Lee Chung-ah
Birth dateOctober 29, 1984 (age 42)
Birth placeSouth Korea
Alma materHanyang University (Theater and Film)
OccupationActress
Years active2002–present
FatherLee Seung-chul
AgentManagement Soop[1]
Height166 cm[2]
Lee Chung-ah
Headercolortransparent
Hangul%이청아

Lee Chung-ah (Korean: 이청아; born October 29, 1984) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in the films Temptation of Wolves (2004) and My Tutor Friend 2 (2007), as well as the cable dramas Cool Guys, Hot Ramen (2011), VIP (2019) and Celebrity (2023).

Career

Lee Chung-ah began her acting career by playing supporting roles in the films Resurrection of the Little Match Girl (2002) and Happy Ero Christmas (2003). In 2004, she landed her first leading role in Temptation of Wolves (2004), a film adaptation of an internet novel by Guiyeoni.[3] Lee played a country girl who moves to the city and attracts the attention of the two most popular boys in town, played by Jo Han-sun and Kang Dong-won. The film made the two actors into breakout stars, but not Lee.[4]

She was cast as a lead actress in her first television drama Let's Go to the Beach (2005), where she and Lee Wan played bickering lifeguards who later fall in love. In 2006, Lee starred in the family drama Going Together and the omnibus film Ssunday Seoul.[5]

Lee then starred in My Tutor Friend 2 (2007), the sequel to the 2003 hit film of the same title. She studied Japanese for her role as a Japanese exchange student who goes to Korea in search of her first love, then meets a happy-go-lucky university student (Park Ki-woong) who becomes her Korean language tutor.[6] A year later, she was cast in Kim Jee-woon's kimchi western The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008) in a small role as the foster sister of Jung Woo-sung's character. Lee said that she practiced horseback riding for this film but those scenes were deleted in post-production. She later showed her horseback riding skills in Chosun Police Season 2, a series set during the reign of Emperor Gojong in which she played a damo with a dark past.

On television, Lee continued to appear in supporting roles in 2009 with the romantic comedy The Accidental Couple and family drama Jolly Widows. This was followed by the 2010 daily drama Pure Pumpkin Flower, where she played a pure-hearted girl who never loses hope even in difficult circumstances.[7]

In 2011, she starred in the leading role in cable romantic comedy series Cool Guys, Hot Ramen.[8][9] Lee played a college girl preparing for teacher certification examination who unexpectedly inherits her father's ramen restaurant; she becomes involved in a love triangle with two of her employees, the arrogant heir to the biggest food conglomerate in Korea (Jung Il-woo) and a lazy but warm-heated genius chef (Lee Ki-woo).[10][11] Cool Guys, Hot Ramen received solid ratings for a Korean cable drama, and became the first of tvN's "flower boy" programming, which included Dating Agency: Cyrano on which Lee made a guest appearance in 2013.[12][13][14]

Lee was in two variety shows in 2012. She hosted Cats and Dogs, a talk show in which pet owners shared information to foster a more mature pet culture.[15] Lee then appeared in the second season of Music and Lyrics, a reality show in which a celebrity pair write and compose a song together. She wrote the lyrics and actor Seo Ji-seok composed the music for the ballad "Looking Forward to It," which was sung by Heo Young-saeng and used as the theme song of Seo In-guk's character in the family drama The Sons.[16][17][18]

Lee reunited with Happy Ero Christmas costar Kim Sun-a in the 2013 revenge thriller The Five. Adapted from the webtoon of the same title, she played a detective with a delinquent credit history who helps kill a serial killer in exchange for an organ transplant for her ill mother.[19][20] Later in the year, she played a doormat wife in the weekend drama series Wonderful Mama.

In 2019, Lee returned to small screen with office mystery drama VIP.[21]

In July 2021, Lee signed a contract with J-Wide Company.[22]

In 2022, Lee appeared in the SBS drama One Dollar Lawyer.[23]

In October 2024, Lee signed an exclusive contract with Management Soop.[1]

In 2026, Lee starred in ENA's mystery legal thriller television series Honour alongside Jung Eun-chae and Lee Na-young.[24] It is based on the Swedish television series Heder which evolves around a 20-year-old secret that the three lawyer friends buried, which resurfaces and throws their lives into chaos.[25]

Personal life

Her father is musical theatre actor Lee Seung-chul.[citation needed]

She began dating actor Lee Ki-woo in 2013; they were costars in the 2011 series Cool Guys, Hot Ramen and broke up in 2019.[26]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2002Resurrection of the Little Match GirlGirl in soju-bang
TearsGirl
2003Happy Ero ChristmasLee Hae-min
2004TwentidentityGirlSegment: "Convenience Store at 2:00 a.m."
Temptation of WolvesJung Han-kyung
2005The Dark Plan of Green Tea PlanetSShort film
2006Ssunday SeoulYoung-jaSegment: "The Young Adventurer"
2007My Tutor Friend 2Kitano Junko
2008The Good, the Bad, the WeirdSong-yi
2010The First Love SeriesHan Seo-yeonSegment: "Paper Crane"
Finding Mr. DestinyJi-hye
Oh! Happy DayGirl next doorShort film
Lee Chung-ah's Seoul Play
2013The FivePark Jeong-ha
2014First Love Struck Me One DayYong-jae
Twinkle-Twinkle Pitter-PatterShort film
2015Northern Limit LineLieutenant Choi Yoon-jungCameo
2017BluebeardMi-yeon
2019Spring, Again[27]

Television series

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2005Let's Go to the BeachYoon So-ra
2006Going TogetherDa-seul
2008Chosun Police 2Han Da-kyung
2009The Accidental CoupleGoo Min-ji
Jolly WidowsHan Soo-hyun
2010Pure Pumpkin FlowerPark Soon-jung
2011Cool Guys, Hot RamenYang Eun-bi
2013Wonderful MamaOh Da-jung
Dating Agency: CyranoSeol Yoo-jinCameo (Episode 1)
2014High School King of SavvyAttractive womanCameo (Episode 17)
KBS Drama Special – "Bride in Sneakers"Park Bo-kyung
2015–2016Riders: Catch TomorrowYoon So-dam
2016The Vampire DetectiveYo-na
Lucky RomanceSeol-hee / Amy
2017Because This Is My First LifeGo Jung-min
2019Beautiful WorldKang Joon-Ha
VIPLee Hyeon-ah
2020JTBC Drama Festa – "Hello Dracula"So-jung
2020–2021AwakenJamie Leighton[28]
2022One Dollar LawyerLee Joo-young[29]
2023My DearestGak-hwaPart 2[30]
2026HonourHwang Hyun-jin[31]

Web series

YearTitleRoleRef.
2017–2018The Best Moment to Quit Your JobSun-hee[32]
scope="row | 2023CelebrityYoon Shi-hyeon[33]
scope="row | 2024HideHa Yeon-ju[34]

Television shows

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2010The Fox's ButlerHost
2012Cats and Dogs
Music and Lyrics (Season 2)Paired with Seo Ji-seok
2016Battle TripContestantWith Seo Hyo-rim (Episodes 27–30)
2018Rural PoliceCast memberSeasons 3–4
Everyone's KitchenPilot episode
2019Episode 1–11 (except episode 6)
2022The Power of the Art Market, Art CollectionNarratorSpecial documentary[35]

Music video appearances

YearTitleArtistRef.
2004"We Were in Love"Lyn
2005"Coward"Buzz
2008"웃어도 눈물이"Ryu Joo-hwan
"Because of You"Shin Hye-sung[36]
2010"Telephone"Electro Boyz (feat. Horan)
"Full Story"V.O.S
2013"The Day to Love"Lee Seung-chul
2015"The Only Thing I Can't Do"Gummy

Ambassadorship

  • Ambassador for the 1st Ulsan International Film Festival (2021)[37]

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination
Award ceremonyYearCategoryNominee / WorkResultRef.
The 11th Asian Model Awards2016Model Star AwardLee Chung-ah[38]
Cable TV Broadcasting Awards2016Best CharacterRiders: Get Tomorrow[39]
Golden Cinematography Awards2005Best New ActressTemptation of Wolves[40]
Grand Bell Awards2005[41]
KBS Drama Awards2009The Accidental Couple and Jolly Widows[42]
MBC Drama Awards2016Excellence Award, Actress in a MiniseriesLucky Romance[43]
2023Top Excellence Award, Actress in a MiniseriesMy Dearest[44]
SBS Drama Awards2019Best Supporting ActressVIP[45]
2022Best PerformanceOne Dollar Lawyer[46]

Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement
PublisherYearListiclePlacementRef.
Forbes2020Korea Power Celebrity35th[47]

References

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