1. Lee Min-ho gained widespread fame with his role as Gu Jun-pyo in the television series Boys Over Flowers, which earned him the Baeksang Arts Award for Best New Actor.
44 Facts About Lee Min-ho
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Lee Min-ho became the first Korean celebrity to have a wax figure made in his image at Madame Tussauds, with figures being unveiled in Shanghai in 2013, and Hong Kong in 2014.
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Lee Min-ho was born on June 22,1987, in Heukseok-dong, Dongjak District, Seoul.
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Lee Min-ho's professional acting career began after the encounter, and he would ultimately sign with the agency in 2005.
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In 2006, Lee Min-ho enrolled at Konkuk University's College of Art and Design; he has since obtained a bachelor's degree after majoring in Film Arts.
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Lee Min-ho is currently pursuing his master's degree in Film at Kookmin University Graduate School.
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Lee Min-ho started auditioning and landed minor roles in several television shows such as Romance, Nonstop and Recipe of Love.
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Early in his career, Lee Min-ho went by the stage name Lee Min-ho Min because his agency thought his birth name was too ordinary.
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Lee Min-ho eventually went back to using his original name.
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Lee Min-ho's breakthrough came in 2009 with the lead role of Gu Jun-pyo in KBS2' Boys Over Flowers, the Korean adaptation of the popular shojo manga of the same name.
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Competition for the role was intense and Lee Min-ho only found out that he had been cast through newspaper articles.
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In 2010, Lee Min-ho 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.
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The series was a commercial success and contributed to Lee Min-ho's growing popularity, most notably in Japan, Philippines, China, and in France.
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Lee Min-ho participated in the popular Chinese variety show Happy Camp in December 2011.
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In 2012, Lee Min-ho starred in the medical fusion sageuk Faith alongside Kim Hee-sun.
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Lee Min-ho then released his first album "My Everything" in May 2013 and went on a fan meeting tour in Asia.
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Lee Min-ho announced his return to television with a new series titled The Heirs, a teen drama written by Kim Eun-sook.
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Lee Min-ho experienced a further increase in his global popularity as his character of Kim Tan.
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In January 2014, a second wax figure of Lee Min-ho was unveiled at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong.
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Lee Min-ho sang a song with Harlem Yu, the original singer of the theme song of Meteor Garden, the Taiwanese version of Boys Over Flowers.
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Lee Min-ho was 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.
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Lee Min-ho received the Prime Minister's Commendation at the 5th Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards for his contribution to Koren Wave.
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Lee Min-ho subsequently recorded and released his second EP "Song for You" in October 2014 under Universal Music.
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Lee Min-ho then took on Yoo Ha's neo-noir action saga Gangnam Blues, set in the 1970s when the real estate development boom swept across the Gangnam area.
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The film, which co-starred Kim Rae-won, marked Lee Min-ho's first leading role on the big screen.
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In 2016, Lee Min-ho 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.
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Lee Min-ho began his mandatory military service on May 12,2017 and was discharged on April 25,2019 as a public service officer.
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In 2019, Lee Min-ho was cast in the SBS-broadcast and Netflix-distributed fantasy romance The King: Eternal Monarch written by The Heirs screenwriter Kim Eun-sook.
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In October 2020, Lee Min-ho launched the YouTube channel "leeminho film" where he serves as executive producer and creative director.
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In 2022, Lee Min-ho made his Hollywood debut in a main role as Koh Hansu, a mysterious merchant, in the television series adaptation of Min Jin Lee Min-ho's novel Pachinko.
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In 2014 and 2015, Lee Min-ho topped the online poll organized by a Chinese entertainment magazine and was voted as the "Asian Male God".
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In 2017, Lee Min-ho was chosen as the "Most Favoured Korean Actor" by fans of the Korean Wave in the United States.
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In January 2012, Lee Min-ho was appointed as an honorary prosecutor by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office for building social reputation and trust with the public, alongside Moon Chae-won.
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In 2014, Lee Min-ho set up the PROMIZ website, a fund-raising platform to raise awareness and encourage donation for social and humanitarian causes.
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In 2016, Lee Min-ho was recognised by the Ministry of Health and Welfare for his contribution to society.
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Lee Min-ho has an older sister, Yun-jeong, who is the co-founder and CEO of his current agency MYM Entertainment.
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In 2006, Lee Min-ho's acting career was put on hold for a year following a serious car wreck, which occurred while riding with fellow actor Jung Il-woo and two other friends.
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Lee Min-ho was severely injured and in a coma for a month, after which he spent several months bedridden.
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Lee Min-ho's injuries included broken ribs, thigh and ankle, along with a tear in his knee cartilage.
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Lee Min-ho began his mandatory military service on May 12,2017, at the Suseo Social Welfare Centre in Gangnam District Office as a public service officer.
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Lee Min-ho was unable to serve as an active duty soldier due to his previous injuries.
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Lee Min-ho suffered another car wreck in 2011 while filming City Hunter.
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On March 15,2018, Lee Min-ho started his military training at the Korea Army Training Centre in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province.
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Lee Min-ho returned to public service duty after four weeks of basic training.