South Korean actor, singer, and model Lee Min-ho may have recently appeared in the adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko, but he has been one of South Korea’s most famous actors for over a decade. He was the first Korean celebrity to have a wax figure made at Madame Tussauds, and he has starred in some of the best Korean drama series to come out of the peninsula country. In the early 2000s, he began acting in sporadic television roles on different series; he was billed at Lee Min in these earlier appearances.
Lee's big break, however, came with the release of the SBS drama Boys Over Flowers, an adaptation of a popular Japanese Manga. Boys Over Flowers was a smash hit across Asia, starting a new trend in television towards stories set in high schools, and the show was a key component to the budding Korean wave. Lee gained immense global popularity, and his shows, movies, and dramas from that point onwards marked him as a top star in the industry. From Legend of the Blue Sea to Pachinko, these are Lee Min-ho's best performances so far.
7 The King: Eternal Monarch
The King: Eternal Monarch was one of the most anticipated Korean television releases in 2020. It starred two of Korea’s biggest drama actors: Lee Min-ho and Kim Go-eun. Lee portrays the Emperor of the Kingdom of Corea, which exists in an alternate universe. When he stumbles upon the real world and meets Kim’s character, a police officer, their worlds begin to tangle and complicate with this crossover. This romantic high-fantasy series is visually appealing and marked Lee’s return to the small screen after returning from the military, but it failed with audiences due to the depth of the script.
6 The Heirs
Released in 2013, The Heirs marked a new turning point for Korean school dramas. It takes the traditional trope of a poor girl (Park Shin-hye) meeting a rich boy (Lee Min-ho) and spins it in an environment that many would dread: high school. Except there is a catch here: this high school is for Korea’s elite. The protagonist may be considered inferior by her peers’ standards, but she catches the eye of the son and heir of a conglomerate group while abroad in California. The Heirs took the formulaic approach established by Lee’s Boys Over Flowers, and it was a smash hit globally.
5 Legend of the Blue Sea
Lee Min-ho starred with Jun Ji-hyun in 2016’s Legend of the Blue Sea, which takes inspiration from Korean legends and mythology about mermaids. The plot splits itself in time, placing itself in the distant past, where a mermaid and a boy become good friends, even lovers, and the present-day when a mermaid (Jun) meets a con artist (Lee). Some of the best parts about the show include the relationship Lee and Jun have organically made on-screen and their acting abilities flexing with the storyline.
4 Gangnam Blues
Gangnam Blues thrusts viewers back into 1970s Seoul when dictator Park Chung-hee still had an iron grip over South Korea and development was beginning in the capital city. Gangnam, a neighborhood in Seoul, was just starting to experience its boom in real estate during this era, but as corruption is rampant, navigating territorial disputes became bloody. Kim Rae-won and Lee Min-ho play childhood friends caught up in the crime and chaos that came with this modernization, choosing to move their way up in the world by gaming the system that is already in place.
3 City Hunter
Perhaps one of Lee’s best-known dramas before Korean entertainment hit its peak abroad, City Hunter takes inspiration from a popular Manga series of the same name. The year is 1989, and an IT expert (Lee) has entered Korea’s version of the White House: the Blue House. His overarching goal is the thirst for revenge he inherited from his adopted father, who has a taste for revenge against the government. The plan does not go without problems, however, as he falls in love with a bodyguard (Park Min-young).
2 Pachinko
Pachinko was a bestselling novel when it initially came out, but when Apple TV+ announced that they were creating a television adaptation, fans worldwide were in awe of Lee Min-ho’s casting. The story is heavy-hitting, creating a show that is both moving and relevant in today’s society. Lee’s character is Koh Hansu, who develops a relationship with the main character, Sun-ja, when she is a teenager while visiting Busan. When she later moves to Japan, his shady background slowly comes to light.
1 Boys Over Flowers
KBS
Boys Over Flowers is considered a staple Korean drama for an entire generation, and helped launch Lee’s career to all new levels. It established the trope of the poor girl and rich boy for mainstream audiences, as its story revolves around an elite high school and a group of young, rich men. When the daughter of a dry cleaner butts heads with the leader of this friend group (Lee), romantic chaos ensues. Many of the cast members of the show went on to become established actors in Korean television, theatre, and cinema.