In the recently aired KBS2’s “Stars’ Top Recipe at Fun-Staurant,” actor Lee Joon-ki, who is over 40 years old, revealed his secret to his youthful appearance.
For the past 6 years, he has eaten tofu instead of carbohydrates. Thanks to strong self-management, he will be able to appear as a college freshman wearing a hoodie in the SBS drama “Again My Life,” which will premiere next month.
Lee Joon-ki was born in 1982 in Busan. He went to Seoul in 2000 to become an actor and entered the entertainment industry as an advertising model for the fashion brand ‘So Basic’ the following year.
The commercial featured Kang Dong-won and top star Kim Hee-sun. Lee Joon-ki recalled waiting at the hair salon before the shoot, and a person (Kim Hee-sun) whom he saw a lot on TV came in. He was so excited, but he didn’t get an autograph because of his pride. Lee Joon-ki started acting as a minor character in the MBC sitcom ‘Nonstop 4’ in 2003.
He debuted in the Japanese film ‘The Hotel Venus‘, which was released in 2004, playing the role of ‘Boy’ through a 2000:1 competition ratio.
In that year, he appeared in MBC’s Korea-Japan co-produced drama “Star’s Echo” and the 2007 Korea-Japan co-produced film “Virgin Snow.” What changed his life was the movie “The King and the Clown” directed by Lee Joon-ik in 2005.
He played the role of “Gonggil,” a female-dressed clown, causing a “Pretty Man” syndrome, and the movie also became a hit, attracting 12.3 million audiences.
3,000 people flocked to the audition for Gonggil, and it is a famous anecdote that Lee Joon-ki was selected thanks to the director’s strong impression with his lethal move, “Hold hands and stand.”
In that year, the CF ‘Beauty Loves Pomegranates’ starring the actor recorded the largest sales in the shortest period, and his fan meeting held in Jamsil was also the largest ever of an actor.
You can guess his popularity at that time, right?
The fan meeting was in the form of a mini-concert with both dancing and singing performances. Later, his popularity was expanded to China, Taiwan, Japan, and Thailand, and he was considered unrivaled among Hallyu stars.
After that, he succeeded in transforming himself in MBC Noir drama ‘Time Between Dog And Wolf’ in 2007. With short manly hair and strong action scenes, he erased his image of a “girl-like man.”
SBS’ “Iljimae,” which aired the following year, was recognized for both its cinematic quality and box office success.
After being discharged from the military in 2012, Lee Joon-ki returned with the fantasy historical drama “Arang and the Magistrate“. It was exported to Japan at the highest price ever for MBC dramas.
In 2014, KBS2 ‘Gunman in Joseon‘ showed the standard of Lee Joon-ki‘s action.
The Chinese film “Never Said Goodbye,” starring the actor in 2016, has been released locally and topped the audience list among the melodramas of that year.
In the same year, he also made a special appearance in the Hollywood movie ‘Resident Evil: The Final Chapter’ and expanded his acting scope to the world’s market.
Following tvN’s drama “Flower of Evil” in 2020, he will come back with “Again My Life” next month. He said he became a cool-headed prosecutor who aimed for power.
Overseas fans are already cheering for him. KBIZOOM will be rooting for him as well.
