Lee Dong-wook (; born 6 November 1981) is a South Korean actor and

presenter Presenter may refer to: People * News presenter, person who presents news during a news program * Sports commentator, an announcer who presents analysis of a sporting event * Radio personality, presenter or announcer on a radio show * Television ...

. He is best known for his leading roles in the television dramas '' My Girl'' (2005), '' Scent of a Woman'' (2011), '' The Fugitive of Joseon'' (2013), ''

Hotel King ''Hotel King'' () is a 2014 South Korean television series starring Lee Dong-wook, Lee Da-hae, Lim Seul-ong, Wang Ji-hye, Lee Deok-hwa and Kim Hae-sook. It aired on MBC from April 5 to July 27, 2014, on Saturdays and Sundays at 21:45 for 3 ...

'' (2014), '' Guardian: The Lonely and Great God'' (2016–2017), ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' (2018), '' Hell Is Other People'' (2019), ''

Tale of the Nine Tailed ''Tale of the Nine Tailed'' () is a 2020 South Korean television drama starring Lee Dong-wook, Jo Bo-ah, and Kim Bum. It aired on TVN (South Korean TV channel), tvN from October 7 to December 3, 2020, every Wednesday and Thursday at 22:30 (Time ...

'' (2020), '' Bad and Crazy'' (2021), '' Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938'' (2023), '' A Shop for Killers'' (2024), and '' The Divorce Insurance'' (2025). He is also the host of the talk show '' Strong Heart'' (2012–2013), boy group survival reality show '' Produce X 101'' (2019), and his own American-style talk show '' Wook Talk'' (2019).

Early life and education

In 2005, Lee enrolled in Joongbu University, majoring in media and broadcasting arts.

Career

Lee made his acting debut in 1999 in an MBC single-episode drama after winning the grand prize in the V-NESS model contest of the same year. The PD of the drama saw Lee, and proceeded to cast him in the teen drama '' School 2''. Lee started to gain recognition with his performance in ''School 3''. Lee hit stardom with 2005 romantic comedy '' My Girl''. The drama series became a hit during its run both domestically and across Asia, and made Lee a

Korean Wave The Korean Wave, or ''hallyu'' (; ), is a cultural phenomenon in which the global popularity of South Korean popular culture has dramatically risen since the 1990s. Worldwide interest in Korean culture has been led primarily by the spread of K-p ...

star. He has since starred in noir '' Bitter Sweet Life'' (2008), courtroom dramedy ''Partner'' (2009), melodrama '' Scent of a Woman'' (2011), baseball rom-com '' Wild Romance'' (2012), period thriller '' The Fugitive of Joseon'' (2013), and revenge drama ''

'' (2014), in which he reunited with '' My Girl'' co-star Lee Da-hae. He then starred in fantasy-action series '' Blade Man'' (2014) and romance drama ''

Bubble Gum Bubble gum (or bubblegum) is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble. Composition In modern chewing gum, if natural rubber such as chicle is used, it must pass several purity and cleanliness tests. However, ...

'' (2015). Lee and comedian Shin Dong-yup took over as MCs of talk show '' Strong Heart'' from April 2012 to January 2013. Lee also joined the

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

Roommate A roommate is a person with whom one shares a living facility such as a room or dormitory ''except'' when being family or romantically involved. Similar terms include dorm-mate, suite-mate, housemate, or flatmate ("flat": the usual term in Brit ...

'', which aired from 2014 to 2015. From 2016 to 2017, Lee starred alongside

Gong Yoo Gong Ji-cheol (; born July 10, 1979), known professionally as Gong Yoo (), is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his starring roles in the television series ''Coffee Prince'' (2007), '' Guardian: The Lonely and Great God'' (2016–2017 ...

in Kim Eun-sook's fantasy-romance drama '' Guardian: The Lonely and Great God'' playing a

grim reaper The Grim Reaper is a popular personification of death in Western culture in the form of a hooded skeletal figure wearing a black robe and carrying a scythe.Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' as a doctor who works at the ER Department. In 2019, Lee starred in the romance comedy drama '' Touch Your Heart'' alongside ''Guardian'' co-star Yoo In-na, playing a workaholic lawyer. The same year, he was confirmed as the host for '' Produce X 101'', the fourth season of survival audition program ''

Produce 101 ''Produce 101'' () is a reality television talent competition franchise created by South Korean entertainment conglomerate CJ E&M, based around the formation of a K-pop girl group or boy group. The format is noted for having no panel of judges ...

''. He then starred as the main antagonist in the thriller drama '' Hell Is Other People'' as a dentist in the morning but a psychopath in the evening. He also started hosting his own talk show, '' Wook Talk'', to celebrate his 20th anniversary since debut. In 2020, Lee was cast in the fantasy drama ''

'' as a nine-tailed fox who used to be a mountain god, and is now working as a civil servant. He also confirmed to appear in the romantic comedy film '' Single in Seoul'' alongside

Im Soo-jung Im Soo-jung (; born July 11, 1979) is a South Korean actress and former model. After modeling for teen magazines, Im made her acting breakthrough in Kim Jee-woon's horror film ''A Tale of Two Sisters'' (2003), followed by the popular Korean dram ...

. In December 2020, he was listed as Asia-Pacific's Most Influential Celebrities on Social Media. In 2021, he appeared in '' A Year-End Medley'', a romantic comedy film by

Kwak Jae-yong Kwak Jae-yong (born 22 May 1959) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He studied physics at Kyung Hee University. He achieved success with his debut film ''Watercolor Painting in a Rainy Day'' in 1989, but the failure of his next t ...

and in an

iQIYI iQIYI (, pronounced in English as ), formerly Qiyi (), is a Chinese subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Baidu. Headquartered in Beijing, iQIYI primarily produces and distributes films and television series. i ...

original mystery drama '' Bad and Crazy'', which aired on 17 December 2021. In 2022, Lee joined the

Universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...

communication platform. In 2024, Lee starred on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's '' A Shop for Killers''.

Other activities

Ambassadorships

Philanthropy

On 11 March 2022, Lee made a donation of million to the Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association to help the victims of the Uljin forest fire 2022, which devastated the area and then spread to

Samcheok Samcheok (; ) is a city in Gangwon Province, South Korea. To the west are the Taebaek Mountains, which form a high flat plain of more than 1,000 meters, and to the east the coastal plain slopes sharply. Samcheok borders Donghae in the north, ...

, South Korea. On 5 Jan 2025, Lee made a donation of ₩50 million to the Community Chest of Jeollanam-do to support the families of the Dec 2024 Jeju Air plane accident victims. On 27 Mar 2025, Lee made a donation of ₩50 million to the Hope Bridge Disaster Relieft Association to help the victims of the wildfires in the Ulsan, Gyeongbuk and Gyeongnam regions.

Personal life

Military service

Lee enlisted in the military in August 2009, serving under the National Defense Public Relations Service. He was discharged in June 2011.

Ancestry

His parents are mainly of Korean descent. In a '' Wook Talk'' episode that aired on 22 January 2020, guest and forensic professor Yoo Sung-ho revealed

genealogical DNA test A genealogical DNA test is a DNA-based Genetic testing, genetic test used in genetic genealogy that looks at specific locations of a person's genome in order to find or verify ancestral genealogical relationships, or (with lower reliability) to ...

results for him and one of the show's producers. According to Lee's results, a significant part of his mother's genetic makeup matches that of

Koryaks Koryaks () are an Indigenous people#North Asia, Indigenous people of the Russian Far East who live immediately north of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Kamchatka Krai and inhabit the coastlands of the Bering Sea. The cultural borders of the Koryaks i ...

and

Khakas The Khakas are a Turkic indigenous people of Siberia, who live in the republic of Khakassia, Russia. They speak the Khakas language. The Khakhassian people are direct descendants of various ancient cultures that have inhabited southern Siberia ...

people—both ethnic groups that are indigenous to Siberia (to be more specific,

Kamchatka The Kamchatka Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and western coastlines, respectively. Immediately offshore along the Pacific ...

and

Khakassia Khakassia (), officially the Republic of Khakassia, is a republic of Russia located in southern Siberia. It is situated between Krasnoyarsk Krai to the north and the Altai Republic to the south. The capital city of Khakassia is Abakan, and the ...

respectively).

Filmography

Bibliography

Awards and nominations

State and cultural honors

Listicles

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Dong-wook 1981 births Living people Models from Seoul Male actors from Seoul 20th-century South Korean male actors 21st-century South Korean male actors King Kong by Starship artists South Korean male television actors South Korean male film actors South Korean male models South Korean television presenters South Korean people of indigenous Siberian descent Shinil High School alumni