The Red Sleeve’s Lee Se Young: From a child star to an experienced actress with a lengthy career of 24 years

The female lead of The Red Sleeve was once a well-known child actress. 

Despite the presence of Song Hye Kyo, an A-lister with the ability to guarantee good ratings, SBS’s Now, We Are Breaking Up still records lower ratings than MBC’s The Red Sleeve, a historical drama that airs in the same time slot with a less famous cast. The female lead character of The Red Sleeve is played by Lee Se Young, a 29-year-old actress with a 24-year acting career, which is as long as the career of her senior Song Hye Kyo. 

Lee Se Young has been acting since she was only 5 years old. An interesting fact of how she began acting in the first place was that her parents were afraid she would be kidnapped because of how pretty she was. From a very young age, Lee Se Young already stood out with her big round eyes, fair skin and pretty smile. Besides visuals, Lee Se Young’s acting skills are also highly appreciated. She was under 10 years old when she left an impression on the audience in series and movies such as: The Brothers River, When I Turned Nine, Lovely Rivals and The Wonder Years. By the age of 11, Lee Se Young became a familiar child actress to the Korean public when taking on a role in the hit Dae Jang Geum.

After the success of Dae Jang Geum, Lee Se Young took a break from the screen to focus on her studies. In 2016, she had a supporting role in The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop and won Best New Actress in the TV category at the Baeksang Arts Award. This was considered a turning point to help her move past the child actress image.

In her acting years as an adult, Lee Se Young captures the hearts of many viewers with her gorgeous and graceful appearance, which especially suits historical dramas. She is also known as a multi-talented celebrity. Not only is she a gifted actress, but Lee Se Young is also surprisingly good at singing and dancing.