Lee Chae-min Gear’s Up for His Big Screen Debut

Lee Chae-min is hitting the big screen, a perfect next step for the rising Korean actor who’s been crushing it in every drama he’s done lately.

After stepping in at the eleventh hour to lead the historical hit Bon Appétit, Your Majesty (2025)—which turned him into a global breakout star virtually overnight—he’s now ready for his film debut, Everyday We Are (also known as We Live Every Day), which is finally locked for a February 2026 theatrical release. The movie, originally filmed in 2021, sat on the shelf for years, now serving as a posthumous tribute to his co-star, the late actress Kim Sae-ron.

Everyday We Are is a classic “friends-to-lovers” coming-of-age story based on a popular webtoon of the same name. Lee Chae-min plays Oh Ho-su, who runs the risk of ruining his friendship by suddenly confessing his feelings for his best friend Yeo-wool (Kim Sae-ron) just a day before they start high school. As expected, the situation quickly becomes complicated. Arriving in the same classroom the following day, they are forced to handle the awkward consequences of their fractured friendship alongside the bewildering excitement of first love. Joining them in this high school campus love story are Yuju (ex-Cherry Bullet) as the vivacious Ju-yeon and Ryu Ui-hyun as the basketball ace Kwon Ho-jae.

What’s also intriguing about this film is that it connects the various versions of Lee Chae-min we’ve seen recently. He has been consistently taking on challenging roles. We saw him play a mysterious student in Hierarchy (2024), then transition to an intense, hot-headed tyrant king in Bon Appétit, Your Majesty, while also embracing the dark side of a villain in Cashero (2025). Now, playing Ho-su in this film, he’s adding the “boy-next-door” vulnerability to his growing repertoire—perhaps a “no-skip” portfolio, proving step-by-step that whether he’s wearing a king’s crown or a high school uniform, he’s got the acting skills to inhabit any character.

And while the movie hits theaters soon, Lee is already eyeing his next. He’s currently circling a major new project, a K-drama remake of the hit Japanese novel, The Miracles of the Namiya General Store. It’s a fantasy mystery series about three thieves who take refuge in an old shop and realize they can exchange advice letters with people from decades past. The project may also feature Kim Hye-yoon as Lee’s co-star, with Moon Sang-min approached for a cameo appearance.