a high-profile relationship with former Miss A singer Bae Suzy.^[33] They were dubbed a "power couple" by the media.^[34]

Filmography[]

Television dramas

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	Sharp	Student
2004	Nonstop 5	Min-ho
2005	Recipe of Love	Waiter
2006	Secret Campus	Park Du-hyun
2007	Mackerel Run	Cha Gong-chan
2007	I Am Sam	Heo Mo-se
2008	Get Up	Min Wook-gi	TV film
2009	Boys Over Flowers	Gu Jun-pyo
2010	Personal Taste	Jeon Jin-ho
2011	City Hunter	Yoon-sung
2012	Faith	Choi Young
2013	The Heirs	Kim Tan
2014	Line Romance	Min-ho	Web series
2016	Legend of the Blue Sea	Kim Dam-ryeong/Heo Joon-jae
2016	7 First Kisses	Himself	Web series
2020	The King: Eternal Monarch	Lee Gon
2022	Pachinko	Koh Hansu	Web series
2025	When the Stars Gossip	Gong Ryong

Films

Year	Title	Role
2008	Public Enemy Returns	Jung Ha-yeon
2008	Our School's E.T.	Oh Sang-hoon
2015	Gangnam Blues	Kim Jong-dae
2016	Bounty Hunters	Yi San

Notes[]

Lee made appearances at the following Boys Over Flowers concerts in Japan: Japan Broadcast Memorial Event,^[35] Premium Event,^[36] and Last Event.^[37] He could not appear at the Alumni Event due to his schedule at the time.^[38]
On May 31, 2009, Lee and Ku Hye-sun went to Taiwan to promote Boys Over Flowers.^[39]
In 2014, Lee performed "Qing Fei De Yi," the theme song of Meteor Garden (2001), with Harlem Yu in a New Years' special on Chinese television.^[40]
In October 2020, Lee sent a food truck to Kim Bum on the set of Tale of the Nine Tailed.^[41]

Lee is highly influential on social media, having millions of followers on X, Weibo, Facebook, and Instagram. He became the first South Korean star to reach twenty million followers on Instagram and Facebook.^[42]

Lee and Kim Hyun-joong had guest roles in Nonstop 5 (2004) which starred Ku Hye-sun.

He appeared in Our School's E.T. (2008) with Kim Ki-bang and Kim Young-ok.

Ahn Suk-hwan had a supporting role in Personal Taste (2010) starring Lee.

Min Young-won had a guest part in Lee's City Hunter (2011).

Jung Chan-woo, who played Lee as a child in Boys Over Flowers (2009), also played a younger version of him in The Heirs (2013).

VIXX (Ken) and BtoB (Lee Chang-sub) both had cameos in The Heirs (2013).

Lee starred in the film Gangnam Blues (2015), in which Jung Ho-bin had a supporting role.

He appeared in Bounty Hunters (2016) with Wallace Chung.

Lee reunited with Kim Young-ok in The King: Eternal Monarch (2020).

References[]

External links[]

Boys Over Flowers Wiki has 146 images related to Lee Min-ho.

Lee Min-ho official website
Lee Min-ho (@actorleeminho) on Instagram
Lee Min-ho (@actorleeminho) on Sina Weibo
Lee Min-ho (@actorleeminho) on X (formerly Twitter)
Lee Min-ho on Facebook
Lee Min-ho on YouTube
Lee Min-ho on Wikipedia
Lee Min-ho on Korean Wikipedia
Lee Min-ho at the Internet Movie Database

[1] ttp://minoz.co.kr/page/profile.php (Korean)

[2] ttp://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2010032509175859673 (Korean)

[C-3] ttps://m.star.naver.com/minho/news/end?id=2150310

[4] ttp://sports.chosun.com/news/ntype.htm?id=201011020100008980000256&servicedate=20101101 (Korean)

[5] ttp://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2010032308125450096 (Korean)

[6] ttp://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?sec=ent5&idxno=2010042808580745367

[7] ttp://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2016/05/398_205178.html

[8] ttp://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2010042709004335516

[9] ttp://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2010042909434654070

[10] ttp://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2010043008554966117

[11] ttp://www.mysinchew.com/node/22634?tid=14

[12] ttp://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2010050709070149777

[13] ttps://www.econotimes.com/Lee-Min-Ho-Interesting-things-to-know-about-the-Heirs-actor-Updates-about-his-comeback-drama-The-King-The-Eternal-Monarch-1561726

[14] ttp://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2010012517203144211

[15] ttp://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2010123108553585751

[16] ttps://www.hancinema.net/sold-out-guy-lee-min-ho--30645.html

[17] ttp://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2012010211492553867

[18] ttp://star.mt.co.kr/stviewEng.php?type=3&no=2012081309544281242 (archive)

[19] ttp://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2984060

[20] ttp://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2984060

[21] ttp://www.kpopherald.com/view.php?ud=201501221515290305954_2

[22] ttp://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?pageIndex=1&blbdComCd=601006&seq=3455&mode=VIEW&returnUrl=&searchKeyword=

[23] ttp://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2016/06/398_206036.html

[24] ttp://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20170419000631

[25] ttp://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20170419000631

[26] ttp://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2019/04/26/2019042601005.html

[27] ttps://en.businesstimes.cn/articles/119034/20190921/lee-min-ho-started-the-production-process-for-the-king-the-eternal-monarch-vowed-to-make-his-fans-happy.htm

[28] ttps://wwd.com/eye/people/lee-min-ho-helps-pachinko-soar-off-the-page-1235136621/

[29] ttps://deadline.com/2024/05/pachinko-season-2-premiere-date-photos-trailer-1235944859/

[30] ttps://m.entertain.naver.com/article/609/0000890081 (Korean)

[31] ttps://www.somagnews.com/lee-min-hos-girlfriend-complete-love-history/

[32] ttps://www.soompi.com/article/370440wpp/lee-min-ho-and-park-min-young-announce-their-breakup

[33] ttps://www.ibtimes.co.in/lee-min-ho-suzy-bae-breakup-update-this-why-they-called-it-quits-749992

[34] ttp://en.koreaportal.com/articles/46158/20180830/lee-min-ho-suzy-bae-breakup-is-there-a-chance-for-ex-couple-to-patch-things-up-after-actress-split-from-lee-dong-wook.htm

[35] ttps://korepo.com/archives/1964 (Japanese)

[36] ttp://www.hanadan-k.com/news/news090906.php (Japanese)

[37] ttp://hanadan-k.com/news/news100212_02.php (Japanese)

[38] ttps://sp.kdaisuki.jp/report/detail/?id=1463 (Japanese)

[39] ttp://www.hanadan-k.com/news/news090604.php (Japanese)

[40] ttp://english.kbs.co.kr/hallyu/entertainment_news_view.html?No=8008274

[41] ttps://www.instagram.com/p/CG4PfXnAXvO/ (Korean)

[42] ttps://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/entertainment/lee-min-ho-is-king-of-social-media-0

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