page_title: Lee Jong-suk
section_title: 2014–present: Mainstream popularity
hierarchical_section_title: Lee Jong-suk / Career / 2014–present: Mainstream popularity
caption_attribution_description: 한국어: 160718 한효주 이종석 W 제작발표회
context_page_description: Lee Jong-suk is a South Korean actor and model. He debuted in 2005 as a runway model, becoming the youngest male model ever to participate in Seoul Fashion Week. Lee's breakout role was in School 2013 and he is also well known for his roles in I Can Hear Your Voice, Doctor Stranger, Pinocchio, W, While You Were Sleeping, The Hymn of Death and Romance Is a Bonus Book.
context_section_description: In 2014, he starred in teen romantic comedy Hot Young Bloods, playing a cheesy womanizer. Lee then starred in hit medical drama Doctor Stranger, playing a North Korean defector who works as a doctor in South Korea. The drama was a success in China, gaining 400 million views.
  Lee next starred in Pinocchio opposite actress Park Shin-hye, and played the protagonist Choi Dal-po, a first year reporter at a broadcasting company who struggles with the idea of justice and truth in a world where everyone wants to hide the facts. Pinocchio was another hit, with a reported revenue of 6.2 billion won (US$5.62 million) for broadcasting rights in just one year.
  Lee's performances in the dramas Doctor Stranger and Pinocchio earned him acting accolades, including the Male Top Excellence Award at the 8th Korea Drama Awards. 
  He also became the youngest actor to win the Best Actor award at the 27th Grimae Awards, chosen by television cinematographers.
  Lee then embarked on an Asia fan-meeting tour, and released a photobook titled 2014-2015 Asia Tour Story ~With~, comprising photos taken of Lee's meetings with fans in seven Asian cities during the nine-month tour. Lee was also cast in his first Chinese drama entitled Jade Lovers alongside actress Zheng Shuang. The drama, filmed in Shanghai, is described as a fantasy romance series set in the 1930s. Due to Lee's success in China, a wax figure of him went on display in Hong Kong's Madame Tussauds, which the actor unveiled himself in a ceremony. 
  In December 2015, Lee left his previous agency Wellmade Yedang and signed an exclusive contract with YG Entertainment on May 10, 2016. 
  In July 2016, Lee returned to the Korean small screen with MBC's fantasy thriller W alongside Han Hyo-joo. The drama topped popularity charts in Korea and Lee won the Daesang (Grand Prize) at the year-end MBC Drama Awards. The same year, he co-starred in the promotional web drama First Seven Kisses for Lotte Duty Free.
  In 2017, Lee starred in the crime film VIP, marking his first lead role as a villain. Lee then starred in the supernatural-procedural drama While You Were Sleeping alongside Bae Suzy in September.
  In July of the same year, Lee was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Korean tourism by the Korea Tourism Organization. The organization also released promotional videos featuring the actor, titled "8 Episodes of Korea", which focused on tourist spots in 10 different regions including Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Jeju and Gyeongju.
  In 2018, Lee was cast in the two-episode drama The Hymn of Death, a remake of the 1991 film Death Song. Lee signed with new management agency YNK Entertainment once his contract with YG Entertainment ended, but terminated his contract five months later. and established his own agency "A-man Project".
  In 2019, he starred in his first romantic comedy drama Romance Is a Bonus Book alongside Lee Na-young.
caption: At W press conference, August 2016
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