Actor You Need to Know: Lee Jae-wook

Call it whatever you will—real, varied, excellent acting—Lee Jae-wook is a shining beacon for all, and the secret to his brilliance may be an arsenal of methods polished to the point where they are infallible. I’ve noted that his dialogue delivery, mannerisms, and gestures are all-inclusive, supplementing his characters’ bearing and reinforcing his acting. Lee, 25, prominently recognized for his meaningful and eclectic roles, won the Global Excellence Award at the Korea Drama Awards last year for his services to the Hallyu wave globally. He is one of the most competent young Korean actors who is thoroughly in control of what he does and can do on screen.

As hacker-programmer Marco Han in the sci-fi action thriller series Memories of the Alhambra (2018–2019), Lee made his screen debut. He is also a stunner of a model, with attractive features, most notably a strong jawline, adding to his overall appeal and drawing admiring eyes; the camera, it seems, has always got his back. In 2019, Lee made it to Search: WWW, a romance melodrama about three female employees of the two biggest web portal firms. His character, Seol Ji-hwan, laid out his theatrical flair, and as the drama gained momentum, Lee seized the spotlight in tandem.

Later that year, an appearance in the action war film Battle of Jangsari led to Lee’s popularity ascending. It was his first break into the silver screen, and shortly thereafter, the actor hit a home run as Baek Kyung in the webtoon (July Found by Chance) basedromantic comedy fantasy drama Extraordinary You. Its high ratings let Lee go bigger and hold attention; he received Best New Actor at the 2019 MBC Drama Awards in conjunction with a nomination at the 56th Baeksang Arts Awards for Best New Actor-Television.

Lee’s artistic language of authenticity found recompense in 2019, thus defining a leap in his career. 2020 added to that, securing him his long-awaited debut starring role in the television series Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol, where he had Sunwoo Joon—elusive and distant yet handsome and generous with his secrets, aches, and pains. Lee carefully maneuvered the character elements, retaining his primacy on one hand while also disclosing his weakness when he finds himself irresistibly hooked on Goo Ra-ra’s (Go Ara’s) charm and naivete on the other. In appreciation of his excellent turn, Lee collected the Excellence Award for Actor in a Miniseries at the KBS Drama Awards, Rookie of the Year and Actor of the Year—Rookie at the Asia Artist Awards, and the 18th Brand of the Year Awards.

Reputedly, the makers of a project cast him with confidence, for they have a gut feeling about the actor and believe he will offer more than expected. Thus, whether he plays the lead or not, he rarely runs short of quality work. Lee has been invariably featured in significant productions such as When the Weather Is Fine (2020), True Beauty (2020-2021), Move to Heaven (2021), and so on. Alongside Jung So-min, Lee made a triumphant return to television in June 2022 as the aristocrat Jang Uk in the fantasy drama Alchemy of Souls. He followed up in Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow in the same role, sharing screen time with Go Youn-jung. On a global scale, favorable feedback for the drama propelled Lee to take home both the Asia Special Award at the Asia Model Awards and the Global Excellence Award at the Korea Drama Awards for that year.