Lee Sun-kyun (born March 2, 1975) is a South Korean actor. After beginning his career in musical theatre, for many years Lee was relegated to minor and supporting roles onscreen, only getting to play lead characters in one-act dramas on KBS '' Drama City'' and MBC ''Best Theater''. In one such ''Best Theater'' project, he worked with TV director Lee Yoon-jung on ''Taereung National Village'' (2005), which led to him being cast in her later series '' Coffee Prince'' in 2007. ''Coffee Prince'', along with medical drama '' White Tower'' brought Lee mainstream popularity, which he followed with ''

Pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, ...

'' (2010), '' Golden Time'' (2012) and ''

My Mister ''My Mister'' () is a 2018 South Korean television series starring Lee Sun-kyun and Lee Ji-eun. The series was directed by Kim Won-seok, written by Park Hae-young and produced by Chorokbaem Media. It aired on tvN from March 21 to May 17, 201 ...

'' (2018). Meanwhile, on the big screen, he received a Best Actor award from the

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival The Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) is an international film festival that is held in Las Palmas in the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. The ...

for his role in ''

Paju Paju () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Paju was made a city in 1997; it had previously been a county (''gun''). The city area of Paju is ,"Paju (Gyeonggi-do Province)." ''Naver Encyclopedia of Knowledge''. Naver, 2015. 4 Mar. 2016. ...

'' (2009), followed by critical acclaim for mystery thriller '' Helpless'' (2012), romantic comedy ''

All About My Wife ''All About My Wife'' () is a 2012 South Korean romantic comedy film directed by Min Kyu-dong, about a timid husband who hires a professional Casanova to seduce his seemingly perfect but fearsome wife, hoping this will make her divorce him.Jung, Hy ...

'' (2012), and

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to disc ...

A Hard Day ''A Hard Day'' (; lit. "Take It to the End") is a 2014 South Korean action thriller film written and directed by Kim Seong-hun, and starring Lee Sun-kyun and Cho Jin-woong. It was selected to compete in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 20 ...

'' (2014). Lee also continues to collaborate with auteur

Hong Sang-soo Hong Sang-soo (홍상수, born 25 October 1960) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Early life Hong's parents owned the film production company Cinetel Soul. Hong took the entrance exam and entered the theater department at Chun ...

, and his arthouse films with Hong include '' Night and Day'' (2008), ''

Oki's Movie ''Oki's Movie'' () is a 2010 South Korean drama film written and directed by Hong Sang-soo. In a multipart narrative divided into four chapters, Hong fashions a new kind of love triangle. Oki is a young and beautiful college student majoring in fi ...

'' (2010), and ''

Nobody's Daughter Haewon ''Nobody's Daughter Haewon'' () is a 2013 South Korean drama film written and directed by Hong Sang-soo. The narrative is told in diary format and chronicles a few days in the life of a young woman (Jung Eun-chae) who falls into depression followin ...

'' (2013). In 2019, he starred in

Bong Joon-ho Bong Joon-ho (, ; Hanja: 奉俊昊; born September 14, 1969) is a South Korean film director, producer and screenwriter. The recipient of four Academy Awards, his filmography is characterised by emphasis on social themes, genre-mixing, black h ...

's Oscar-winning

film ''

Parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson h ...

''.

Career

Lee Sun-kyun entered the

Korea National University of Arts Korea National University of Arts is a national university in Seoul, South Korea. Korea National University of Arts was established in 1993 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea as the only national university of arts with an a ...

in 1994, and graduated in the first ever batch of its School of Drama. In 2001, he made his acting debut as Brad Majors in the

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the ...

''.

2007–2012: Acting beginnings

Playing small supporting roles for many years, he eventually achieved his breakthrough in 2007 with the critically lauded

medical drama A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the characters' jobs and portray som ...

'' White Tower'' and the highly popular romantic series '' Coffee Prince''. Besides ''Coffee Prince'', he has worked with director Lee Yoon-jung two other times—in the sports-themed ''Taereung National Village'' in 2005, and in slice-of-life drama '' Triple'' in 2009. Lee was appointed as ambassador for the Health Insurance Review Agency in 2007, and won an award from the Korea Advertisers Association in 2008. Despite his burgeoning fame, Lee then turned to low-budget arthouse films to polish his acting caliber. '' Night and Day'', ''Lost in the Mountains'', ''

'', ''

'' and ''

Our Sunhi ''Our Sunhi'' () is a 2013 South Korean film written and directed by Hong Sang-soo. Hong won the Silver Leopard award for Best Director at the 66th Locarno International Film Festival. Plot Sunhi ( Jung Yu-mi) is a recent film school graduate who ...

'' were all directed by

, an auteur renowned for his realistic portrayal of ordinary lives."LEE Sun-kyun"
Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2012-09-01. Lee also headlined ''

'', for which he won the Best Actor award at the

held in Spain. Film distributor Myung Film quoted the judging committee as handing Lee high points for portraying the anguish his character felt for loving his wife's younger sister. With ''

'', in which he played a brilliant-but-abrasive chef, Lee successfully shook off his "gentle" TV drama image, and the series' popularity made him a bankable romantic leading man. '' Petty Romance'' reunited him with his ''My Sweet Seoul'' co-star Choi Kang-hee, and

one-upmanship One-upmanship, also called "one-upsmanship", is the art or practice of successively outdoing a competitor. The term was first used in the title of a book by Stephen Potter, published in 1952 as a follow-up to ''The Theory and Practice of Gamesma ...

action comedy ''Officer of the Year'' (also known as ''Arrest King'') soon followed. Lee showed his support for the revival of Drama Special (formerly Drama City) by starring in ''Our Slightly Risque Relationship'' (his acting was later recognized at the

KBS Drama Awards The KBS Drama Awards () is an awards ceremony presented by the Korean Broadcasting System The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean te ...

). He has continually defended the importance of the short drama format as a training ground for young talent, acknowledging its contribution to his own career.

2012–2017: Rising success

In 2012, he starred in two consecutive well-reviewed big-screen hits—mystery thriller '' Helpless'' and romantic comedy ''

''. Reuniting with ''Pasta'' director Kwon Seok-jang, Lee played a

trauma Trauma most often refers to: *Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source *Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event *Traumatic inju ...

doctor in '' Golden Time''. His third collaboration with Kwon was '' Miss Korea'', a drama set amidst the IMF crisis in the 1990s. Lee returned to the theater opposite wife Jeon Hye-jin in Mike Bartlett's stage play ''Love, Love, Love'' in 2013. The following year, he headlined the film ''

'', which screened at the

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festi ...

section of the

2014 Cannes Film Festival The 67th Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 25 May 2014. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the main competition section. The Palme d'Or was awarded to the Turkish film ''Winter Sleep'' directed by Nuri Bil ...

, and became a critically acclaimed

sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little prom ...

at the box office. In 2015, Lee starred in

courtroom drama A legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice pla ...

film '' The Advocate: A Missing Body''.

2018–present: Return to television and resurgence

In 2018, Lee starred in the critically acclaimed television series ''

''. The same year he starred in the action thriller film '' Take Point''. In 2019, Lee is set to star in the legal television series '' Prosecutor Civil War''. In 2021, Lee is appearing in political drama film ''

Kingmaker A kingmaker is a person or group that has great influence on a royal or political succession, without themselves being a viable candidate. Kingmakers may use political, monetary, religious and military means to influence the succession. Origina ...

'' as political strategist. The film is set to release in December.

Personal life

Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea. He married his girlfriend of seven years, actress Jeon Hye-jin on May 23, 2009.Oh, Seol-hye (3 May 2012)
"Lee Sun-gyun "My wife speaks honest and direct""
StarN News. Their sons were born on November 25, 2009, and August 9, 2011.

Filmography

Theater

Discography

Awards and nominations

State honors

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Sun-kyun 21st-century South Korean male actors South Korean male film actors South Korean male television actors South Korean male musical theatre actors South Korean male stage actors Korea National University of Arts alumni Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners 1975 births Living people People from Seoul Actresses from Seoul