Lee Jun Ki

Lee Jun Ki (born April 17, 1982, in Busan, South Korea) is a South Korean actor, model and singer. He rose to fame as Gong-gil in The King and the Clown. He graduated from the Seoul Institute of the Arts with a major in Acting, and is a 1st degree in both Hapkido and Taekyon, and 3rd degree in Taekwondo. Besides Korean, Lee also speaks some Japanese, Chinese and English. As of 2007, Lee is one of the top screen stars in South Korea.

Modeling
Lee Jun Ki started out as a model and held minor roles in Korean dramas. In 2001, he first appeared in the television commercial for the So Basic fashion label.
[edit] Acting
His first drama appearance was as a dissatisfied teenager in the KBS drama What should I do? He later appeared with a minor role in Star’s Echo, a drama by MBC and Fuji TV in 2004.

In 2005, his first major acting role came in The King and the Clown (왕의 남자), in which he took on the role of a feminine entertainer in the late 15th century forced to satisfy King Yeonsan’s sexual and emotional cravings. The film became one of the highest grossing South Korean-made movies in South Korea, unexpectedly replacing Taegukgi as the most-watched film in Korean history with over 12.3 million viewers, despite the low amount Lee was paid of just over $100,000 for the role.The poor fee was largely due to the contract that was signed by Lee before he rose to stardom with the role of Gong-gil from ‘The King and the Clown’.[1][2] Lee was against the halving of screen quotas in South Korea that allows foreign films to be shown in theaters on certain days, while domestic films are alloted another amount of days. He believed that without the screen quotas, The King and the Clown would not have been as successful in competing against foreign films.[3][4] He earned many Best Male New Comer awards for his role as Gong-gil in The King and the Clown in 2006.

His next role was as the supporting character on the Korean drama SBS’s My Girl together with Miss Korea, Park Si Yeon, Lee Da Hae, and Lee Dong Wook. His movie, Fly, Daddy, Fly garnered much attention and media coverage due to Lee’s overwhelming popularity.[5]

Lee’s popularity overseas is also noted, where in the 19th Tokyo International Film Festival, he was recognized as a top star.[6] In China, Lee was the only Korean among 300 Asian stars invited to attend a Chinese television show that celebrated the Chinese New Year[7]. During the Shanghai International Film Festival, Lee was approached by acclaimed Chinese director Chen Kaige, who proposed that the two should make a film together in China, to which Lee responded, «I’d love to make the movie if the script is good and the character is right.»[8]

In 2007, Lee film a joint Korea-Japan movie entitled Virgin Snow with Japanese actress Aoi Miyazaki, in which he plays a Korean exchange student.[9] He was later able to hold his first meeting with his Japanese fans on March 10, 2007 in Osaka, Japan. The next day he spoke about his acting career during a talk show that was recorded at the Swiss Hotel in Osaka later.[10] Virgin Snow prove to be a success and placed 9th at the box office[11], setting a record for a Korean film released in Japan. He also starred in an action drama Time Between Dog And Wolf, his first drama ever as the lead role. Ratings took off at a relatively high 20% (approximately); however, they waned as the drama concluded.

At the 27th Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) announced that Lee would be that year’s recipient of its Rising Star award. The award acknowledged the actor’s work, media image, and growing star-power in the global arena. The festival, which ran through October 18–28, presented the award at «An Evening with Lee Jun-ki» on Friday, October 19 along with a screening of the US premiere of one of his latest films. He also had a role in Korea’s summer blockbuster May 18, about the events surrounding the Gwangju Massacre of 1980. The film will also screen at HIFF and has been nominated for the festival’s top award, the Golden Orchid for Best Feature of 2007. The film covers one of the most tragic events in Korean history; the repressive regime of General Chun Doo-hwan resulted in a civilian uprising in the city of Gwangju, which was subsequently crushed by government troops entering the city and firing into crowds of demonstrators. The film has sold over seven million tickets at the local box office. [12]

Recently he joined Hong Kong EEG, making his entry into the Chinese market.

From April to July 2008, Lee underwent filming for his TV series ‘Iljimae’, a period drama in which he starred as a Robin Hood-esque character during the Chosun era.[13] Its first episode was started on the 21st of May with 15.4% program rating. From then its program rating was increased and finally Iljimae was finished on the 24th of July with 31.4% program rating, one of the highest ratings of the year.

Some unexpected events are occurring for actor Lee Jun Ki in 2009. Lee will be enlisting in the army [14] near the end of 2009 and he is also set to play the role of a modern hero in a new drama called ‘Unseen War’(보이지 않는 전쟁)[15]. In Unseen War, Jun Ki plays a man fixated purely on success who loses a loved one, then decides to fight crime on behalf of the weak. He is also set to release a fan meeting and a digital album [16]. In correspondence to Episode 1: Fan Meeting held on May 21st 2006, Episode 2: Fan Meeting will be held April 18th 2009, expecting over 20,000 fans.
[edit] Dispute With Mentor Entertainment
In September 2008, Lee Jun Ki became embroiled in a contractual dispute with his agency Mentor Entertainment. Since the dispute erupted, both sides have been relentless in making ‘verbal assault’ against one another. Mentor Entertainment was suing Lee Jun Ki for 1.5 billion Won for supposedly ‘breaching his contract and showing no remorse for it’. Had Mentor Entertainment won the case, Lee could have potentially been out of work until 2013. However, the dispute was later resolved and the suit dropped. Lee agreed to maintain his loyalty to the agency.
[edit] Singing
A poll by Music website Jukeon asked «Who will be the most popular if they release an album?» Lee ended up being in first place with 66% of the votes. He released a mini album which contains three songs that he wrote for his fan meetings. The songs are:

«One Word»
«I Don’t Know How to Love»
«Foolish Love»
Singer, Kim So Ri, released an album ‘Lip’, in February 2009, and Lee Jun Ki sings one single titled, ‘Pinky Finger’ (새끼손가락 ). Later in 2009, Lee Jun Ki’s new digital album ‘J Style’ [17] will be produced with musician Kim Hyang Suk. The album includes 5 songs and will be released in 2009. The songs are:

«J Style»
«Soliloquy»
«I’m Ready»
«Selfless Dedicated Trees»

[edit] Discography
J Style (2009)
«J Style»
«Soliloquy»
«I’m Ready»
«Selfless Dedicated Trees»
Lips - Kim So Ri (2009)
«Pinky Finger»
One & Only - Nam Hyun Joon (2006)
«Fly High» feat. Seo In Young
My Jun, My Style (2006)
«One Word»
«Don’t Know Love»
«Foolish Love» (Pabbo Sarang)