CLOY Actor Lee Shin-Young's K-Drama Will Be Released Soon—Get To Know The New Leading Man Here!

Let's start with the basics. Lee Shin-young (this may also be spelled as Lee Sin-young) was born on January 24, 1998—that makes him 22 years old! His zodiac sign is Aquarius, and people born under this sign are known to be independent, assertive, and easygoing.

He stands at 5'11" and definitely has the looks, the stance, and the aura of a fashion model-in-the-making. However, he pointed out that he was more drawn to acting than modeling. “I like expressing something, especially looking into a person’s emotions. I briefly trained to become a model, but it didn’t seem like my path,” he said in a GQ Korea interview.

He debuted in the entertainment industry in 2018. The young actor is managed by an equally young entertainment company called Forest Entertainment.

His first project was the 8-episode web drama "Just One Bite" under online platform Naver. It aired from July 19, 2018 to August 11, 2018.

Also under Naver, his second project was another web drama called "It's Okay to be Sensitive 2." It's a youth-oriented drama that tackles the struggles of a group of students.

"Just One Bite" would return for another season wherein Lee Shin-young reprised his role as Lee Chan-hyuk. The series ran for a month from March 6, 2019 to April 6, 2019.

His career would get a huge boost when he was tapped to be a cast member of mainstream K-Drama "Crash Landing on You" which aired on tvN and is available for streaming on Netflix. The wide reach of these platforms has done wonders to the flourishing career of Lee Shin-young.

In an interview with GQ Korea, he said of the opportunity to be part of CLOY: "It felt like a dream when I was cast in ‘Crash Landing on You.' This project itself is like a drama to me."

His favorite scene in CLOY? That part where he and the comrades were in a convenience store. That scene was apparently shot early in the morning so he didn't have a chance to eat prior to shooting. So, alas, when they were asked to eat ramen for that scene, he did so passionately. "It's a very realistic scene," he quipped.

His role as a North Korean officer in CLOY was no joke. It was a breakthrough role that required him to learn the North Korean dialect. Because this was an extremely important project, he went the extra mile to give his character justice. "Practice is the only way to survive. Everything about North Korea is new and fascinating. I studied a lot before filming began," he said in the same GQ Korea interview.

Photo Credit: Photo from tvN

Following the success of CLOY, Lee Shin-young, who melted hearts for his portrayal in it, was blessed with a K-Drama wherein he's the male lead. "How to Buy a Friend" casts him as Park Chan-hong, a high school student who has a talent in writing. Here, he's paired with actress Kim So-hye.

In "How to Buy a Friend," Lee Shin-young revealed that the webtoon character he's portraying for the KBS show uses the dialect from Gyeongsang Province. In a Soompi article, he was quoted as saying, "I’m from the same area, so it’s not awkward to use a dialect, but I’m trying to speak more like the students in Gyeongsang Province to seem more natural."

Lee Shin-young describes his character Park Chan-hong as "clumsy and naive." He added, "His biggest charm is the fact that he has a lot of consideration for others. He’s a kind character who tries to be sympathetic [towards others] even though he doesn’t understand [them].”

Because of his rising star status, he's being thrust further into the limelight, which can be both good and bad. Recently, articles about him and his "violent past" came out. A netizen posted that he attended the same middle school Lee Shin-young did, and said that the actor was a bully. However, this same netizen later retracted his comments by saying that the incidents he revealed which allegedly involved Lee Shin-young happened a long time ago, so he's not sure if he remember the events correctly and if the guy he was talking about was indeed Lee Shin-young.

He was featured in the February 2020 issue of Dazed Korea, and in his interview for the publication, he said, “I want to become a good person. But instead of being someone who’s vaguely ‘good,’ I’m going to walk the path of an actor who can have a positive influence on others.”

He looks up to fellow Korean actors Ju Ji-hoon (from recent K-Dramas "Kingdom," "Item," and "Hyena") and Yoo Ah-in (whose latest K-Drama was "Chicago Typewriter"). He loves their sense of style.

He says his favorite romantic film is 2018's "On Your Wedding Day," which stars Park Bo-young and Kim Young-kwang.