Lee So-yeon (; born April 16, 1982) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her roles in the films ''

Untold Scandal ''Untold Scandal'' (; "Scandal: The Love Story of Men and Women in Joseon") is a 2003 South Korean historical film, historical romantic drama film directed by E J-yong, and starring Bae Yong-joon, Jeon Do-yeon, and Lee Mi-sook. Loosely based on t ...

'' (2003) and '' Feathers in the Wind'' (2004), and the television series ''

Spring Waltz ''Spring Waltz'' () is a 2006 South Korean television series starring Seo Do-young, Han Hyo-joo, Daniel Henney and Lee So-yeon. It is the fourth and final installment of season-themed tetralogy '' Endless Love series'' directed by Yoon Seok ...

'' (2006), ''

Temptation of an Angel ''Temptation of an Angel'' () (also known as Angel's Temptation) is a 2009 South Korean television series starring Bae Soo-bin, Lee So-yeon, Jin Tae-hyun and Hong Soo-hyun. It aired from October 12 to December 22, 2009, on SBS TV's Mondays ...

'' (2009) and '' Dong Yi'' (2010).

Career

Lee So-yeon first drew notice in the period film ''

'', playing the Cécile role in the 2003 Korean adaptation of ''

Les Liaisons dangereuses ''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (; English: ''Dangerous Liaisons'') is a French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes by Durand Neveu on March 23, 1782. It is the story of the Marquise Isabelle de Merteu ...

''. She has since played villains in several

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...

s, namely '' Super Rookie'', ''

'', ''

'', and in her most high-profile yet, Korean history's famous

femme fatale A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...

Jang Hui-bin in '' Dong Yi''. Seemingly a victim of

typecasting In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...

on TV, Lee was finally given her first leading role in the

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

''Why Did You Come to Our House?'' (also known as ''Wanted: Son-in-Law''). More lighthearted fare followed with ''My Life's Golden Age'' (about a family of siblings), and '' My Love By My Side'' in which she played a cheerful single mother. In 2012 she returned to period dramas as a

gisaeng ''Kisaeng'' (), also called ''ginyeo'' (), were enslaved women from outcast or enslaved families who were trained to be courtesans, providing artistic entertainment and conversation to men of upper class. First emerging in Goryeo dynasty. were ...

in '' Dr. Jin'', followed by the contemporary daily dramas '' The Birth of a Family'' and '' Ruby Ring''. Unlike her TV series, Lee's films are a more diverse mix of mainstream and indie. '' Feathers in the Wind'' in particular brought her critical raves, with

Darcy Paquet Darcy Paquet (born 1972) is an American film critic, university lecturer, author and actor. In 2010, Paquet was awarded the Korea Film Reporters Association Award at the 15th Busan International Film Festival for his contributions in introducin ...

of ''Koreanfilm.org'' crediting Lee's "considerable screen presence" in making her character "memorable." Lee counts

pansori ' () is a Korean genre of musical storytelling performed by a singer and a drummer. The term ' is a compounds of the Korean words and , the latter of which means "sound." However, ''pan'' has multiple meanings, and scholars disagree on which ...

and jazz dancing among her hobbies. In 2007, she was chosen to be the ambassador for the

Jecheon International Music & Film Festival Jecheon International Music & Film Festival (제천국제음악영화제, JIMFF) strives to be both a celebration of film set in Jecheon City and music for all generations and musical tastes. Jecheon is located in Chungcheongbuk province in ce ...

. From September 2013 to March 2014, Lee appeared on the fourth season of reality/variety show ''

We Got Married ''We Got Married'' () was a South Korean reality variety show that aired on MBC from 2008 to 2017. The show paired up celebrities who pretended to be married couples and completed various challenges together. The show ran for four seasons and i ...

'', in which celebrities are paired together as fake wedded couples; Lee's partner was pianist Yoon Han. She returned to acting in the cable drama ''

12 Years Promise ''12 Years Promise'' () is a 2014 South Korean television series starring Lee So-yeon, Namkoong Min, Lee Tae-im, Yoon So-hee, Lee Won-keun and Ryu Hyo-young. It aired on JTBC from March 22 to June 29, 2014, on Saturdays and Sundays at 20:45 ...

'' in 2014. In June 2022, Lee launched her personal YouTube channel called 'Lee So-yeon So So TV. In January 2024, Lee signed with new agency Ekkeul Entertainment.

Personal life

Lee married an IT

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

on September 12, 2015. In May 2018, it was reported that the couple were divorcing.

Filmography

Television series

Film

Music video

Television shows

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Lee So-yeon
at Ekkeul Entertainment * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, So-yeon 1982 births Living people South Korean film actresses South Korean television actresses Hanyang University alumni Korea National University of Arts alumni Actresses from Seoul