Lee Wan (; born January 3, 1984), born Kim Hyung-soo (), is a South Korean actor.

Career

Born as Kim Hyung-soo, he began his career in entertainment after starring in a

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

alongside older sister, actress Kim Tae-hee. Using the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Lee Wan, he made his acting debut in 2003. He first drew notice in a supporting role in the

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 ...

Stairway to Heaven "Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 8 November 1971 on the band's untitled fourth studio album (commonly known as ''Led Zeppelin IV''), by Atlantic Records. Composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy ...

'', followed by leading roles in romantic comedies ''Snow White: Taste Sweet Love'' and ''Let's Go to the Beach''. He reunited with ''Stairway to Heaven'' costar

Park Shin-hye Park Shin-hye (, born February 18, 1990) is a South Korean actress. She gained recognition as a child in Korean drama, television series ''Stairway to Heaven (2003 TV series), Stairway to Heaven'' (2003) and ''Tree of Heaven (TV series), Tree o ...

in 2006 in the melodrama ''

Tree of Heaven ''Ailanthus altissima'' ( ), commonly known as tree of heaven or ailanthus tree, is a deciduous tree in the quassia family. It is native to northeast and central China, and Taiwan. Unlike other members of the genus ''Ailanthus'', it is found ...

'' which was a joint Korean-Japanese production. Lee also contributed the song "Where Farewells Don't Exist" to the drama's

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

. Lee's increased

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 ...

popularity led to him being cast in as the leading man in the Japanese film ''Veronika Decides to Die'' (based on the same-titled novel by

Paulo Coelho Paulo Coelho de Souza ( , ; born 24 August 1947) is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist and a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters since 2002. His 1988 novel '' The Alchemist'' became an international best-seller. Early life Paulo Coelho ...

), which screened at the 2005

Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. According to the FIAPF, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals and the second largest film festival in Asia behind the ...

. He also played the leading role opposite

Ami Suzuki is a Japanese recording artist, DJ, and actress from Zama, Kanagawa, Japan. Following her late 90s fame as a popular teen idol, Suzuki went on to become known for her self-penned lyrics and music production. In 2000, Suzuki entered a legal bat ...

in the 2007

Japanese television drama , also called or J-drama, are television programs that are a staple of Television in Japan, Japanese television and are broadcast daily. Format All major Television networks, TV networks in Japan produce a variety of Drama (genre), drama serie ...

''Magnolia no Hana no Shita de'' ("Under the Magnolia"), which portrayed a romance between a Korean man and a Japanese woman who meet while studying in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Afterwards, he returned to Korean television with a supporting role in ''In-soon Is Pretty'', as the protagonist's younger brother. In 2008, Lee starred in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

film '' Once Upon a Time in Seoul''. He next played a villain in the gambling-themed series '' Swallow the Sun'' in 2009. Lee enlisted for mandatory military service on 12 July 2010, and was part of the entertainment soldiers unit of the Defense Media Agency under the

Ministry of National Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divide ...

. He was discharged on 23 April 2012. As his first post-army project, Lee appeared in the 2013 online drama ''It's Not Over Yet''; it aired in 6-part 10-minute installments on

social networking site A social networking service (SNS), or social networking site, is a type of online social media platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests ...

s. In 2015, he starred in '' Northern Limit Line'', a naval thriller about the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong.

Personal life

On 27 November 2018 his agency confirmed he is dating pro-golfer Lee Bo-mee. The couple officially tied the knot at a Catholic church with their family and friends in a private wedding on 28 December 2019.

Filmography

Television series

*''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...

'' (SBS, 2003) *''Nursery Story'' (MBC, 2003) *''

'' (SBS, 2003) *''Snow White: Taste Sweet Love'' (KBS2, 2004) *''Little Women'' (SBS, 2004) *''Let's Go to the Beach'' (SBS, 2005) *''

'' (SBS, 2006) *''Magnolia no Hana no Shita de'' (Fuji TV, 2007) *'' In-soon Is Pretty'' (KBS2, 2007) *'' Ryokiteki na Kanojo'' (TBS, 2008) ( cameo) *'' Swallow the Sun'' (SBS, 2009) *''It's Not Over Yet'' (SNS, 2013) *'' Our Gap-soon'' (SBS, 2016–2017)

Film

*''Veronika Decides to Die'' (2005) *'' Once Upon a Time in Seoul'' (2008) *'' Northern Limit Line'' (2015) * ''Street of Movies'' (2021) – Do-young * ''Blood is thicker than water'' (2022) – Young Min

Variety shows

*'' Cool Kiz on the Block'' (

KBS2 KBS 2TV is a South Korean free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen ...

, 2014) *''Match Made in Heaven Return'' (2015) *'' Law of the Jungle'' (2017)

Music video appearances

* Vibe – "While Looking at the Picture" *Vintage Blue – "Love Is" *Position – "You Just Being in This World" * Tei – "Same Pillow" * Tei – "Locked Up in Tears"

Awards

*2004 SBS Drama Awards: New Star Award (''Little Women'') *2004

KBS Drama Awards The KBS Drama Awards () is an awards ceremony presented by the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) for outstanding achievements in Korean dramas aired on its network. It is held annually on 31 December. The highest honor of the ceremony is the "Gr ...

: Best New Actor (''Snow White: Taste Sweet Love'')

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Wan 1984 births Living people Male actors from Ulsan South Korean male television actors South Korean male film actors