2002–2008: Beginnings Lee started auditioning and landed minor roles in several television shows such as
Romance (2002),
Nonstop (2000–2006) and
Recipe of Love (2005). His official debut (main) role was in the
EBS series
Secret Campus (2006). Early in his career, Lee went by the stage name
Lee Min because his agency thought his birth name was too ordinary. However, as his stage name was pronounced and written in the same way as the Korean word "imin", which means "
immigration", he later said it was difficult to find himself in internet search results. He eventually went back to using his original name. '' press conference in 2008|left In 2006, his acting career was put on hold for a year following a serious car wreck, which occurred while riding in the back of a car with fellow actor
Jung Il-woo. Their two friends riding in the front seat were killed instantly. Lee was severely injured and spent several months bedridden. In 2008, he appeared in television dramas
Get Up and
I Am Sam, as well as movies
Public Enemy Returns and ''
Our School's E.T.. During the filming of the latter, he became good friends with actor Kim Su-ro. Kim later gave him praise on a variety show: "I recognize a star when I see one. When I was doing Our School's E.T.'', I knew that Lee Min-ho would become one of the top actors in the country".
2009–2010: Breakthrough Lee's breakthrough came in 2009 with the lead role of Gu Jun-pyo in
KBS2'
Boys Over Flowers, the Korean adaptation of the popular
shōjo manga of the same name. Competition for the role was intense and Lee only found out that he had been cast through newspaper articles. The series attracted high viewership ratings and buzz in South Korea during its broadcast. Lee's new-found popularity gained him many endorsement deals;
Boys Over Flowers also created another
Korean Wave throughout Asia and made Lee a
hallyu star. In 2010, Lee appeared in the romantic comedy
Personal Taste opposite
Son Ye-jin; he played a young architect who poses as a gay man in order to become roommates with a young woman, leading to romantic complications. When asked about the reason for choosing the role during an interview, he responded: "I think I would do a better job playing heavy and more defined roles when I am older. I think
Personal Taste was perfect because it is bright, cheerful but you can also laugh and cry over it as well."
2011–2013: International popularity In 2011, he took on the role of the titular character in action drama
City Hunter as Lee Yun-Seong, which was loosely based on
Tsukasa Hojo's popular
manga of the same name. The series was a commercial success and contributed to Lee's growing popularity, most notably in Japan, Philippines, China, and in France. He participated in the popular Chinese variety show
Happy Camp in December 2011. In 2012, Lee starred in the medical
fusion sageuk Faith alongside
Kim Hee-sun. Despite garnering viewership ratings in the 10% range, the drama was a commercial failure due to its high budget. In April 2013, Lee's wax figure was unveiled at the
Madame Tussauds Shanghai. Lee also announced his return to television with a new series titled
The Heirs, a teen drama written by
Kim Eun-sook. On why he decided to take on the role of a
chaebol heir in high school four years after playing one in
Boys Over Flowers, he answered: "Before I grew past my 20s, I wanted to play a more upbeat character, one that would allow me to return to that feeling of simple, uncomplicated innocence that I had when I was younger." Lee experienced a further increase in his global popularity as his character of Kim Tan.
2014–2017: Continued success and return to films In January 2014, a second wax figure of Lee was unveiled at
Madame Tussauds Hong Kong. He sang a song with
Harlem Yu, the original singer of the theme song of
Meteor Garden, the Taiwanese version of
Boys Over Flowers. He was also invited to the third conference of the South Korean Presidential Committee for Cultural Enrichment as the representative for the entertainment industry, to share and contribute to the discussion of issues related to developing Korea's cultural content. Lee received the Prime Minister's Commendation at the 5th
Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards for his contribution to Koren Wave. Lee subsequently recorded and released his second
EP "Song for You" in October 2014 under
Universal Music. As with his previous album, he stated that the tracks were recorded for his fans and that he had no ambition to pursue a singing career. He then took on
Yoo Ha's neo-noir action saga
Gangnam Blues (2015), set in the 1970s when the real estate development boom swept across the
Gangnam area. The film, which co-starred
Kim Rae-won, marked Lee's first leading role on the big screen. In 2016, Lee appeared in the action comedy film
Bounty Hunters, directed by Shin Terra; his co-stars were
Wallace Chung,
Tiffany Tang,
Jeremy Tsui,
Karena Ng and
Louis Fan. The flick topped box office charts upon its release and went on to gross US$31 million in China. Later that year, Lee made his television comeback in the fantasy romance as Hae Joon Jae
The Legend of the Blue Sea alongside actress
Jun Ji-hyun, which was another success. Lee began his
mandatory military service on May 12, 2017 and was discharged on April 25, 2019 as a public service officer.
2019–present: Comeback from military service and Hollywood debut In 2019, Lee was cast in the
SBS-broadcast and
Netflix-distributed fantasy romance
The King: Eternal Monarch written by
The Heirs screenwriter
Kim Eun-sook. It was hailed as one of the most anticipated series of the first half of 2020, serving as Lee's comeback following his release from mandatory military service as Lee Gun. but received mixed reviews and lower-than-expected domestic TV viewership ratings on later episodes compared to previous works by Kim Eun-sook.
The King: Eternal Monarch was listed as the most popular
Korean drama on Netflix in India, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore and one of the top two in the U.S. in 2020. In October 2020, Lee Min-ho launched the YouTube channel "leeminho film" where he serves as executive producer and creative director. In 2022, Lee made his Hollywood debut in a main role as Koh Hansu, a mysterious merchant, in the
television series adaptation of
Min Jin Lee's novel
Pachinko. Lee's performance, particularly in the standalone episode of the series,
Chapter 7, which centered around Lee's character, received critical acclaim; outlets such as
Rolling Stone,
The New York Times, and
Collider included the episode in their list of Best TV Episodes of 2022. In August 2023,
Hugo Boss launched a new collection, featuring Lee,
Patrick Mahomes,
Naomi Campbell,
Matteo Berrettini, and
Suki Waterhouse in its campaign. ==Public image==