Lee Tae-hwan is a model, singer, and actor from South Korea. In 2013, he made his TV acting debut in the film ‘After School: Lucky or Not,’ in which he appeared alongside members of his music group, 5urprise. Following that, he appeared in several highly successful dramas, including ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘High School King of Savvy.’ He subsequently emerged for the second season of ‘High School King of Savvy,’ and quickly established himself as a national crush, particularly among his female fan base, which continues to expand with each passing year. He has since appeared in over a dozen TV series and variety shows and has become well-known in his home country. He’s also well-known in several international markets, where South Korean dramas are reportedly well-liked. Lee began his career as a model before moving into acting, and he has done brand endorsements for a variety of companies. He was named Best New Model at the 6th Asia Model Festival Awards in 2011. He is currently waiting for the premiere of his new weekend drama series, ‘My Golden Life,’ in which he plays a high school student.
Childhood and Adolescence
Lee Tae-hwan was born to a wealthy family in Seoul on February 21, 1995. He was a well-liked child who, as a result, was a bit mischievous. He was a constant threat to his parents, peers, and teachers. But, more or less, his charming and innocent looks got him out of trouble every time.
Lee had a wide range of interests as a child, including sports, acting, and music. While sports helped him stay in shape, music was one of his greatest loves, and acting was his true calling. He spent his high school years pursuing all three of his passions and began modeling while still in high school.
His parents were initially opposed to his desire to be in the entertainment industry, but as he grew in popularity during his high school years, they began to support him. He began working during his high school years and eventually completed his education at Hanlim Multi Art High School. He specialized in the Department of Acting for Theatre at Sungkyunkwan University to further hone his acting skills.
A Career of Lee Tae-hwan
He became a successful model, first domestically and later globally, due to his tall and slim build. He has walked the runway for a number of major international and national designers, as well as appearing on the covers of numerous obscure and well-known journals.
In 2013, a group of struggling and young performers, including Lee, formed 5urprise and called it after themselves.
It was dubbed the ‘First Ever South Korean Actor Group’ at the time.
They originally struggled to locate a representative agency because the concept they were attempting to bring to life was unlike anything people had heard or seen before. However, the Fantagio agency eventually stepped forward to help them.
Fantagio created the ‘Actor’s League’ to locate performers worthy of representation, and all of the members of 5urprise were chosen for the program, which included a two-year intense acting instruction.
The typical South Korean industry works like this: a group is created, with the members’ ultimate goal being to perform. They begin by singing to build a fan base because it is the simplest method to do so, and then they go on to acting.
Surprise, on the other hand, was not interested in following the crowd and began work on their first acting project, ‘After School: Lucky or Not,’ a mobile drama in which all five members of the group played high school students.
Though the mobile drama did not guarantee success, it did grab the attention of a number of platforms, like Nate Hoppin and BTV, who wanted to air it on their networks. The high school drama told the story of five modern-day high school students who set out on a mission to encourage a shy girl to express herself in order to show the rest of the world her full potential.
The episodes were only 15 minutes long, and the 12-part series did an excellent job of bringing the performers, including Lee, into the spotlight.
The group then did what was expected and released a single, ‘Hey U Come On,’ which was well received by the South Korean young.
Lee had struck it rich, and he began receiving major acting opportunities. In 2013, he starred in the high school mystery thriller ‘High School King of Savvy,’ about two brothers.
Lee was cast in a supporting part and received additional attention as a result. After that, he appeared in the SBS drama “Wonderful Day in October.”
Lee’s 2014 was a huge year for him because he starred in the drama ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ which was well received by both audiences and critics. Lee portrayed Kang Soo, a former athlete and detective, in the film, which received critical and financial acclaim.
Since his debut, he had vastly improved his acting abilities.
He appeared in the second season of ‘After School: Lucky or Not’ to close off 2014.
In 2015, Lee appeared in the period drama series ‘Splendid Politics’ as a younger version of the lead character, and then in the comedy ‘Please Come Back, Mister,’ which was based on a popular Japanese novel and dealt with melodrama, family, and comedy. Lee portrayed a gangster in the drama, which received critical acclaim.
Lee was nominated for his first Oscar in 2016 for the series ‘W,’ a fantasy thriller in which he played a supporting role. Unfortunately, he came up just short of winning the MBC Drama Awards’ Best New Actor Award.
Lee played the main protagonist Won-sun in the 2016 low-budget film ‘Su saek,’ and later that year, he began acting in the drama series ‘Father, I’ll Take Care of You.’ He is expected to participate in the family drama series ‘My Golden Life’ later this year.
Lee hasn’t showed much interest in variety shows, and has only featured in two of them, ‘Living Together in Empty Room’ and ‘Law of the Jungle in Komodo,’ both in 2017.
Personal Experiences of Lee Tae-hwan
Lee Tae-hwan first accepted that he lacked confidence in his acting abilities, and it is only now that he believes he is a usable actor who can progress further. He credits his newfound confidence to his experience.
Lee is 22 years old, and he is cast in more adult roles since he appears to be older. He doesn’t think he has the boyish charm, thus he avoids playing younger characters in films and television shows.
Lee is said to have never been in a relationship, although he has denied it, claiming that he is too preoccupied with his work to consider dating someone.
Estimated Net Worth
Lee Tae-hwan earns a lot of money because he is a talented actor and singer. He must be able to make a decent living from his job. He is, nevertheless, estimated to be valued somewhere between $1 million and $5 million.