Lee Yoo-jin (; born 8 January 1977) is a South Korean actress and TV host. Lee began modeling as a teenager and made her entertainment debut in the Super Elite Model Contest in 1998. She switched quickly to acting, playing supporting roles in television dramas such as '' Beautiful Days'', ''Girl's High School Days'', ''Into the Sun'', and '' Phoenix''.

Personal life

In May 2003, Lee held a press conference and tearfully acknowledged that she was of

mixed race The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...

. She had previously denied the rumors that she was

biracial The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...

, but fans had long suspected the truth from her 5-foot-9 stature (5 inches taller than the average Korean woman) and naturally creased eyelids. Lee told reporters that she had been afraid of being discriminated against, saying, "People ask why didn't I come out earlier and why this is such a big deal. It wouldn't be anywhere else, but Korea is still a closed society where people like to talk about the purity of the race." Lee was born to a South Korean mother and a Hispanic-American

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

soldier; her parents married in 1976 while her father was stationed in Korea, but they divorced when she was 1 year old and he returned to the United States. Lee has had no contact with her birth father and she was raised solely by her

single mother A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include death, divorce, break-up, abandonment, bec ...

. South Korea uses a traditional

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

-inspired family registry that requires children to be listed under their fathers' names and their fathers to be Korean—so that children with foreign fathers are in effect nonpersons under the law. Lee, for example, was registered under her grandfather's name, making her, under the law, her mother's sister. Lee said she considers herself to be entirely Korean in mentality. Lee married

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

coach Kim Wan-joo on 14 October 2010 at the Seoul Renaissance Hotel.

Filmography

Television drama

* '' Beautiful Days'' ( SBS, 2001) * ''Legend'' ( SBS, 2001) * ''Girl's High School Days'' (

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 ...

, 2002–2003) * ''Into the Sun'' ( SBS, 2003) * '' Phoenix'' ( MBC, 2004) * ''Choice'' ( SBS, 2004–2005) * '' Two Wives'' ( SBS, 2009) * '' Gangnam Scandal'' ( SBS, 2018–2019)

Film

* ''Don't Tell Papa'' (2004) * ''How To Keep My Love'' (2004) * ''Mapado 2 : Back to the Island'' (2007)

Variety show

* ''Lee Yoo-jin's High Heels'' ( MBC Every 1, 2007) * ''Man's Operating Manual'' (ETN, 2008) * 과학실험 하와이 ( EBS, 2008) * ''Owl'' ( MBC Drama, 2010) * ''Scifun'' ( EBS, 2010) * 기업 열전 ''K1'' ( KBS, 2010) * ''Nobel Fellowship'' ( YTN Science, 2011) * 나의 사무실은 당신의 술집보다 아름답다 ( MBN, 2011) * ''Buwoong Season 1'' ( MBC Every 1, 2011) * 스타부부 한마당 (

, 2011) * ''Saturday Across Generations'' ( KBS, 2012)

Radio program

*''This is Yoon Jung-soo and Lee Yoo-jin's Good Weekend Hurray'' (, 2011) *''Yoon Jung-soo and Lee Yoo-jin's 2 PM Hurray'' (, 2013)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Yoo-jin 1977 births IHQ (company) artists Living people People of Hispanic-American descent South Korean film actresses South Korean people of American descent South Korean television actresses