Dramas that nurtured him

Lee Byung-Hun started his career as an actor through the annual public TV actor/actress audition held by Korea Broadcast System (KBS) in 1991. Every year there are dozens of new hopefuls who start out through public auditions held by the three major networks in Korea, and most are destined to ending their career as ‘passing man 1’ or ‘policeman 3’. Such fate could also have befallen Lee. With a degree in a subject that had nothing to do with acting, and with hardly any acting experience, the cry of a producer who asked him if he was reading a book on this first reading, was perhaps only expected.

During his early years, it probably would have been difficult to say in an instant that he was ‘naturally talented’. However, one thing that is clear is the fact that he did not lose that one opportunity that is usually given to newly selected actors and actresses. The opportunity to act that was given him… for every opportunity, he gave his best, and he grew little by little without even realizing it. And the result… he is now called an ‘actor possessed.’

Including his name in the list of teen stars

As was his start as an actor, he met the public through dramas and he nurtured himself through dramas. Starting from his debut drama series “Asphalt is My Hometown’, he was able to gain a weighty support actor role in ‘Wind Flower Does Not Wither Away’, and audience started notice him. Finally in the KBS drama ‘Day of Sunrise’ it became impossible to ignore his name. Here, he acted the role of ‘Hyung-Man Choi’, the rebellious son of a rich family, but who left his comfortable life because of his conflicts with his father to work as the delivery boy of a Chinese restaurant. The bright smile he displayed in this drama was the turning point that made people notice Byung-Hun Lee, the actor (later the ‘Day of Sunrise’ becomes the subject of greater interest when Chang-Jung Im whom Lee meets while doing the drama and become good friends, later joins in the rank of stars). Then going through the daily drama series ‘Wild Chrysanthemum’ and then ‘Morning Without Good-Byes’ he rises as a major actor, and through ‘Tomorrow is Love’ Lee secures himself a firm place as a teen star.

In ‘Tomorrow is Love’ he acted the role of ‘Bum-Soo Shin’ who was serious at times but who had a bright outlook, and enjoying playing tricks on people. The role instantly made him a teen star. This light-hearted drama, each episode with its own story, fully expressed the healthy attractiveness of youth. The viewers could see that Lee, who still had traces of a rookie actor, was slowly entering the ranks of those gradually getting the taste of what acting really was. However, this title as a teen star which followed him everywhere remained for a long time as a great barrier that he had to climb over.

Even though he was happily ‘suffering’ from having to make choices between tens of scripts, but there probably was a time when he had to be just grateful for

being given a role. Furthermore, being just a new actor exclusively contracted to one television station, it would not have been easy for him to choose works that he liked. Even when he became a free agent, he probably would not have been in a position to refuse the request of the directors and people that he knew in the industry. At times like that, the road he chose was to test himself by taking on diverse roles.

After the role of ‘Ja Myung’ in ‘Sadness of Those Who Survived’, a drama based on original novel by Il-Moon Park, he took on the role of ‘Hae-Sung Oh’ in ‘Police’. This drama was based on a comic book story, the structure of this drama was so loosely conceived that it received severe criticism as being indeed nothing more than a ‘cartoon’. However, here, the viewers’ response to Lee who delved into the role of the crew-cut hair Hae-Sung Oh, was that the image couldn’t suit him more, and he earned another title as a ‘tough guy’ Lee.

Moving onto to SBS, he appears in dramas ‘The Fragrance of Love’ and ‘The Asphalt Man’. In ‘Asphalt Man’ he appears as car designer who works hard and with determination to realize his dreams. This drama once again reconfirmed his image as the serious and healthy symbol of the youth of the times. Experimenting little by little with diverse roles as an actor, he continued to grow and equip himself with qualities required by the times for him to become a teen star.

Great transformation as an actor ‘The Son of the Wind’… Choongmu-ro calls out to the star

The drama that provided him the great turning point for him as an actor was ‘The Son of the Wind’ aired on KBS in 1995. The seemingly good-for-nothing Hong-Pyo Chang with an untidy beard, allowed him to expand his image from being just a clear-cut handsome teen idol to an actor who ‘smelled of masculinity’. To the hoodlum Hong-Pyo Chang, ‘a town trash who couldn’t become rougher or shameless than he already was’, Lee gave him shape as a person the viewers could not bring themselves to dislike. With this role, he jumps up a level higher from simply being a teen star into a truly talented top class actor. Up until this time, he had a strong image as a model student. But in this drama, displaying sad eyes that stimulate maternal instincts and sensual masculinity, he was able to demonstrate qualities that were uniquely his own. The scene in the second episode where he taunts the character played by Hee-Sun Kim was the most popular subject at the time. Had it been the present, it would have been more than enough to paralyze on-line BBS servers.

‘The Son of the Wind’ was a work that presented him with a new milestone when he was placed at a crossroads as an actor. When he debuted on the big

screen with “Who Is Making Me Go Crazy” he was described as an actor with possibilities but the movie was a box-office failure, and it was a time when it was unclear whether he will be able to sustain his hopes “to be called a movie actor because I wanted to do movies ever since I was a child”, or remain in the TV scene with “Who is Making Me Go Crazy” being simply a brief outing for him. At such a time his acting possibilities that he displayed in ‘The Son of the Wind’ became the base for his future as a movie actor. He received various acting awards for his action-packed acting in “Run Away” and “The Son of the Wind”, and also received  movie awards as Best New Actor for his two movies. Commercial offers poured in and he probably tasted a sense of victory of having reached a mountain peak. Then from ‘A World of Their Own’ to ‘지상만가’ he started on his road as the most sought after actor and the one that the Korean movie industry was carefully watching.

Return to TV Saves Him

For about two years, he left the TV to concentrate on movies. But despite his widely recognized acting talents and his unique qualities, series of movies that he appeared in were all box-office failures. Was it because the image that he portrayed in TV dramas was not worth paying for? Despite his passion for movies and his passionate efforts, the audience continued mercilessly to ignore him when it came to movies. The name that he had gained for himself in TV dramas was coldly denied at least in terms of audience number that visited the movie theatres. Even though Lee claims he has no regrets because he tried his hardest, but having already tasted the glitter of popularity, the cut to his pride should have been quite deep. He probably felt like having fallen off from a high peak to crush into the hard ground.

The medium that gave him back his pride and his confidence, was once again television. Returning to TV, the role he chose was ‘Joon-Ho Hwang’ the lonely and tragic boxer in the series “The Beautiful Lady”. Unlike the bright glitter that surrounded him when he left TV, the glance towards him probably wasn’t all that welcoming. Byung-Hun Lee’s paid a high price for his return to TV in his own way. However, the warm gaze of Joon-Ho Hwang and his pure love for Sun-Young, touched the hearts of the viewers in his unique way, leading them to say that this could only be Byung-Hun Lee. He lost 7kg to turn himself into a boxer, and had also be admitted to the hospital for exhaustion after training too hard for months to become a boxer. His thoroughness as an actor from head to toe for portraying Hwang, the boxer, made us realize once again his professionalism as an actor, and not just regard him as a teen idol. We can still feel the lonely and sad eyes of Joon-Ho Hwang.

Riding on the wave, he becomes the last one to be cast for “White Night 3.98”. The role of Kyung-Bin for whom the producers had not been able to find the suitable actor, even after the roles of Taek-Hyung, Young-Joon, and Anistasha had already been decided, had been given to him. Acting the role of South Korean agent Kyung-Bin who is an ex-air force officer, he underwent great difficulties even having five steel bits stuck into his body. This drama that had been expected to become the second “Hour Glass” failed and he was pointed out as one of the causes. Receiving severe criticism for only showing is fixed and usual seriousness, making us to ponder maybe he might have lacked his own kind of tenderness that rose over his toughness. However, we console ourselves saying that the diverse fight scenes and Russian language scenes that he studied so hard for, are sure to have helped him in building his experience as an actor.

This failure certainly acted as an effective medicine. In the movie “Organ in My Heart” Lee rid himself of his image as a tough guy, and took on the role of kind and gentle Soo-Ha Kang to make people recognize him as a movie actor. The drama that he chose before doing his army service was “Happy Together”. Here he played Tae-Poong Suh, the second-rate baseball player who seemed to lack intelligence but who was pure-hearted. This drama recorded high viewer ratings and Lee’s acting received positive response. Tae-Poong Suh is an attractive character with sluggish walk and clothes, and despised by his half brother and sister. But this generous man embraced everything with his thick-skinned optimism. Now, finally, people started to recognize Byung-Hun Lee for his unique acting capabilities. If “Organ in My Heart” newly opened his eyes to acting, then “Happy Together” signified that he was able to wash away the fixed image that had restricted his life. From this point, just like bird released from his cage, he repeatedly transforms himself as an actor with his newly gained freedom.  

Byung-Hun Lee scores a series of homeruns. We can’t help exclaim and wonder how far his acting can go. He acts the role of a double personality psychopath with perfection. The role of Hae-Sung in “Love Story” portrays simultaneously a good man, symbolized by his white shirts and a darker character seen through the black shadow. It was a difficult charter to perform requiring Lee to demonstrate complicated and diverse character traits and expressions. Lee succeeds in doing so with near perfection and persuasion, and his scenes were no longer just acting but neared the level of art. And this gradually increased the number of Byung-Hun manias.

Byung-Hun virus… being addicted to him

Having regained confidence in his acting ability, Lee dedicates himself once again to movies after returning from his army service. Thanks to continued acting practice gained through different roles that he took on in dramas, and the opportunity to recharge himself during the army service, he was, as he personally revealed in a talk show “completely ready to shoot off just like a racing car at the starting line with it engine roaring and watching for the flags to go up.” The next acting work that came to him who was just like a fish in newly found waters, was “Joint Security Area”. The success of this movie and the wave of emotions created by “Doing Bungee Jumps” - the movie that immediately followed -  slowly spreading the inescapable Byung-Hun virus.

His past filled with diverse acting experience, the failures he tasted at the height of his career and the lessons he gained, and his unique attraction that was added as grew older, he was able to position his name firmly in the Korean movie industry. Then, he returned once again to drama. Lee had declared that he wanted to spend the rest of his life doing movies. However when he had to return to television because of a contract that he had signed long before, perhaps he felt like he was being dragged to place where he didn’t want to be. The viewers were probably very happy to see Lee who was making a name for himself in the movie scene, but can it be said that it was the same for Byung-Hun?

The viewers saw Byung-Hun with such a question in their minds. But with his role as Min-Chul Lee in the drama “Beautiful Days” he was able to create large groups of Byung-Hun addicts throughout the country in one breath. Min-Chul Lee, with loneliness hidden in his passionate eyes, pure heart hidden in his cold face, was born with life-like force in the hearts of the viewers, making it impossible for them to forget his name. He cries out, “It would have been better if we had no blood ties!” as he sees the woman he loves together with the man he believes to be his half-brother. And in an instant the viewers are enthralled by his agonized expression, and hopelessly fall in love with Byung-Hun Lee with Min-Chul Lee’s face. The virus that unknowingly enters the body becomes even more active in this drama that the viewers approach with comfort. Now Byung-Hun has lists of adjectives that follows his name such as being a character actor, having thousand faces, powerful charisma, actor possessed and it goes on. Lee started out with television dramas, was nurtured by them and now he will be remembered forever in them.

The mysterious attraction and addictiveness of drama

However, can it be confidently said that he was also happy during “Beautiful Day”? Answers to this question could be traced in many places. In interviews that he had after the final episode of the drama, he made comments like “I never had such a hard time doing dramas as this.” This suggests that the time spent shooting this series might not have been all that happy for him. This raised nervous questions among his addicted fans created through his dramas, that perhaps from now on we will only be able to see him in movie theatres.

From an actor’s point of view, movies is a very attractive medium. The splendid and grand visuals that the big screen provides, concrete theme, thorough pre-production, and the strength gained through significant sums of production budget, are most certainly major elements that call out attractively to TV actors. Once they fall into the magic of the big screen, most of the actors do not seem to want to return to television where they cannot be free of viewer ratings, suffer the reality of Korean television environment where much of pre-production time needed for producing high quality work is usually sacrificed, and endure tight budget and production time. Furthermore, there is the negligent attitude of increasing and decreasing the storyline just like an elastic band, just to accommodate the tastes of the mass. These actors might feel more grateful towards movie audience who make the time and effort to come and see them rather than TV drama viewers who can so easily pass by instantly, and therefore want to stay as a movie actor who can remain forever in films.

However, maybe that is the very reason viewers become immersed in dramas. They don’t have to be burdened with looking up on various reviews or critics to choose the movie of their choice, nor do they have to fear investing their money and time on something they will end up disliking. In contrast we can choose a drama at a click of a finger, and if our choice turns out to be a failure, such loss can easily be forgotten, which makes dramas so much more familiar. In addition, the characters who stand so close, acting as if they are talking to me, enter into my heart, and when my feelings are at their height they turn away with the words ‘next week same time’, filling us with a sense of longing like some addict going through withdrawal symptoms.

At times our hearts are pierced by a line that seem to have no effect on others, the love that seems so immature, and the ever so common family conflicts can feel as such a serious issue for some. When the drama storylines become our own, some characters can become our own enemy or a friend. We find ourselves cursing at the actor who has taken on the character of the bad, telephone the pitiful and tragic main character to give encouragement. The attractiveness of dramas is that the viewers can become aroused at the situation of the characters. Actors can criticize the responses of the viewers who heat up so quickly but who also turn away in an instant. However, something that can be said of dramas is that it is the frontline medium that allows the actors to feel the response of the mass, which in turn nurtures the actors to further develop their talents.

That is why we want to see him again

That is why even though we are aware of all the limits and countless disappointments inherent in dramas, and even though we feel frustrated at the need for commercialism consuming the actors and the passive production environment repressing their passion, we still want to meet him again on television. Despite the fact that television dramas might be the thing that is tiring him, it is also clearly true that Lee developed his acting through dramas, and that they also gave him confidence whenever he was going through difficult times. Now, the firm place he has carved out for himself in the acting world has given him the leisure of ‘being able to choose’. Believing in his ability to select the best scripts and directors, we can be confident that his next choice will present us once again with another good drama. In dramas where we can be at such a close distance, we believe that he will be reborn as another character to be treasured in our memories for a long, long time - going even further than the characters Bum-Soo Shin, Hong-Pyo Chang, Jun-Ho Hwang, Tae-Poong Suh and even Min-Chul Lee!

Byun-Hun Lee quietly came to us as a television actor, and then clearly sealed out his name as a movie actor through special emotions aroused through two-hour long movies. When he makes it impossible to forget his name through a drama that he returns at his own choice without any forceful pressure, then he will stand tall simply as ‘an actor’, a title that will not need any additional adjectives. Looking at the unprecedented love of Byung-Hun addicts that he himself has created, could it be possible that many actors might feel afresh the attractions of the small screen and want to come back? It is possible that the actor Byung-Hun Lee can accomplish something that no one had been able to do.