Lee Dong-hwi - Wikiwand

Lee Dong-hwi (born July 22, 1985) is a South Korean actor and singer. He gained recognition through his role in the critically acclaimed television series Reply 1988 (2015–2016).^[2] Lee starred in the film Extreme Job (2019), the second highest-grossing South Korean film in history. He is also a member of South Korean supergroup MSG Wannabe.

Quick Facts Born, Occupations ...

Lee Dong-hwi
At Reply 1988 concert in March 2016
Born	(1985-07-22) July 22, 1985 (age 39) Gangdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea^[1]
Occupations	Actor singer
Years active	2013–present
Agent	Company On
Partner(s)	Jung Ho-yeon (2015–2024)

Korean name
Hangul	이동휘
Hanja	李東輝
Revised Romanization	I Dong-hwi
McCune–Reischauer	Yi Tonghwi

Career

Summarize

Perspective

Lee made his debut in 2012 with director Im Sun-rye's film Run to the South, and has since appeared with films such as Way Back Home and Tazza: The Hidden Card.^[3]^[4]

Lee achieved a breakthrough with the retro drama Reply 1988. He went through an audition where he captivated the director with his remarkable singing and dancing talents, delivering a performance of Jeong Soo-ra's "Joy". Additionally, he drew laughter from everyone by flawlessly imitating the voices of Lee Sun-kyun, Park Hee-soon, Jang Hyuk, and Yoo Hae-jin.^[5] As a result, he was chosen to portray the character Dong-ryong and gained immense popularity among the audience through the 2015 drama Reply 1988.^[3]^[4] It was followed by film Veteran (2015).^[3]^[4]

He then starred in Chang You-jeong's comedy-drama film The Bros (2017) alongside Ma Dong-seok and Lee Hanee.^[6]^[7]^[8] Then film One Line (2017). In particular, through two works, Veteran (2015) and Extreme Job (2019), he rose to the ranks of popular actors and received attention for his irreplaceable character digestion.^[3]^[4]

In 2019, Lee got his first drama titular role as Moon Seok-goo in tvN drama Pegasus Market,^[9] a television series based on Kim Gyu-sam's webtoon of the same name. His role was an uni-grad who had applied to Daema Group for a job and had been sent to Pegasus Market as a general manager. He always tried his best to keep the mart running wholeheartedly but had often been foiled by the plans of Jeong Bok-dong (Kim Byung-chul) which often caused stress to Moon Seok-goo. It had aired on tvN every Friday at 23:00 (KST) from September 20 to December 6, 2019.^[10]^[11]

On November 30, 2020, KeyEast announced that Lee signed an exclusive contract with the label.^[3]

In May 2021, Lee was revealed as one of the MSG Wannabe members who passed on variety show program Hangout with Yoo and debuted as a member of MSG Wannabe and was part of the sub-unit JSDK.^[12]^[13]

In December 2023, Lee signed an exclusive contract with Company On.^[14]

Personal life

Lee was in a relationship with model-actress Jung Ho-yeon since 2015.^[15] On November 26, 2024, both Jung and Lee's agencies released a statement saying that the two have decided to part ways after nine years of dating.^[16]

He is part of a celebrity group of friends known as BYH48 which consists of EXO's Suho, Ryu Jun-yeol, Byun Yo-han, Ji Soo and more. The name was coined by their fans, with BYH referring to Byun Yo-han - the group's leader - and 48 is a parody of Japanese idol group AKB48.^[17]^[18]

Other ventures

Endorsements

After the success of drama Reply 1988, Lee quickly gained attention from the advertising industry. He became the model for a chicken advertisement, a prestigious role reserved for the most popular stars. Alongside his diverse activities, Lee showcased his lively and humorous charm, making him a sought-after advertising model for companies such as LG U+ (telecommunications), K5 (automobile), Banky (finance), and Ferricana. Since his selection in 2016, he made significant progress throughout the year, establishing dominance in the advertising world beyond television and screens.^[19]

In addition, he received attention for his excellent fashion sense through his SNS and won the Awesome Swagger Award at the Style Icon Awards Asia in 2016.^[3]

Philanthropy

On March 8, 2022, Lee donated ₩10 million to the Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association to help those affected by the massive wildfires that started in Uljin, Gyeongbuk. and also spread to Samcheok, Gangwon.^[20]

On August 18, 2022, Lee donated ₩10 million to help those affected by the 2022 South Korean floods through the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association.^[21]