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Now an iconic Hallyu star, CF king, and the new face of Korea tourism, Lee Min Ho seems to have just about everything going for him. But who knew that he had a rough start to his acting career, exacerbated by poor stage name choices and brutal accidents in the early days. It took him nearly six years to get a lucky break called Boys Over Flowers in 2009, but that lucky break was big enough to skyrocket his popularity and pave the foundation for his untouchable top actor status today. Let’s take a look at some of his best works ahead of his highly anticipated return to the small screen alongside Jun Ji Hyun later this year.
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Boys Over Flowers (2009)
This is the drama that introduced many to the world of Kdrama. It’s based on a popular Japanese manga, which was remade into dramas by Japan, China, and Korea separately, each one becoming a bigger hit than the previous. Just when I thought the Korean version couldn’t top the Chinese version, I was hooked onto the bad boy with a pretty face and ridiculous perm portrayed by Lee Min Ho. He quickly became a household name overnight.
Personal Taste (2010)
Following the success of Boys Over Flowers, Lee Min Ho took on another rom-com project starring next to Son Ye Jin. He played the role of an ambitious young architect who pretends to be gay to gain access to the house of the heroine, but ends up falling in love with her. Though still with a haughty temper, shedding the ridiculous perm and having an aspirational dream made his character seem softer, and gave him more room to stretch his acting.
City Hunter (2011)
Starting with action-packed melodrama City Hunter, Lee Min Ho completely turned around his superficial flower boy image to tough man with a rough past. Much to my surprise, his portrayal of this multi-dimensional heavy character with a sad past and a revenge mission was detailed and refined, proving that he’s a skilled actor with more than just a pretty face. City Hunter elevated Lee Min Ho’s fame to the next level in pan-Asia.
May 28, 2011Faith (2012)
Lee Min Ho seems to keep wanting to challenge himself with a wide variety of roles. In 2012 he took on his first ever sageuk character based off of the legendary general from Goryeo dynasty, who fell in love with a modern day doctor that traveled to the past. His character was yet another complex one, constantly torn between love, loyalty, politics, life and death. Though Lee Min Ho starred next to Kim Hee Sun who is 10 years older than him, he was able to make them a convincing couple without obvious age gaps.
The Heirs (2013)
Lee Min Ho returns to his rich chaebol teenage school love affairs roots in The Heirs, starring next to the beloved Park Shin Hye. He’s still a bully, but a less obnoxious one with a bit more humanity compared to Boys Over Flower. The Heirs was yet another huge commercial success and Lee Min Ho experienced a resurgence of popularity internationally. Though to me, the drama itself and his character both lacked a bit of originality and color compared to some of his previous work.
October 28, 2013Gangnam Blues (2015)
Gangnam Blues is Lee Min Ho’s first lead role on the big screen, where he played a gangster in a noir action film set in the 1970s of Korea amidst the real estate development of Gangnam and socio-political unrest. Lee Min Ho worked with the director to completely shed his flower boy chaebol image and received praise from critics who found him “thoroughly convincing as a rising gangster with a cool exterior and emotional core”.
January 28, 2015