"The King: Eternal Monarch" Star Lee Min-Ho And His K-Drama "Queens"
This popular Korean heartthrob has worked with some of the finest actresses in the Korean entertainment industry
As we watch the brewing romance between the characters of Lee Min-ho (Lee Gon) and Kim Go-eun (Jung Tae-eul) get even hotter in the ongoing series The King: Eternal Monarch, we find ourselves wanting to further celebrate the small screen comeback of one of South Korea's most popular and handsome actors.
For the uninitiated, Lee Min-ho stepped away from the limelight to fulfill his mandatory military service duties, which began in May 2017. He served as a public service worker because he was unfit to be an active duty soldier due to his past injuries; he had two car accidents—one in 2006 with actor Jung Il-woo which caused Lee Min-ho to be bedridden for months and another one in 2011 while on the set of the series City Hunter. On top of his public service work, he also completed four weeks of basic military training. Finally, in April 2019, he was discharged.
His last K-Drama prior to his military enlistment is 2016's Legend of the Blue Sea. It's a three-year hiatus that left his fans and K-Drama fans in general yearning for Lee Min-ho's distinctly lovable charisma onscreen. We're sure you missed seeing that gorgeous face and, of course, those dimples just as much as we did!
Lee Min-ho started shooting his latest K-Drama back in September 2019. In an article on Soompi, he said, “After a long break, I am returning with The King: Eternal Monarch. You have waited a long time so I will come to you soon and make a good impression. It’s even more meaningful to be able to work with [Kim Eun-sook] again as a more mature [actor] and I will work hard to make this a good project, especially since it’s our second one.” Kim Eun-sook is also the screenwriter of Lee Min-ho's other popular K-Drama The Heirs.
Catching the latest episodes of The King: Eternal Monarch has been our weekly habit, and for good reason!
In the gallery below, we take a look back at Lee Min-ho's past K-Dramas and the leading ladies he has worked with:
Lee Min-ho and His K-Drama Leading Ladies
Lee Min-ho and His K-Drama Leading Ladies
Choi Ah-jin in "Get Up," 2008
In this television film, Lee Min-ho is Min Wook-gi, a high school student who's punished to clean his teacher's car after getting into a fight. While cleaning, his girlfriend, Chura (Choi Ah-jin), tells him she's going on a ski trip with her new boyfriend. Wook-gi then chases his (ex) girlfriend.
Photo Credit: MyDramaList
Choi Ah-jin in "Get Up," 2008
Choi Ah-jin in "Get Up," 2008
Lee Min-ho in "Get Up," 2008
Ku Hye-sun in "Boys Over Flowers," 2009
In this popular K-Drama based on a Japanese manga, Lee Min-ho is Gu Jun-pyo, the leader of F4, a powerful and influential group of boys in a prestigious high school. He later develops feelings for Geum Jan-di (Ku Hye-sun), who comes from a poor family yet is offered a scholarship in the same school Jun-pyo attends.
Photo Credit: Soompi
Ku Hye-sun in "Boys Over Flowers," 2009
Ku Hye-sun in "Boys Over Flowers," 2009
Photo Credit: KBS
Lee Min-ho in "Boys Over Flowers," 2009
Photo Credit: KBS
Son Ye-jin in "Personal Taste," 2010
This series revolves around the love story between furniture designer Park Kae-in (Son Ye-jin) and architect Jeon Jin-ho (Lee Min-ho). On a mission to gather some information about a certain building, Jin-ho ends up becoming Kae-in's roommate. The exciting twist? He needs to pretend he's gay in order to become her roommate! You know what follows: they fall in love with each other as they're living under one roof.
Photo Credit: Kdramastars.com
Son Ye-jin in "Personal Taste," 2010
Son Ye-jin in "Personal Taste," 2010
Son Ye-jin in "Personal Taste," 2010
Lee Min-ho in "Personal Taste," 2010
Park Min-young in "City Hunter," 2011
This K-Drama based on a Japanese manga features characters Lee Yoon-sung (Lee Min-ho) and Kim Na-na (Park Min-young). He's an IT expert at the Blue House who's seeking to avenge his father's killers, while she's a bodyguard at the Presidential Security Service. As they get close at work, they discover each other's life stories and learn they have the same goal.
Photo Credit: AsianWiki
Park Min-young in "City Hunter," 2011
Photo Credit: SBS
Park Min-young in "City Hunter," 2011
Photo Credit: SBS
Park Min-young in "City Hunter," 2011
Photo Credit: SBS
Lee Min-ho in "City Hunter," 2011
Photo Credit: SBS
Kim Hee-sun in "Faith," 2012
In this period drama-meets-modern-world series, royal bodyguard Choi Young (Lee Min-ho) is ordered by the king to find the "heaven's doctor" to save the queen who is fatally injured. He travels to the future, meets doctor Yoo Eun-soo (Kim Hee-sun), and brings her to the Goryeo era. In the midst of political battles in the Goryeo dynasty, they fall in love. However, they belong to two different periods of time. Only time can tell when they can be reunited.
Photo Credit: MyDramaList
%20-%20lee%20min%20ho%20as%20choi%20young%20and%20kim%20hee%20sun%20as%20yoo%20eun%20soo%201.jpg)
Kim Hee-sun in "Faith," 2012
Kim Hee-sun in "Faith," 2012
Lee Min-ho in "Faith," 2012
Park Shin-hye in "The Heirs," 2013
This K-Drama zooms in on the life of a group of rich high school students who are heirs and heiresses to their families' businesses. Kim Tan (Lee Min-ho) is an illegitimate child, being the son of his father's mistress, but is listed as the second son of his father's legal wife in order to be a legitimate heir. In the middle of this family drama, he meets Cha Eun-sang (Park Shin-hye), the daughter of their live-in housekeeper, and falls in love with her.
Photo Credit: Soompi
Park Shin-hye in "The Heirs," 2013
Park Shin-hye in "The Heirs," 2013
Park Shin-hye in "The Heirs," 2013
Lee Min-ho in "The Heirs," 2013
Jun Ji-hyun in "Legend of the Blue Sea," 2016
During the Joseon era, town head Kim Dam-ryung falls in love with a mermaid named Se-hwa (Jun Ji-hyun). Their love story during this time gets a tragic ending but they are later reincarnated and reunited. In the modern world, Lee Min-ho's character is Heo Joon-jae, a con artist who meets and falls in love with the mermaid from his previous life who now goes by the name Shim Cheong.
Photo Credit: Channel Korea
Jun Ji-hyun in "Legend of the Blue Sea," 2016
Photo Credit: Soompi
Jun Ji-hyun in "Legend of the Blue Sea," 2016
Photo Credit: Channel Korea
Jun Ji-hyun in "Legend of the Blue Sea," 2016
Photo Credit: Dramabeans
Lee Min-ho in "Legend of the Blue Sea," 2016
Kim Go-eun in "The King: Eternal Monarch," 2020
The king of the Kingdom of Corea, Lee Gon (Lee Min-ho), has a tragic childhood where his father, the Emperor, was assassinated by his step-uncle. As he witnesses and falls victim to this treason, someone enters to save him; he manages to get his savior's warrant card which belongs to a certain detective Jung Tae-eul. Many years later, Lee Gon learns of a parallel universe and crosses its border to meet Jung Tae-eul.
Photo Credit: Kim Go Eun Philippines | Elle
Kim Go-eun in "The King: Eternal Monarch," 2020
Photo Credit: ABS-CBN
Kim Go-eun in "The King: Eternal Monarch," 2020
Photo Credit: Hellokpop
Kim Go-eun in "The King: Eternal Monarch," 2020
Photo Credit: Kdramapal
Lee Min-ho in "The King: Eternal Monarch," 2020
Photo Credit: Netflix
Lead photos from Channel Korea, KDrama Stars, Soompi, and Marie Claire
Top Stories
Metro Beauty Picks Of The Week
BEAUTYMar 14, 2023
