While Lee Jun Young is mostly renowned as a maknae of the K-pop boy group, U-KISS and the winner of the survival reality program, ‘The Unit,’ which gave him a spot as a member of UNB, he has also cemented his name in the Korean entertainment industry firmly. With the release of his latest project, ‘Love and Leashes’ starring alongside Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun, his popularity is shooting up sharply! From beginning his acting career with a supporting role in the TV series, ‘Avengers Social Club’ in 2016 to having multiple major projects in his hands, the twenty-five-year-old entertainer has come a long way! Let’s celebrate his success by looking back at the best K-dramas and movies that Lee Jun Young starred in!
He is currently preparing for his upcoming movies, including ‘Brave Citizen’ where we can witness him in a dark role once again, ‘The Wilderness’ and the youth drama movie ‘More Painful than Sadness’.
6. Please Don’t Date Him (2020)
Director: Oh Mi Kyeong
Starring: Song Ha Yoon, Lee Jun Young, Yoon Bo Mi, Gong Min Jung, Joo Woo Jae, Nam Min Woo
Total Number of Episodes: 10
Where to Watch: We TV, Viki
A perfect rom-com in Lee Jun Young’s filmography, ‘Please Don’t Date Him’ follows an AI-based household appliances developer named Seo Ji-Seong, who aims to live a perfectly developed life free of all flaws. She somehow ends up inserting a super sensor chip in an advanced refrigerator which, instead of measuring the freshness of vegetables put in it, can now examine the undesirables of people from a dating pool, eventually saving people from heartbreaks.
Seo Ji-Seong gets hopeless when she comes to know that her seemingly perfect fiancé is not really her Prince Charming. She comes across a firefighter named Jung Kook-hee, who surprisingly doesn’t have any social media record for the program to analyze. In order to save herself from any other heartbreaks, she initially is skeptical about this mysterious guy, but when can she prevent herself from falling in love with him? You have to watch it, to find out!
5. Love and Leashes (2022 Movie)
Director: Park Hyun Jin
Starring: Seo Hyun, Lee Jun Young, Lee Hyun Bae, Lee El, Lee Suk Hyeong, Kim Bo Ra
Where to Watch: Netflix
With the release of the movie Love and Leashes, Lee Jun Young has made a strong debut in the South Korean movie industry. The unique theme of male-submissive BDSM is almost non-existent in mainstream media of K-movies, but the movie has done justice in giving a solid introduction to BDSM. While Jung Ji Hoo is the blunt, cold, and popular employee of the company where Jung Ji Woo works, unbeknownst to others, he has been hiding a secret. Owing to the similarity in names of the two, a package meant to be received by Ji Hoo ends up in the hands of Ji Woo. When she opens it, she finds a leash that leaves her bemused.
However, when Ji Hoo realizes that she is not being judgemental towards him being a submissive male, he requests her to be his master for a period of three months. Thus, a racy romance involving the fantasies of Ji Hoo begins with Ji Woo as his master! However, Ji Woo finds herself romantically drawn towards him during the contract period.
Also Read: Top 7 Best K-Drama Villains of All Time
4. Let Me Be Your Knight (2021)
Director: Ahn Ji Sook
Screenwriter: Shin Seo Ha, Seo Jung Eun, Hae Yeon, Yoo So Won
Starring: Jung In Sun, Lee Jun Young, Jang Dong Joo, JR, Yoon Ji Sung, Kim Dong Hyun
Total Number of Episodes: 12
Where to Watch: Viki
The recently released musical rom-com K-drama, ‘Let Me Be Your Knight’ narrates the love story of a world star K-pop idol named Yoon Tae In, who has been suffering from sleepwalking, and a tour guide named Yoon Joo who dreams of having a house of her own. Yoon Tae In is the leader of the boy group, Luna, as well as its producer. An unforeseen incident involving Yoon Joo bounds her to be a resident doctor of Yoon Tae In when she gets mistaken as her twin sister and doctor, Kang Sun Jun.
She moves into his house and starts living there with all five Luna members, Yoon Tae In, Lee Shin, Seo Woo Yeon, Kim Yoo Chan, and Woo Ga On, in order to help cure Tae In’s sleepwalking. The show offers a predictable and cliche-ridden storyline but in a way that the spectators would love to watch. The theme of healing and growth has also been well highlighted, which makes the drama one of the worth-watching Lee Jun Young K-dramas.
3. Avengers Social Club (2017)
Director: Kwon Seok Jang, Kim Sang Ho
Screenwriter: Hwang Da Eun, Kim Yi Ji
Starring: Lee Yo Won, Ra Mi Ran, Myung Se Bin, Lee Jun Young, Choi Byung Mo, Jang Yong
Total Number of Episodes: 12
Avengers Social Club is a slice-of-life K-drama that focuses on the bond of friendship. It follows the stories of three women coming from different backgrounds who end up joining forces for their individual revenge. While one of them is a middle-aged fish-store owner who dreams of having an improved lifestyle, the other two are a housewife and a wealthy heiress who has been born and brought up like a delicate greenhouse flower. Though they are too different to end up walking into each others’ lives, destiny brings them together, and they decide to carry out their quest for revenge.
However, with time, they find themselves more than just partners, and the friendship keeps on getting stronger. Actor Lee Jun Young plays the character of Lee Soo Gyum in the drama, who has been neglected by his birth parents all his life and thus joins the revenge club to get back at his biological parents. It is a heart-warming K-drama that empowers women and focuses on various social issues.
2. Class of Lies (2019)
Screenwriter: Jang Hong Chul
Director: Park Ji Hyun, Sung Yong Il
Starring: Yoon Kyun Sang, Geum Sae Rok, Choi Yoo Hwa, Lee Jun Young, Choi Kyu Jin, Han So Eun
Total Number of Episodes: 16
Where to Watch: Viki
Class of Lies is a law thriller mystery that centers on a successful lawyer named Gi Moo Hyuk, who faces a downfall in his career because of a case. In order to fix his reputation, he decides to work as a teacher at a high school temporarily. Despite entering the premises of the classroom with his own selfish ends, he doesn’t seem to be able to ignore the crimes that take place in the school. He ends up taking matters into his own hands in order to protect his students from their peers.
The show is an intense one and brings into the limelight the reality of minors having to face little to no punishments after committing a crime just because of being under-aged, which fails to provide security to the people who become victims of such crimes. Lee Jun-young portrays the character of the genius class topper with countless achievements who happens to be the son of a big politician of the country.
1. Imitation (2021)
Screenwriter: Choi Sun Young, Kim Min Jung
Starring: Lee Jun Young, Jeong Ji So, Jeong Yun Ho, Park Ji Yeon, Kim Min Seo, Im Na Young,
Total number of Episodes: 12
Where to Stream: Viki
One of the best Idol life story K-dramas of all time, ‘Imitation’ is a musical rom-com adapted from a manhwa series of the same name created by Park Kyung Ran. The story follows a former K-pop trainee named Lee Ma Ha whose dreams of making her debut get dashed after a tragic incident at the company. She impersonates a solo singer named La Ri Ma at small events in order to support herself, but she finally finds a ray of hope when the manager of a popular agency recruits her as a member of his new girl group, ‘Tea Party’.
When she comes across Kwon Ryok, the most popular K-pop idol of the same agency as hers, they initially find themselves not getting along with each other. However, they end up falling in love with each other and begin their secret relationship. However, if the public comes to know that they are dating, they might hit the rock-bottom of their newly established careers. Imitation might be a go-to drama for you if you are looking for Lee Jun Young K-dramas!
Also Read: Top Six Best Ahn Hyo Seop K-dramas To Watch in 2022!