Lee Deok-hwa studied theater and film at
Dongguk University, and made his acting debut in 1972. He and his father, movie star Lee Ye-chun starred together in the 1975 horror film
The Man with Two Faces. In 1976, Lee and actress
Im Ye-jin starred in
Never Forget Me and
I Am Really Sorry, both movies in the "Really Really" series that dealt with teenagers' aspirations and romance. They were box office hits, and hugely popular among high school students of that generation. Lee had previously acted opposite Im in
Red Shoes (1975) and continued to do so in
Blue Classroom (1976), ''I've Never Felt Like This Before
(1976), Angry Apple
(1977), When We Grow Up...
(1977), The First Snow
(1977), The Hey Days of Youth 77
(1979), and Love's Scribble'' (1988). Lee received acting recognition for his subsequent films, including three Best Actor awards from the
Grand Bell Awards for
Lost Love (also known as
In the Name of Memory, 1989),
Fly High Run Far (1991), and
I Will Survive (1993). Lee also became the first Korean actor to win an award at an international film festival in 1993 when he was chosen as Best Actor at the
Moscow International Film Festival for
I Will Survive. On the small screen, Lee won the prestigious Daesang (or "Grand Prize") for the contemporary drama
Love and Ambition (1987) and period epic
Han Myung-hoe (1994). The latter is among the many real-life historical figures that Lee has played in his prolific career, including
Joseon prime minister
Han Myung-hoe in
Han Myung-hoe (1994),
Goryeo military dictator
Yi Ui-min in
Age of Warriors (2003),
Tang dynasty general
Xue Rengui in
Dae Jo-yeong (2006),
Goryeo military commander
Gang Gam-chan in
Empress Cheonchu (2009), and
King Dongmyeong of Goguryeo in
The King of Legend (2010). In 2005, Lee played
Chun Doo-hwan in the
television drama 5th Republic, in an ongoing series on
MBC about modern Korean political history.
The Fifth Republic stands for the period that Chun was in power as president, depicting how he assumed power through a military coup and was forced to resign after a series of
democratic movements. The drama was controversial and provoked mixed reactions. Some viewers complained that Lee's charismatic turn as Chun was an attempt to beautify or
whitewash the image of the dictator, whereas former aides of Chun accused MBC of distorting history. Later that year, Lee was reported to be the second top earner among all actors and entertainers who appeared on the
KBS network in 2004, with total earnings of . He reunited with
Dae Jo Yeong writer
Jang Young-chul in 2010 hit drama
Giant, set during the economic boom of 1970-80s Korea. He again joined Jang's follow-up along with former co-star
Lee Beom-soo in the 2012 drama
History of a Salaryman. The series is set upon a quirky comedy and satire of China's
Chu–Han Contention against the backdrop of the
pharmaceutical industry,
industrial espionage, and
office politics. In 2013, Lee received glowing reviews for his turn as
King Injo in the period drama
Blooded Palace: The War of Flowers, shown on cable channel
jTBC. At a press conference prior to airing, Lee said, "Injo is a king who acceded to the throne due to revolutionary force. He had no philosophy of his own and was just a puppet king. It is more interesting for me to portray a king that we are unfamiliar with." Lee also hosts variety shows, notably the Korean version of
Dancing with the Stars for the past three seasons. ==Other activities==