Lee Min-ki

This article is about the actor. For the footballer, see Lee Min-ki (footballer).

In this Korean name, the family name is Lee.

Lee Min-ki (born January 16, 1985) is a South Korean actor, singer, and model. Lee's first leading role in television was in the 2005 sports drama Taereung National Village. He has gone on to star in many television series, including Love Truly (2006), Dal-ja's Spring (2007), Because This Is My First Life (2017), The Beauty Inside (2018), My Liberation Notes (2022) and Behind Your Touch (2023). Lee has also starred in feature films, most notably in the box office hits Tidal Wave (2009), Quick (2011), Spellbound (2011) and Very Ordinary Couple (2013).

Lee Min-ki
Lee in November 2024
Born	(1985-01-16) January 16, 1985 (age 39) Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea[1]
Alma mater	Konkuk University - Film Arts[1] Daekyeung University - Modeling [2]
Occupations	Actor singer model
Years active	2004–present
Agent	Sangyoung ENT
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Korean name
Hangul	이민기
Hanja	李民基
Revised Romanization	I Min-gi
McCune–Reischauer	I Mingi

Career

Acting

After honing his acting in one-act dramas, Lee Min-ki first gained popularity on television in romantic comedies Love Truly (2006) and Dal-ja's Spring (2007).^[3][4] He then starred in the quirky low-rated cult series Evasive Inquiry Agency (2007)^[5] and alternated mainstream films with indies such as Oishii Man (2009).^[6][7] He gained favorable notices for his supporting roles in the thriller A Million as a hot-tempered Marine-turned-janitor who finds himself involved in a survival reality show,^[8] and the disaster film Tidal Wave, in which he plays a lifeguard who makes a heartbreaking sacrifice when a tsunami hits the Korean beach town of Haeundae.^[9][10][11] Lee then solidified his bona fide movie star status with his leading roles in the action film Quick and romantic comedy Spellbound.^[12][13][14]

Lee starred alongside Kim Min-hee in the relationship drama Very Ordinary Couple (2013), a critically-acclaimed a box-office hit.^[15][16] He followed with leading roles in thriller Monster (2014),^[17][18] action noir For the Emperor (2014),^[19] and drama film Shoot Me in the Heart (2015), based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Jeong Yu-jeong.^[20][21]

In 2017, Lee starred in the romantic-comedy drama Because This Is My First Life opposite Jung So-min, which had been his first television leading role in 10 years.^[22] This was followed with the fantasy melodrama The Beauty Inside (2018), based on the 2015 romantic comedy film of the same name. He played a man who suffers from prosopagnosia.^[23]

In 2019, Lee returned to the small screen opposite Lee Yoo-young in the crime detective drama The Lies Within as detective Jo Tae-sik.^[24] On January 13, 2020, it was announced that Lee would star in the occult thriller film Three Days alongside Park Shin-yang and Lee Re.^[25]

In 2021, Lee starred alongside Nana in the MBC romantic comedy Oh My Ladylord.^[26] After the contract with his former agency expired in September 2021, Lee signed a contract with Yeongsang ENT.^[27] The same year, he joined the JTBC television series My Liberation Notes which premiered in April 2022. He played the role of Yeom Chang-hee, the second of three siblings with no proper goal in life.^[28]

Singing

After performing a stylized version of "My Way" at the 2008 Mnet KM Music Festival, Lee lent his vocals to a track with Korean electronica/pop singer Sheean in a collaboration with Japanese electronica/Shibuya-kei artist FreeTEMPO. The song, titled "Power of Love," was released as a digital single, and Lee also appeared in the music video.^[29] On August 11, 2009, he unveiled his musical debut No Kidding, a six track EP with a very indie-electro rock sound.^[30] The album's title song "Eternal Summer" was the first and only single released.^[31] In 2013, he released two singles titled "Those Days I Had with You" and "Everything" in collaboration with Gold Coast.^[32]

Personal life

Lee enlisted for his mandatory military service on August 7, 2014, and was assigned as a public service worker.^[33][34] He was discharged in August 2016.^[35]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2006	Riverbank Legends	High school student #7	Special appearance
2007	A Good Day to Have an Affair	College student		[36]
2008	Humming	Oh Chun-jae	Special appearance	[37]
	Romantic Island	Lee Jung-hwan		[38]
2009	Oishii Man	Kim Hyun-seok		[6]
	Tidal Wave	Choi Hyeong-sik		[39]
	A Million	Park Cheol-hee		[8]
2011	Quick	Han Ki-su		[12]
	Spellbound	Ma Jo-goo		[14]
2013	Very Ordinary Couple	Lee Dong-hee		[15]
2014	Monster	Tae-soo		[18]
	For the Emperor	Lee Hwan		[19]
2015	Shoot Me in the Heart	Ryu Seung-min		[21]
2018	Detective K: Secret of the Living Dead	Jeon In-kyul	Special appearance	[40]
2022	Decibel	Captain Hwang	Special appearance	[41]
TBA	Three Days	Priest Van		[25]

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2004	My Older Brother	Kang Min-ki	Drama City
2005	Oh! Sarah	Kim Dong-kang
	Be Strong, Geum-soon!	Noh Tae-hwan		[42]
	Booyong of Mt. Kyeryong	Hyeong-soo	Drama City	[43]
	Taereung National Village	Hong Min-ki		[44]
	Rainbow Romance	Lee Min-ki		[45]
2006	Love Truly	Nam Bong-ki		[4]
2007	Dal-ja's Spring	Kang Tae-bong		[3]
	Evasive Inquiry Agency	Park Mu-yeol		[5]
2012	Flower Band	Joo Byung-hee	Guest, Episodes 1-2	[46]
2017	Because This Is My First Life	Nam Se-hee		[22]
2018	What's Wrong with Secretary Kim	young Mi-so's father	Cameo, Episode 10	[47]
	The Beauty Inside	Seo Do-jae		[23]
2019	The Lies Within	Jo Tae-sik		[48]
2021	Oh My Ladylord	Han Bi-soo		[26]
2022	My Liberation Notes	Yeom Chang-hee		[49]
2023	Behind Your Touch	Moon Jang-yeol		[50]
2024	Crash	Cha Yeon-ho		[51]
	Face Me	Cha Jung-woo		[52]

Music video appearances

Year	Song title	Artist	Ref.
2004	"Hit'm"	Nina
2005	"Only One for Me"	Soul Star
2007	"After... The Break-up"	The Name feat. Choi Jin-yi	[53]
2008	"My Girl"	The One
2012	"The Day Before"	Nell	[54]
2013	"I'm Sorry"	Han So-hyeon	[55]

Discography

Albums

Album information	Track listing
Power of Love Single Artist: FreeTEMPO feat. Sheean and Lee Min-ki Released: September 26, 2008 Label:	Track listing Power of Love
Power of Love Part 2 Single Artist: FreeTEMPO feat. Lee Min-ki Released: November 14, 2008 Label:	Track listing Power of Love (3rd Coast Remix)
We Can't Forget the Reason Single Artist: Lee Min-ki feat. Weekenders Released: December 10, 2008 Label:	Track listing We Can't Forget the Reason We Can't Forget the Reason (Inst.)
No Kidding EP Artist: Lee Min-ki Released: August 11, 2009 Label: Locksmith by Shyoshyo Type/CJ E&M	Track listing 영원한 여름 (Eternal Summer) Dreaming Joujou (Let me see the love) Play My Way Tonite, Tonite Joujou (♥Minki Remix)
Those Days I Had with You Single Artist: Lee Min-ki feat. 3rd Coast Released: March 14, 2013 Label: Go_od/CJ E&M	Track listing 지난날 (Those Days I Had with You) 지난날 (Those Days I Had with You) (Inst.)
Everything Single Artist: Lee Min-ki feat. 3rd Coast Released: April 11, 2013 Label: Go_od/CJ E&M	Track listing Everything Everything (Inst.)

Soundtrack

Year	Song title	Notes
2006	"Like Candy 2"	Track from Love Truly OST
	"Before Sadness Comes"	Track from Rainbow Romance OST[56]
2009	"Frozen Mountain" "Neanderthal Man II" "Disappears Like That" "A Match for You"	Tracks from Oishii Man OST[57]
2012	"Not in Love" "jaywalking"	Track from Flower Band OST[58]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2004	KBS Drama Awards	Best Actor in a Special/One-Act Drama	My Older Brother	Nominated
2005	KBS Drama Awards	Best Actor in a Special/One-Act Drama	Oh! Sarah, Booyong of Mt. Kyeryong	Nominated
	MBC Drama Awards	Best New Actor	Be Strong, Geum-soon!	Won	[59]
2007	43rd Baeksang Arts Awards	Best New Actor (TV)	Love Truly	Nominated
	28th Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best New Actor	A Good Day to Have an Affair	Nominated
	KBS Drama Awards	Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries	Dal-ja's Spring, Evasive Inquiry Agency	Nominated
		Popularity Award, Actor		Nominated
2009	2nd Style Icon Awards	New Movie Icon	—	Won	[60]
	30th Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Haeundae	Nominated
2010	46th Baeksang Arts Awards	Best New Actor (Film)		Won	[61]
2014	50th Baeksang Arts Awards	Most Popular Actor (Film)	Monster	Nominated
2018	13th Soompi Awards	Actor of the Year	Because This Is My First Life	Nominated
		Best Couple Award with Jung So-min		Nominated
2019	14th Soompi Awards	Best Couple Award with Seo Hyun-jin	The Beauty Inside	Nominated
2021	MBC Drama Awards	Best Couple Award with Nana	Oh My Ladylord	Nominated
2023	Global Film & Television Huading Awards	Best Global Teleplay Leading Actor	My Liberation Notes	Pending	[62]

References

1. 이민기 탤런트, 영화배우. Naver Profiles (in Korean). Retrieved August 7, 2011.
2. 이민기 탤런트, 영화배우. Naver Profiles (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2022.
3. "'Dalja's Spring' Off to Good Start". KBS Global. April 1, 2007.
4. "< Love Truly > Makes a Good Start~!". MBC Global Media. February 14, 2008.
5. 재미있고 웃기는 <얼렁뚱땅 흥신소> '저주받은 걸작' 되나. Sisain (in Korean). November 26, 2007.
6. Lee, Hyo-won (February 19, 2009). "Oishii Man: Magic of Love, Youth". The Korea Times.
7. Shin, Hae-in (February 11, 2009). "Being a bit of both proves difficult in Oishi man". Yonhap News Agency.
8. 영화 ‘10억’ 이민기… ‘자연스러운 몰입’ 그것이 나의 연기. Khan (in Korean). August 6, 2009.
9. Ki, Sun-min (August 6, 2009). "Lee Min-ki revels in the art of acting". Korea JoongAng Daily.
10. "[INTERVIEW] Lee Min-ki (1)". 10Asia. November 30, 2009.
11. "[INTERVIEW] Lee Min-ki (2)". 10Asia. November 30, 2009.
12. "Lee Min-ki tapped to play lead in new Yoon Je-kyun pic". 10Asia. April 29, 2010.
13. "Quick promises fastest Korean blockbuster ever". The Korea Times. June 21, 2011.
14. "Son Ye-jin, Lee Min-ki finish shooting new romance flick". 10Asia. April 12, 2011.
15. "Kim Min-hee, Lee Min-ki Wraps Up Shooting Romance Pic". 10Asia. October 29, 2012.
16. "Unusual Love Stories". Korean Film Biz Zone. March 8, 2013.
17. "[Interview] Lee Min Ki Transforms into Killer for ′Monster′". enewsWorld. May 2, 2014. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016.
18. "Press Conference Held for MONSTER". Korean Film Biz Zone. February 24, 2014.
19. "LEE Min-ki Headlines NEW Action Noir". Korean Film Biz Zone. December 11, 2013.
20. "'Shoot Me' takes aim at viewers' emotions". Korea JoongAng Daily. January 23, 2015.
21. "[Interview] Lee Min Ki, "I'm Acting With Yeo Jin Gu In My Next Film"". BNT News. June 23, 2014.
22. "Jung So-min, Lee Min-ki join tvN fall drama". Korea JoongAng Daily. August 4, 2017.
23. ""Beauty Inside - Drama" Seo Hyun-jin and Lee Min-ki Top Billing for Drama Recreation of Popular Film". HanCinema. Newsen. July 8, 2018.
24. Kim Min-ji (June 5, 2019). "[공식입장] 이민기X이유영, '모두의 거짓말' 출연 확정…하반기 방송". News1 (in Korean).
25. "박신양X이민기, '사흘'로 스크린 컴백…"데뷔 첫 오컬트 영화 도전" [공식입장]". Naver. January 13, 2020.
26. "[공식]로코 '오! 주인님' 이민기X나나, 출연 확정..2021년 3월 방송". Naver. September 8, 2020.
27. Kim Mi-hwa (September 2, 2021). "이민기, 신생 엔터 상영이엔티와 전속계약 [공식]" [Lee Min-ki, an exclusive contract with a new entertainment company, Sangsang ENT [Formula]]. Star News (in Korean). Retrieved September 2, 2021 – via Naver.
28. Park Jae-hwan (March 17, 2022). "이민기 "꿈도, 욕망도, 속도 없는 둘째" JTBC드라마 <나의 해방일지>" [Lee Min-ki "No dream, no desire, no speed" JTBC drama <My Liberation Journal>] (in Korean). KBS Entertainment. Retrieved June 4, 2022 – via Naver.
29. "이민기, 프리템포-시언 'Power of Love' 피처링 도전 화제". Newsen (in Korean). September 26, 2008.
30. 가수데뷔 이민기, 진정한 뮤지션 거듭나다! “농담 아니라니까”. Newsen (in Korean). August 13, 2009.
31. 배우 이민기, “이제 가수 이민기라고 불러주세요”. iMBC (in Korean). September 24, 2009.
32. "Lee Min Ki Sings for Temperature of Love". enewsWorld. March 15, 2013. Archived from the original on May 24, 2014.
33. Lee, Sun-min (July 22, 2014). "Lee to start military service next month". Korea JoongAng Daily.
34. Ha, Soo-jung (August 8, 2014). "Lee Min Ki Revealed to Have Enlisted in the Army 8/7". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014.
35. "Stars whose military service ends in 2016". Kpop Herald. February 3, 2016.
36. 이종혁, 이민기 <바람 피기 좋은 날> 캐스팅. Cine21 (in Korean). September 5, 2006.
37. 이민기, ‘허밍’에 우정출연해 지적인 매력 발산. Osen (in Korean). January 30, 2008.
38. "Romantic Island Loses Spark". The Korea Times. December 25, 2008.
39. 이민기, “‘해운대’ 성공 비결은 멋진 캐릭터가 없다는 것”. JKN (in Korean). August 25, 2009.
40. "DETECTIVE K Team Returns for 2018 Threequel". Korean Film Biz Zone. July 14, 2017.
41. Kim Na-ra (July 12, 2021). "이민기, 김래원X이종석 '데시벨' 특별출연…"황인호 감독과 의리" [공식]" [Lee Min-ki, Kim Rae-won X Lee Jong-suk's 'Decibel' Special Appearance... "Loyalty to Director Hwang In-ho" [Official]]. mydaily (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
42. 이민기, 얄미운 백수 건달역으로 인기폭발. inews24 (in Korean). March 22, 2005.
43. 호쾌한 액션으로 더위 날린 `계룡산 부용이`. TV Report (in Korean). November 27, 2009.
44. 이민기ㆍ최정윤 '태릉선수촌' 효과 톡톡. Maeil Newspaper (in Korean). November 20, 2005.
45. 철든 <논스톱>? <레인보우 로망스>. Cine21 (in Korean). November 20, 2005.
46. "Lee Min Ki to Cameo in 'Flower Boy Band'". enewsWorld. January 9, 2012. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017.
47. "'김비서' 측 "이민기-정소민 카메오 촬영 완료" 박준화PD와 의리(공식)". Newsen (in Korean). June 30, 2018.
48. Kim Gae-young (June 5, 2019). "이민기·이유영, OCN '모두의 거짓말' 출연 확정…올 하반기 방송 [공식]". Tv Report (in Korean).
49. Kim Yoo-jin (July 9, 2021). "나의 해방일지' 이민기·김지원·손석구·이엘 캐스팅 확정 [공식입장]" [My Liberation Journal' casts Lee Min-ki, Kim Ji-won, Son Seok-gu, and EL confirmed [Official position]] (in Korean). X-ports News. Retrieved July 9, 2021 – via Naver.
50. Lee, Seung-gil (November 8, 2022). "이보영·조승우·한지민·이준호·임윤아…JTBC, 초호화 2023년 드라마 라인업 전격공개" [Lee Bo-Young - Cho Seung-Woo - Han Ji-Min - Lee Joon-Ho - Im Yoon-A...JTBC unveils ultra-luxury 2023 drama line-up] (in Korean). My Daily. Retrieved September 12, 2023 – via Naver.
51. "[단독]이민기·곽선영·허성태, 코믹 수사극 '크래시' 주인공" [[Exclusive] Lee Min-ki, Kwak Sun-young, and Heo Seong-tae, main characters in the comical investigative drama ‘Crash’]. 스타뉴스 (in Korean). December 21, 2023 – via Naver.
52. Ha Kyung-heon (February 22, 2023). "이민기-한지현, 'K-성형' 드라마 '룩앳미' 캐스팅[공식]" [Lee Min-ki and Han Ji-hyun cast in 'K-Plastic Surgery' drama 'Look at Me' [Official]] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. Retrieved February 22, 2023 – via Naver.
53. 김별, '이별..후에' 뮤비로 이민기와 2년만의 조우. inews24 (in Korean). August 27, 2007.
54. "넬(NELL), '그리고, 남겨진 것들' 2차 티저 공개…이민기의 명품 '눈빛연기' 돋보여". Top Star News (in Korean). April 6, 2012.
55. 이민기, 한소현 신곡 '미안해' 뮤비 男주인공 발탁. 10Asia (in Korean). October 30, 2013.
56. "'레인보우로망스' 출연진, OST서 가창력 뽐내!". inews24 (in Korean). July 12, 2006.
57. "이민기, 영화 OST 싱글 발매 "뮤지션 되고파"". inews24 (in Korean). February 11, 2009.
58. "Lee Min Ki's 'Not in Love' To Be Released". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017.
59. "(종합)2005 MBC 연기대상에서 '내 이름은 김삼순' 빛났다". Newsen (in Korean). December 31, 2005.
60. "Style Icon Awards shines 2009 with edginess". 10Asia. November 13, 2009.
61. "Ko Hyun-jung, "Haeundae" win grand prize at PaekSang Arts Awards". Asiae. March 29, 2010.
62. "The Shortlist of the 36th Huading Awards Global Unit Announced, 10 Films Including "All Quiet on the Western Front" Shortlisted for Best Picture". Business Wire. March 22, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2023.

External links

• Official website (in Korean)
• Lee Min-ki at HanCinema
• Lee Min-ki at IMDb
• Lee Min-ki at the Korean Movie Database