hile celebrating the South Korean actor's birthday on November 6, we felt compelled to share some of our favourite Lee Dong-wook Kdrama characters. Having made his acting debut in 1999, he’s brought an endless list of avatars to life on the small screen and established his well-rounded filmography over the years.
He's touched our hearts using many faces, but some of them have been harder to forget than the rest, especially with a great number of his shows having earned the title of cult classics among international fans.
Character: Lee Yeon, a 1000-year-old Gumiho (Nine-Tailed fox in Korean mythology). Lee Yeon's character is especially intriguing in both seasons of the series because of how he maintains the ties between his former ancient life and the rather contemporary modern analogue of it in the present day.
Character: Seo Moon-jo, a friendly dentist, who is not at all what he seems like. In his most chilling and unhinged character to date, Dong-wook steps up as the sinister antagonist to face off against Im Si-wan's Yoon Jong-woo. His chilling portrayal will leave you stunned at every moment.
Character: A cynical Grim Reaper, with a distinct and loveable sense of humour. His bromance with Gong Yoo has long been a testament to how deeply immersed he was in his role as the Grim Reaper, which is also one of his most iconic supernatural characters regardless of how many creatures he may have turned into throughout his career.
Character: Kwon Jung-rok, a cold-hearted lawyer who never loses and is earnestly dedicated to his legal firm. In contrast to his former dynamic character, here, the actor plays a hardened workaholic character, for whom his work is always his priority. His character's chemistry with Yoo In-na's Oh Jin-shim is simply the stuff of dreams!
Character: Ryu Soo-yeol, a corrupt and unethical police detective. His enigmatic pairing with Wi Ha-joon's K makes this a series worth watching. However, it's the eventual reveal of the character's various layers that make way for the ultimate character transformation and development.
-My Girl (2005) -Scent of a Woman (2011) -The Fugitive of Joseon (2013) -Hotel King (2014) -Blade Man (2014) -Bubble Gum (2015) -Life (2018)