Lee Min-Ho

Lee Min-ho was born on June 22, 1987, in Seoul, South Korea. He initially aspired to become a professional football player but an injury during elementary school led him to pursue acting and modeling. He began his acting career with minor roles in television shows such as “Romance” (2002) and “Nonstop 5” (2005). His official debut in a main role was in the EBS series “Secret Campus” in 2006. In the same year, his career was temporarily halted due to a severe car accident, which required a year of recovery. Upon his return, he took on his first leading role in the high-school drama “Mackerel Run” (2007) and also appeared in films like “Public Enemy Returns” and “Our School’s E.T.” in 2008.

Lee’s breakthrough came in 2009 with the lead role of Gu Jun-pyo in “Boys Over Flowers,” a role that garnered high viewership ratings in South Korea and launched him into international stardom as a ‘hallyu’ star. Following this success, he starred in the romantic comedy “Personal Taste” (2010), playing a young architect. In 2011, he took on the titular character in the action drama “City Hunter,” which further expanded his international popularity, particularly in Asian countries and France. Continuing his career progression, he starred in the medical historical drama “Faith” (2012) and the teen drama “The Heirs” (2013), where his portrayal of Kim Tan significantly increased his global recognition. In 2014, he received the Prime Minister’s Commendation for his contributions to the Korean Wave.

His career also includes significant film roles, with his first leading role on the big screen in Yoo Ha’s neo-noir action saga “Gangnam Blues” (2015). He followed this with the action comedy film “Bounty Hunters” (2016), which was a box office success in China. Later in 2016, he returned to television with the fantasy romance “The Legend of the Blue Sea.” After completing his mandatory military service in 2019, Lee made a comeback in “The King: Eternal Monarch” (2020), which was widely anticipated and achieved high viewership on Netflix. In 2022, he made his Hollywood debut in the Apple TV+ series “Pachinko,” receiving critical acclaim for his performance as Koh Hansu. He is also set to appear in “Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy” (2025) and “When the Stars Gossip” (2025).