Lee Dong-wook Flirts with Fatal Attraction in ‘Love Affair’

Lee Dong-wook is reportedly returning to what he does best on screen: romance. According to Soompi, the famous Korean actor has been approached for a new role in an upcoming romantic drama titled Love Affair. What makes this announcement especially exciting is the prospect of seeing him return to playing a heart-fluttering character after a series of gritty thrillers, dark fantasies, and intense action roles over the past few years. It feels like a homecoming for the Korean star, who surely embodies the “romantic hero” archetype for an entire generation of K-drama lovers.

Love Affair is shrouded in that classic K-drama mystery, but insiders suggest it explores the complexities of mature, realistic relationships rather than a quintessential love story. The plot is about the nuances of a deep, perhaps slightly forbidden or complicated connection (hence the evocative title). Forget the lighthearted stuff; this drama gets serious fast. A sudden, wild affair upends a perfect life, turning the romance into something more risky and chaotic for everyone involved.

Lee Dong-wook is the biggest selling point here, to be honest. He’s so good at grounded performances, even when he’s playing supernatural beings like gumihos. After his recent run of heavy, suspenseful roles— especially that gritty character in A Shop for Killers (2024–present) — it’ll be a palate cleanser to see his softer side again. In Love Affair, Lee is slated to play Kim Ji-hoon, a well-established family man whose blissful married life gets messy when he meets a mysterious architect. Lee’s agency, KingKong by Starship, says he’s looking over the offer positively but is still working out the details. As far as the rest of the cast is concerned, the names are yet to be announced.

This potential new role comes at a busy time for Lee Dong-wook, who has consistently taken on diverse characters throughout his career, from the iconic Grim Reaper in the cult classic K-drama Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, aka Goblin (2016), to a gangster with a heart of gold in his recently aired noir-romance drama The Nice Guy (2025). The possible addition of Love Affair to these titles and his protracted filmography only solidifies his status as one of the most versatile and sought-after actors in the Hallyu wave.

What also makes Love Affair a must-watch is its director, Mo Wan-il. The creative mind behind the massive global hit The World of the Married (2020) — for which he earned the Best Director award at the 56th Baeksang Arts Awards—and the popular Netflix thriller The Frog (2024), is a pro at making dark, twisted stories about human desire. And if anything, this upcoming project sounds just as intense.