Lee Yeon-hee (born January 9, 1988) is a South Korean actress. She is most known for her work in the television series '' East of Eden'' (2008), ''

Phantom Phantom may refer to: * Spirit (animating force), the vital principle or animating force within all living things ** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living Aircraft * Boeing Phantom Ray, a stealthy un ...

'' (2012), ''

Miss Korea Miss Korea ( ko, 미스코리아) is a national beauty pageant in South Korea. Lee Seung-hyeon won the title on October 26, 2022. History The first Miss Korea competition took place in 1957 and was sponsored by the Korean newspaper Hankook I ...

'' (2013), '' The Package'' (2017); and in the films ''

A Millionaire's First Love ''A Millionaire's First Love'' () is a 2006 South Korean romance film directed by Kim Tae-kyun, starring Hyun Bin and Lee Yeon-hee. The theme of the film is "Nothing is more important than the true love of your heart." It was released in South K ...

'' (2006), '' M'' (2007) and '' Detective K: Secret of the Lost Island'' (2015).

Early life

Lee was born on January 9, 1988, in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. In 2002, Lee successfully signed a contract with SM after she won the category of "Best Feature" in the SM Entertainment Best Youth contest. For the contest, she acted out a monologue, singing to Dana "Until the End of the World" and also did freestyle modeling poses. After she joined the company, she began intense training lessons on

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, and

dancing Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

Career

2002–2006: Beginnings

Soon after she joined SM, Lee began her career by starring in

music videos A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for SM artists, such as boy band

TVXQ TVXQ (stylized as TVXQ!), an initialism for Tong Vfang Xien Qi (), is a South Korean male pop duo consisting of U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin. They are known as in Japanese releases, and are sometimes referred to as DBSK, an abbreviation of ...

Moon Hee-jun Moon Hee-joon (; or spelled Moon Hee-jun; born March 14, 1978) is a South Korean pop rock singer-songwriter signed under SidusHQ. He initially rose to fame as the leader of former boy band H.O.T. under SM Entertainment. Biography 1996–2001: ...

Kangta Ahn Chil-hyun (born October 10, 1979), known professionally as Kangta (stylized sometimes in all caps and formerly as KangTa), is a South Korean singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, actor and radio personality. He is well known as a ...

Shinhwa Shinhwa () is a South Korean six-member boy band based in Seoul, composed of Eric Mun, Lee Min-woo, Kim Dong-wan, Shin Hye-sung, Jun Jin, and Andy Lee. Launched by SM Entertainment on March 24, 1998, the group signed with Good Entertainment in ...

, and Fly to the Sky, overtaking SM artists Kim Bomi (of M.I.L.K.) and Lee Jiyeon (commonly known as CSJH The Grace's Lina) as "The SM music video girl". Though Lee had relatively steady work between modelling in magazines, commercial ads and appearing in music videos, she did not officially debut until late 2004. In November 2004, she starred as the younger version of the main character in the hit historical drama ''

Emperor of the Sea ''Emperor of the Sea'' (; literally "Sea God") is a South Korean television drama series starring Choi Soo-jong, Chae Shi-ra, Song Il-kook، Soo Ae and Chae Jung-an It aired on KBS2 from November 24, 2004 to May 25, 2005 on Wednesdays and Thur ...

'', and appeared in the latter episodes of the daily drama ''My Lovely Family.'' Lee had her first major role in television in MBC's mini-series '' One Fine Day'' (2006).

2007–2012: Rising popularity & acting criticism

In 2007, Lee starred in romance melodrama ''

'' alongside

Hyun Bin Kim Tae-pyung (born September 25, 1982), better known as Hyun Bin, is a South Korean actor. He gained widespread recognition for his role in the 2005 romantic comedy TV drama '' My Name is Kim Sam-soon''. Since then, he has appeared in leading ...

. She also made her singing debut for the film, singing "

Do-Re-Mi "Do-Re-Mi" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''The Sound of Music''. Each syllable of the musical solfège system appears in the song's lyrics, sung on the pitch it names. Rodgers was helped in its creation by long-time ...

" from ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...

'' and ''Insa'' for the film's original soundtrack. Lee's innocent image in the film earned her the title of "Nation's First Love" in Korea. Lee followed this with moderately successful film, '' M'' alongside

Kang Dong-won Gang Dong-won (born January 18, 1981) is a South Korean actor. Early life Gang Dong-won was born January 18, 1981, in Busan, and grew up in Changwon of Gyeongsangnam-do. His father, Gang Cheol-woo, was an engineer and later vice president of ...

; and starred alongside

So Ji-sub So Ji-sub (born November 4, 1977) is a South Korean actor. After making his entertainment debut as a jeans model, he became known for his leading roles in the television series '' What Happened in Bali'' (2004), ''I'm Sorry, I Love You'' (2004), ...

in the

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

, ''U-Turn''. In 2008, she starred as one of the main cast in 47th MBC Anniversary Project '' East of Eden''. Despite the drama's success, her acting in the series received overwhelming negative criticism about her vocalization, unexpressive facial expressions, and unnatural emotional expression as problems in portraying her character. Lee returned to film, starring in ''

Hello, Schoolgirl ''Hello, Schoolgirl'' (; literally " pure/romantic comic," the Korean version of shōjo manga) is a 2008 South Korean film. Adapted from '' Love Story'', a popular webtoon by Kang Full, it is the second film directed by Ryu Jang-ha. It stars Yoo J ...

'' opposite

Yoo Ji-tae Yoo Ji-tae (born April 13, 1976) is a South Korean actor, film director and screenwriter. After a stint as a fashion model, Yoo launched his acting career in 1998 then rose to fame through the films ''Attack the Gas Station'' (1999) and ''Ditto' ...

. The story is based on the manhwa ''Soonjeong Manhwa'' by Kang Pool. In 2011, Lee starred opposite

Jang Dong-gun Jang Dong-gun (born March 7, 1972) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the films ''Friend'' (2001) and '' Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War'' (2004). Jang is one of the highest-paid actors and celebrity endorsers in ...

Joe Odagiri , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor and musician. Personal life Joe Odagiri was born in Tsuyama, Okayama prefecture. Though he was accepted by Kochi University, he turned it down for an opportunity to study in the United States ...

and Fan Bing-bing in

Kang Je-gyu Kang Je-gyu (born December 23, 1962) is a South Korean film director. Career After graduating from ChungAng University, Kang received his first prize at the Korea Youth Film Festival and Korea Scenario Awards in 1991. Kang's most notable con ...

's big budget historical film ''

My Way "My Way" is a song popularized in 1969 by Frank Sinatra set to the music of the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed by Jacques Revaux with lyrics by Gilles Thibaut and Claude François and first performed in 1967 by Claude François. Its E ...

'', and in romance comedy series ''

Paradise Ranch ''Paradise Ranch'' () is a 2011 South Korean television series that aired on SBS. It stars Lee Yeon-hee and Shim Chang-min as a divorced couple who married when they were 19, then meet six years later and rediscover their feelings for each o ...

'' by S.M. Entertainment alongside label-mate

Shim Chang-min Shim Chang-min (; born February 18, 1988), also known by his stage name Max Changmin () or simply as Max, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, actor, and a member of the pop duo TVXQ. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Changmin was scou ...

of boy band TVXQ. In 2012, Lee reunited with ''U-Turn'' co-star So Ji-sub in the crime thriller ''

''. Both Lee and So were named promotional ambassadors for cyber crime prevention by the National Police Agency in 2012.

2013–present: Career resurgence and continued success

In 2013, Lee made a special appearance in the historical drama ''

Gu Family Book ''Gu Family Book'' (; also known as ''Kang Chi, the Beginning'') is a 2013 South Korean television series starring Lee Seung-gi and Bae Suzy. The fusion martial arts action historical drama is about a half-man half-monster who is searching for ...

'', where she received compliments for her improvement in acting. She next starred in romantic comedy film ''

Marriage Blue ''Marriage Blue'' (; lit. "The Night Before the Wedding") is a 2013 South Korean romantic comedy film that follows the misadventures of four engaged couples in the week leading up to their weddings. Plot Tae-kyu (Kim Kang-woo) is a former professi ...

'', which tells the story of an engaged couple who experience last-minute jitters and cold feet just a week before their wedding ceremony. Lee closed the year with television series ''

'' to positive reviews, with many considering her role as her best performance to date. Lee further challenged herself with a provocative role as the mysterious and seductive Japanese geisha Hisako in the historical comedy '' Detective K: Secret of the Lost Island'' in 2015. She then starred in MBC's 54th anniversary drama, ''

Splendid Politics ''Splendid Politics'' () is a 2015 South Korean television series starring Cha Seung-won, Lee Yeon-hee, Kim Jaewon, Seo Kang-joon, Han Joo-wan and Jo Sung-ha. It aired on MBC from April 13 to September 29, 2015 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 22:00 ...

''. In 2017, Lee starred in SBS's fantasy romance drama '' Reunited Worlds'' alongside

Yeo Jin-goo Yeo Jin-goo (, born August 13, 1997) is a South Korean actor. Yeo began his career as a child actor, debuting in the film '' Sad Movie'' (2005). Nicknamed "Nation's Little Brother", he went on to play the younger characters of the lead roles in ...

. She then starred in

JYP Entertainment JYP Entertainment Corporation () is a South Korean multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate founded in 1997 by J. Y. Park. It is one of the largest entertainment companies in South Korea, and operates as a record label, tale ...

's travel romance drama '' The Package'' opposite

Jung Yong-hwa Jung Yong-hwa (; ; born June 22, 1989) is a South Korean singer, musician and actor. He is the leader, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band CNBLUE. Jung made his television debut in ''You're Beautiful'' (2009), and has since sta ...

, and was complimented for her performance as a tour guide. In 2020, Lee starred in mystery drama '' The Game: Towards Zero'', reuniting with

Ok Taec-yeon Ok Taec-yeon (; born December 27, 1988), known mononymously as Taecyeon, is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, actor and entrepreneur. He is the main rapper of the South Korean boy band 2PM. In 2010, Ok debuted as an actor in the Kor ...

with whom she starred in the 2013 film ''

''. However she was criticized for her bad acting skills by viewers. In 2020, Lee signed a contract with VAST Entertainment after her contract with SM expired.

Personal life

On June 2, 2020, Lee married her non-celebrity boyfriend in a private ceremony.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Web series

Television shows

Music video appearances

Theater

Discography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Yeon-Hee 1988 births Living people South Korean child actresses South Korean film actresses South Korean television actresses