Stalker's Guide to Lee Jun Ki
I'm sure many of you have heard of the Korean actor and heartthrob, Lee Min Ho. THIS is the Lee Min Ho that has an iron rod implanted in his leg, is accident-prone on filming sets and is 187 cm or 6.1 ft tall (not to be confused with the OTHER Lee Min Ho). With six starring roles and three co-starring roles, he is not as active as many of the other actors; HOWEVER, he does a fine job with all his movies/dramas (supported by the fact that he is the second top actor in MDL~).
I first encountered Lee Min Ho in Boys Before Flowers, where he starred as Gu Jun Pyo, the leader of the F4 (a group of four rich "flower boys" who dominate the school). Coincidentally, this is also the exact drama that shot Lee Min Ho into stardom, along with his three other co-stars, Kim Bum, Kim Hyun Joong, and Kim Joon.
Boys Before Flowers- Adorable and Clueless Gu Jun Pyo
"Bugs who wake up early die early." ~Gu Jun Pyo
Ah yes... Gu Jun Pyo. He might seem like a spoiled jerk at first, but I can guarantee that you will all warm up to his adorable cluelessness and obliviousness. Gu Jun Pyo is known for misquoting his proverbs, but that just adds to the level of innocence that he exhibits throughout the drama. Ironically, I do not believe he ever becomes aware of how unaware he really is. Gu Jun Pyo always believes that he is right, and when he isn't... well, let us all just ignore that blunder.
While Gu Jun Pyo is introduced as an arrogant, self-righteous, spoiled little brat, you will quickly discover that behind his façade of power, he is actually a very caring and sensitive soul. It is hard not to fall for him, even if his arrogant self surfaces every now and again. Oh, and be on the lookout for his sneaky "I know something that you don't" smile-- absolutely lovely.
By the time this drama finished, Lee Min Ho was on my lookout list, BUT I was not quite his stalker... yet.
City Hunter- Masked Vigilante Lee Yun Seong
“Listen to me, I beg you. In case I come to find you, don’t accept me. Even if we run into each other, you ignore me first, cut me off first. I’m sorry for having you know me, for making you waver. Why my father told me not to love… I fully understand now.” ~Yun Seong
Lee Yun Seong. This character is amazing in every way possible. Trained to be a cold-hearted assassin ever since a young age, Yun Seong was raised for the sole reason to carry out his father's revenge. However, when he meets a young girl one day and slowly falls in love, his two reasons for living come into conflict and he becomes a conflicted, broken-hearted young man. Having to choose between his father and his love is never easy, especially when your occupation is killing corrupted politicians. Lee Min Ho does an absolutely beautiful job with this drama, and you will get a peek on the extent of his acting skills-- He can change from a cold-hearted assassin intent on revenge to a normal, naive man in love in a few mere seconds.
Now THIS. THIS is where my inner stalker fangirl truly emerged. After finishing City Hunter, I realized just how much I fell for Lee Min Ho's smile... and his sad eyes truly broke my heart. His bipolar character made my emotions run wild, and when you see an actor who's that flexible, you really can't help but stalk him. And THAT, my friends, is how I came to love this funny, charming, hunk of manliness~
P.S. On a side note, I loved both Yun Seong's personalities... the melancholic vigilante shown above, AND the ebullient child who hides behind rice crackers.
Oh Lee Min Ho... You make my heart go doki-doki~ <3
Faith- Loyal and Courageous Choi Young
“People usually say this: ‘I am going to live on’. But honestly that isn’t true. I’m dying. Until the day when I’m going to die anyway, I live day by day. So that’s why, I was making up my mind to die as decently and quietly as possible. However, you, My Lord, kept provoking me who was good and obedient to wake up from my sleep, to get up! To try living.” ~Choi Young
And Lee Min Ho succeeds in playing YET ANOTHER melancholic character with a depressing background. General Choi Young is head of the Woodalchi, the faithful guards of the King. However, his loyalty is tested time and time again as other corrupt leaders try and take over the King's position and lead Choi Young over to their side. At first, Choi Young seems uninterested in life, and is taken over by depression. He definitely has no problem sacrificing himself and getting himself (hopefully) killed in the process. However, as the drama progresses, you will find that Choi Young is a very caring soul, who would do anything for his dear friends, but that is also his weakness.
Ok. To be honest, Lee Min Ho does not have as many "adorable, naive and cuddly" scenes (where he shows his angelic smile) as Boys Before Flowers or City Hunter, but they ARE there. Instead, he's more of a physically and mentally strong character (despite his few weaknesses). Here you find the lazy but dangerous Choi Young, surrounded by enemies and friends. And my, does he sport the historical long-hair-tied-back-in-a-ponytail look ;)
This is the drama where I completely support the two main characters. I just find the bubbly and always cheerful Eun Soo (main character) a perfect match for the somber and moody Choi Young~ <3
Not only do I like Lee Min Ho's personality, natural looks and smile, I also love the roles Lee Min Ho chooses. In the above three dramas, he is always a deep character, with a complicated life and background, yet managing to find love even through all the hardship. These characters are brought to life by Lee Min Ho as an actor, and I couldn't imagine any other actor playing these roles.
Now for some less well-known roles...
Personal Taste- Gay and Loveable Jeon Jin Ho
"Love doesn't make you throw away your pride. It defends your pride." ~Jeon Jin Ho
Lee Min Ho plays Jeon Jin Ho, a perfectly straight male who pretends to be gay for various purposes. But don't worry, Lee Min Ho is not the stereotypical gay character in this (probably because he's not actually gay). Pretending to be gay actually comes with a truckload of consequences, including having to buy tampons and searching the ground for contacts when you're beside a girl wearing nothing but a towel... I mean, he's gay, it couldn't really matter, right?
Now, remember those cute, adorable, innocent moments of Lee Min Ho I told you about? Well, this drama is quite full of them, and it's usually accompanied by extreme surprise and/or embarrassment. Lee Min Ho takes the term "friend-zoned" to a completely different level, and there is no lack of Lee Min Ho's characteristic adorableness in this drama. Why is it not as famous as some of his other dramas? I must admit, this drama did have its slow parts, and the storyline is fairly plain compared to his other dramas such as Faith and City Hunter.
"You know how we are alike? Your body is blue, my butt is beaten blue." ~Cha Gong Chan (to a mackerel)
High dreams. High-spirited. High... Is he high?
Cha Gong Chan is a soccer player who managed to get accepted into an elite school, despite his family's poverty. It brings about a feeling of nostalgia as you go through the drama, as the drama talks about the hardships of youth and growing up. While the motifs are deep and thought-provoking, the actual drama was made to be light and completely exaggerated. After you've seen City Hunter and Faith, you will be taken aback by Lee Min Ho's exaggerated acting and facial expressions.
Voilà. Watch this short 8 episode drama and you will find yourself wondering-- Is... is this the same Lee Min Ho who is one of the most-loved Korean actors now? Yes. Yes it is. I particularly like this drama because it shows just how far Lee Min Ho has traveled since his beginnings as an unknown actor struggling to land a role. Just look at how much he's grown and matured.
Also, the character he plays is a soccer player, intent on being the next "Beckham" (famous soccer player). I feel like Lee Min Ho did an exceptional job with this since he had wanted to be a professional player before he started acting. It's nice to see Lee Min Ho living his dream in the form of a drama rather than reality (as his dream was shattered when he broke his leg).
So, if you're still wondering, why do I like Lee Min Ho so much? It's because he, as a person, is an inspiration. Although he's not the only one who's suffered bumpy starts in the entertainment industry, he is darn well one of the best examples of one-- Starting from a virtually unknown actor, and five years later, skyrocketing to the top, winning numerous awards and gathering an extremely large fan-base (his official page has over 7.2 million likes on Facebook).
It's no wonder he has so many dedicated fans out there. Another perk to his personality- he also personally gives shout outs to his fans, and holds quite a few fan meetings all around the world. He even has a special name for us~ Minoz.
Some of his other dramas/movies include:
Edit: YAY~ I was just recently informed that Lee Min Ho DOES have a new drama coming out~!! He is confirmed for the new drama "Inheritors", or "Heirs" for short, with writer/director Kim Eun Sook (and Kang Shin Hyo PD). Further details have not yet been released, and they are still looking for a main actress ^^ (Thank you to MDL users ylisse and mcllin for bringing this to my attention)
*Author's note*
Sorry, this was my first article, and since I didn't quite know what I was supposed to talk about, I ended up talking about everything Q-Q
If there is an actor or an actress that is worthy of a Stalker's Guide in your opinion, and you have watched enough dramas of his/hers to prove it, please contact Elisabetta about it.
*Author's note*
Sorry, this was my first article, and since I didn't quite know what I was supposed to talk about, I ended up talking about everything Q-Q
If there is an actor or an actress that is worthy of a Stalker's Guide in your opinion, and you have watched enough dramas of his/hers to prove it, please contact Elisabetta about it.
