Lee Sun-kyun
Quick Facts
Biography
Lee Sun-kyun (born March 2, 1975) is a South Korean actor. After beginning his career in musical theatre, for many years Lee was relegated to minor and supporting roles onscreen, only getting to play lead characters in one-act dramas on KBS Drama City and MBC Best Theater. In one such Best Theater project, he worked with TV director Lee Yoon-jung on Taereung National Village (2005), which led to him being cast in her later series The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince in 2007. Coffee Prince, along with medical drama White Tower brought Lee mainstream popularity, which he followed with Pasta (2010) and Golden Time (2012).
Meanwhile on the big screen, he received a Best Actor award from the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival for his role in Paju (2009), followed by critical acclaim for mystery thriller Helpless (2012), romantic comedy All About My Wife (2012), and crime/black comedy A Hard Day (2014). Lee also continues to collaborate with auteur Hong Sang-soo, and his arthouse films with Hong include Night and Day (2008), Oki's Movie (2010), and Nobody's Daughter Haewon (2013).
Career
Lee Sun-kyun entered the Korea National University of Arts in 1994, and graduated in the first ever batch of its School of Drama. In 2001, he made his acting debut as Brad Majors in the stage musical The Rocky Horror Show.
Relegated to small supporting roles for many years, he achieved his breakthrough in 2007 with the critically lauded medical drama White Tower and the highly popular romantic series The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince. Besides Coffee Prince, he has worked with director Lee Yoon-jung two other times—in the sports-themed Taereung National Village in 2005, and in slice-of-life drama Triple in 2009.
Lee was appointed as ambassador for the Health Insurance Review Agency in 2007, and won an award from the Korea Advertisers Association in 2008.
Despite his burgeoning fame, Lee then turned to low-budget arthouse films to polish his acting caliber. Night and Day, Lost in the Mountains, Oki's Movie, Nobody's Daughter Haewon and Our Sunhi were all directed by Hong Sang-soo, an auteur renowned for his realistic portrayal of ordinary lives. Lee also headlined Paju, for which he won the Best Actor award at the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival held in Spain. Film distributor Myung Film quoted the judging committee as handing Lee high points for portraying the anguish his character felt for loving his wife's younger sister.
With Pasta, in which he played a brilliant-but-abrasive chef, Lee successfully shook off his "gentle" TV drama image, and the series' popularity made him a bankable romantic leading man. Petty Romance reunited him with his My Sweet Seoul co-star Choi Kang-hee, and one-upmanship action comedy Officer of the Year (also known as Arrest King) soon followed.
Lee showed his support for the revival of Drama Special (formerly Drama City) by starring in Our Slightly Risque Relationship (his acting was later recognized at the KBS Drama Awards). He has continually defended the importance of the short drama format as a training ground for young talent, acknowledging its contribution to his own career.
In 2012, he starred in two consecutive well-reviewed big-screen hits—mystery thriller Helpless and romantic comedy All About My Wife. Reuniting with Pasta director Kwon Seok-jang, Lee played a trauma doctor in Golden Time. His third collaboration with Kwon was Miss Korea set amidst the IMF crisis in the 1990s.
Lee returned to the theater opposite wife Jeon Hye-jin in Mike Bartlett's stage play Love, Love, Love in 2013. The following year, he headlined the film A Hard Day, which screened at the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, and became a critically acclaimed sleeper hit at the box office. In 2015, Lee starred in courtroom drama film The Advocate: A Missing Body.
Personal life
Lee married his girlfriend of seven years, actress Jeon Hye-jin (I'm Sorry, I Love You, The Naked Kitchen) on May 23, 2009.
Their sons were born on November 25, 2009, and August 9, 2011.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Psycho Drama | Park Dong-woo | short film |
2002 | Make It Big | Woo Jung-chul | |
Surprise Party | the real Kim Jung-woo | ||
A Perfect Match | Doctor | ||
Boss X-File | Gangster | ||
2003 | Goodbye Day | short film | |
Scent of Love | Doctor Shin | ||
Show Show Show | Sang-chul | ||
Survival Meeting Game | short film | ||
2004 | Hitchhiking | Man | short film |
My Mother, the Mermaid | Do-hyeon | ||
Love, So Divine | Man in lovey dovey couple | ||
R-Point | Sergeant Park | ||
2005 | Curry and Rice Story | short film | |
Erotic Chaos Boy | |||
2006 | The Customer Is Always Right | Lee Jang-gil | |
A Cruel Attendance | Cheon Man-ho | ||
2007 | Our Town | Jae-shin | |
2008 | Night and Day | Yoon Kyeong-soo | |
Sa-kwa | Min-seok | ||
Romantic Island | Kang Jae-hyuk | ||
2009 | Lost in the Mountains | Myeong-woo | short film from Jeonju Digital Project Visitors |
Paju | Kim Joong-shik | ||
2010 | Oki's Movie | Nam Jin-gu | |
Petty Romance | Jeong Bae | ||
2011 | Officer of the Year | Jung Eui-chan | |
2012 | Helpless | Jang Mun-ho | |
All About My Wife | Lee Doo-hyun | ||
2013 | Nobody's Daughter Haewon | Lee Seong-joon | |
Our Sunhi | Mun-su | ||
2014 | A Hard Day | Ko Gun-su | |
2015 | The Advocate: A Missing Body | Byeon Ho-sung | |
Love Is a Virus | |||
2016 | Precious Woman |
Television series
Year | Title | Role | Network |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | Lovers | Lee Sun-kyun | MBC |
2003 | Thousand Years of Love | Pil-ga | SBS |
MBC Best Theater "Chakhan Dangshin Loveholic" | MBC | ||
MBC Best Theater "Dad Romeo, Mom Juliet" | MBC | ||
Drama City "18-year-old Bride" | KBS2 | ||
2004 | Drama City "Semi-transparent" | Dong-soo | KBS2 |
Drama City "Dr. Love" | KBS2 | ||
2005 | Drama City "Love of a Spider Woman" | KBS2 | |
Drama City "Innocent Love" | KBS2 | ||
Loveholic | Kim Tae-hyun | KBS2 | |
MBC Best Theater "Taereung National Village" | Lee Dong-kyung | MBC | |
2006 | Fugitive Lee Doo-yong | Noh Cheol-ki | KBS2 |
MBC Best Theater "Behind" | MBC | ||
2007 | White Tower | Choi Do-young | MBC |
The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince | Choi Han-sung | MBC | |
2008 | My Sweet Seoul | Kim Young-soo | SBS |
2009 | Triple | Jo Hae-yoon | MBC |
2010 | Pasta | Choi Hyun-wook | MBC |
Drama Special "Our Slightly Risque Relationship" | Ki Dong-chan | KBS2 | |
2012 | Golden Time | Lee Min-woo | MBC |
2013 | Miss Korea | Kim Hyung-joon | MBC |
2016 | My Wife's Having an Affair this Week | Do Hyun-woo | JTBC |
Variety show
Year | Title | Network | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | Happy Together - Season 3 | KBS2 | Guest, episode 120 |
2011 | Golden Fishery: The Knee-Drop Guru | MBC | Guest, episodes 230-231 |
Running Man | SBS | Guest, episode 41 | |
2012 | 2 Days & 1 Night | KBS2 | Guest, episodes 367-368 |
2013 | March: A Story of Friends | SBS | Cast member |
2014 | Healing Camp, Aren't You Happy | SBS | Guest, episode 138 |
2015 | Three Meals a Day - Season 2 | tvN | Guest, episode 14 |
2015 | Please Take Care of My Refrigerator | JTBC | Guest, episode 46-47 |
Music video
Year | Song Title | Artist |
---|---|---|
1999 | "It's OK" | Bijou |
2001 | "You Remain in My Heart" | Lucid Fall |
2007 | "Arirang" | SG Wannabe |
2008 | "Between Hidden Time" | Yoon Gun |
Theater
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2001 | The Rocky Horror Show | |
2003 | Grease | Danny Zuko |
2005 | Indangsu Love Song | |
2013 | Love, Love, Love | Kenneth |
Discography
Year | Song Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2007 | "Ocean Voyage (Choi Han-sung version)" | Track from The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince OST |
2008 | "My Sweet City" | Track from My Sweet Seoul OST |
2008 | "Romantic Christmas" | Duet with Eugene; track from Romantic Island Christmas Story single |
2008 | "Boy" | Track from Yoon Sang's Song Book: Play With Him album |
2010 | "Kangaroo" | Duet with Choi Kang-hee; track from Petty Romance OST |
Advertisements
- KT 1541 Collect Call (2002)
- CJ CheilJedang Condition Power (2006)
- Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (2007)
- Ministry of Health and Welfare (2007)
- LG Whisen air conditioner (2008)
- Dunkin' Donuts (2008)
- Sempio Food Premium Soy Sauce (샘표간장) (2008)
- Pizza Hut (2008)
- Kia Sportage (2008)
- GS Home Shopping (2009)
- Sempio Food Brown Rice Vinegar Drink (백년동안) (2010)
- Ace Bed (2011)
- Cambridge Kolon GGIO II (2011)
- Downy (2012)
- Sensodyne (2012)
- Oreo (2012)
- Boehringer Ingelheim Mucopect (2012)
- Orion Swing Chips (2014)
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | 43rd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best New Actor (TV) | White Tower | Nominated |
MBC Drama Awards | Golden Acting Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Won | ||
Excellence Award, Actor | The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince | Nominated | ||
2008 | Korea Advertisers Association | Good Model Award | N/A | Won |
2010 | 11th Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival | Best Actor | Paju | Won |
CETV Awards | Top 10 Asian Stars | Pasta | Won | |
MBC Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor | Nominated | ||
Best Couple Award with Gong Hyo-jin | Won | |||
KBS Drama Awards | Best Actor in a One-Act/Drama Special | Our Slightly Risque Relationship | Won | |
2012 | 5th Herald DongA TV Lifestyle Awards | Best Dressed | N/A | Won |
MBC Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Golden Time | Nominated | |
2014 | 23rd Buil Film Awards | Best Actor | A Hard Day | Nominated |
35th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Actor | Nominated | ||
MBC Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Miss Korea | Nominated | |
2015 | 20th Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Actor | A Hard Day | Nominated |
51st Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actor (Film) | Won |