Five Lee Dong-wook OSTs

He could be fundamentally bad and crazy. He has an excellent knack for touching your heart and making your heart race with his romantic side, but he could also be the devil disguised as a friend, which is most difficult to decipher. That’s Korean superstar Lee Dong-wook for you, an artist whose acting spectrum is as broad as his illustrious career. He is deservedly considered one of the top Korean actors, attributable to his consistently excellent performances over the past 20 years. The following piece serves as a tribute to him by recapping some of his most amazing K-drama soundtracks.

“My Time Towards You” by Lee Dong-wook from Bubble Gum (2015)

In addition to being a superb actor, Lee Dong-wook is also a picture-perfect model, due in part to his svelte physique and sophisticated temperament. But what I admire most about him is his flair for singing, which he demonstrates with finesse. It is clear from “My Time Towards You” that Lee has a sensitive singing style, befitting the Bubble Gum storyline: a man and a woman—friends since they were young—eventually start getting romantically inclined toward each other. The song in question begins with a discrete melody featuring whispery notes from Lee that gradually advances to a higher tone and alternates between them throughout. The song’s underlying honesty and Lee’s alluring vocals come together to make a captivating melody.

“What If Love” by Wendy from Touch Your Heart (2019)

Wendy (Red Velvet) steals the show with her rendition of “What If Love,” included in this romance between an acclaimed attorney (Lee) and a celebrated actress (Yoo In-na). Her life takes a turn for the worse after she gets embroiled in a chaebol controversy. Lee creates an impression as both a legal expert and a lover, and his seamless rapport with Yoo effectively melds their characters in the drama. Wendy’s natural vibrato eloquently expresses the tension connected with falling in love in this song, which also speaks about how their relationship is evolving.

“Room No. 303” by The Vane from Strangers from Hell (2019)

When an aspiring crime fiction author (Im Si-wan) moves into an apartment complex filled with unscrupulous characters, including his enigmatic next-door neighbor (Lee), unsettling happenings concern him. “Room No. 303” relates to the writer’s room in the building. It is a dubstep-based hybrid rock song, dominated by an intensive percussion loop and an explosive electric guitar sound, resulting in an odd and ominous mood. It is further darkened by its lyrics, which compare the chamber to a mire and emphasize despair and anxiety; this, together with The Vane’s combative, caustic tone, adds to the dismal, suppressed tension of the psychological thriller.

“I’ll Be There” by Shownu from Tale of the Nine-Tailed (2020)

“I’ll Be There” is a rock-inspired song that highlights Shownu’s (MONSTA X) imposing vocal prowess. It begins with a mystic feeling analogous to the drama’s titular nine-tailed fox (Lee), helping you sense the appeal of a convoluted love story that straddles space and time, past and present. The chorus thereafter gives the music its powerful presence. As always, Shownu is outstanding in his performance of it, bringing to life the music and lyrics that reinforce the notion of true love persisting through life and beyond. It highlights the ambiance of an out-of-the-ordinary romance portrayed in the Korean fantasy drama and gels beautifully with it.

“Full Moon” by Kihyun from Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 (2023)

The hard rock and electronica genres are merged in Kihyun’s (MONSTA X) song “Full Moon,” ushering in the prequel to Tale of the Nine-Tailed, where Lee Yeon (Lee Dong-wook) accidentally travels back in time to the Japanese Occupation of Korea in 1938 due to unforeseen circumstances. “Full Moon” elaborates on the protagonist’s efforts to create a sense of self while being bound by fate. Kihyun adds to its exquisite quality with a somber yet sensual voice, distinctively conveying the sensibility unique to the song.