Lee Jin-wook

Lee Jin-wook was born in Cheongju, South Korea on 16th September 1981 in a middle class family. Growing up in quite a conservative household, he was quite in awe of his favourite TV and film stars, but becoming an actor was never quite the way he thought his life would go. Instead, he focused hard on his studies and played baseball whenever he found time.

He was a natural actor, and as he grew up, his parents started noticing Lee’s penchant for making funny expressions and jokingly said that he could be a really good actor. What started off as a joke, became a suggestion which little Lee took to heart and started dreaming. But it vanished as soon as he entered high school and decided to focus on his academics.

Coming out of the high school, he started his college at the Cheongju University in the Environmental Engineering department, but was never able to maintain his concentration on his studies. There came a time during his college days when he decided that he wasn’t interested at all in engineering and his real calling was somewhere else.

He then dropped out of the college and started hunting for modelling assignments, which he thought was a great way to gain some exposure into the industry. He kept trying without success for months and then in 2003, he got signed on for the print advertisement of the electronics company Panasonic. After doing a few more modelling assignments, he took the leap and increased the frequency of appearing for the acting auditions.

To further hone his acting skills, he acted in a short film titled ‘My New Boyfriend’, where he played the leading role and that short film served as a perfect testimony of his talent, which he presented in front of the agents, and eventually signed his first acting role in 2005.

Lee started his acting career with the 2005 film ‘Resurrection’, playing a minor role, which remained unnoticed. But the series ‘Alone in Love’ had him playing a slightly better role as a stalker and a rich young man, who turns his back on his father’s money. He received slight appreciation for the latter one.

In the 2006 series ‘Smile Again’, Lee played the heart warming role as a popular former high school kid as one of the three main leads in the storyline. The drama which started well eventually saw the ratings get low as the series progressed, and hence, didn’t prove to be much beneficial for the cast members as well as the makers.

Lee followed it up with another supporting role in the drama ‘Air City’, which revolved around the Korean air force and was shot almost entirely on the Incheon airport. Lee played a quick tempered security officer. The series was an average hit in South Korea, but received significant attention in Japan and Thailand and broadcasting rights for the same were sold to a few other neighbouring countries.

In 2008, Lee got a chance to play one of the lead characters in the romantic drama series ‘Glass Castle’, where he played the role of a rich and charming man who manages to woo the leading lady, played by Yoon So-yi. For his effective portrayal, Lee received nominations at the Korean Drama Awards and KBS Drama Awards, missing out on both the awards.

In 2009, Lee enlisted for the mandatory military training and bonding with other actor friends there, he also happened to gain a further new perspective on his career while doing his time for the army.

Lee Jin-wook’s personal life has not been any less complicated than the thrillers that he has entertained his fans with. In July 2016, a woman sued Lee for raping her and told the police that the actor followed her one night to her house and then raped her. Lee denied the accusations and countersued the woman for defamation. Court found Lee to be innocent and the woman faced charges and jail-time.

Lee has been more or less open about his personal life and started dating actress Choi Ji-woo in 2007. The couple broke up in 2011. In 2014, Lee started dating Gong Hyo-jin, and a few months later, the couple parted ways. Lee is single as of present.