Lee Jin-hee (actress)

Lee Jin-hee (born February 15, 1983) is a South Korean actress. Debuting in the play “Mother” in 2004, Lee has worked in variety of acting mediums, such as plays, musicals, movies and television dramas. She is also an actress with good acting reputation in Daehangno.

Early life
Lee Jin-hee was born on February 15, 1983. While growing up, she considered various career paths, including becoming a teacher or an actress. Opportunity to pursue acting arose when Lee transferred from a humanities major in high school to theater major in Gyewon Arts High School (계원예술고등학교) in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, due to her father's job transfer. After graduating from High School, Lee enrolled in Department of Theater of Yong In University, located in Samgak-dong, Cheoin-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Theater.

Early career
Lee started her career as a member of the Theater Company Yeonhui Dangeori (연희단거리패). In 2004, she made her debut in the play Mother, taking on the role of young Il-soon under the guidance of veteran actress actress Son Sook. This play was performed as the COEX Art Hall' opening performance. From 2004 to 2006, Lee actively participated in various productions with the troupe, including Acrobat's First Love and Deceived by Love and Crying for Money.

In 2007, Lee moved to Daehangno, Seoul. During that year, she auditioned for play Agnes of God, a production directed by Yoon Kwang-jin and led by veteran actresses Park Jeong-ja and Son Sook. Unfortunately, she didn't secure a role, despite it being her dream role since high school. Undeterred, she auditioned for Lee Kang-baek's The Cockscomb Flower directed by Choi Joong-min and successfully landed a role.

After appearing in The Cockscomb Flower, she had the opportunity to meet director and playwright Jang Yu-jeong. This marked her foray into musical theater as she portrayed the titular character, Choi Min-hee, in fourth season of Jang Yu-jeong's musical Oh, While You Were Sleeping, which was part of Yeonwoo Stage's repertoire. Soon after, she took on the lead character Ahn So-yi in Jang Yu-jeong's play Melodrama.

Lee's exceptional performances in her previous works caught the attention of director Yoon Kwang-jin. While she was still performing in Melodrama, he offered Lee the role of Agnes in the play Agnes of God. Lee finally had the opportunity to portray her dream role and graced the stage as Agnes at the Jayu Small Theater in the Seoul Arts Center, starting from December 8.

Furthermore, between 2008 and 2010, Lee collaborated once again with Jang Yoo-jung as part of a special team for the musical "Oh, While You Were Sleeping." They embarked on a tour across South Korea during that period.

That same year, Lee joined the encore performance of Park Su-jin's play "Applause for Juliet," directed by Min Bok-ki. The play, which originally premiered in 2004, received acclaim for its vibrant dialogue and imaginative storytelling. Lee portrayed the character of Seon-jeong (Ophelia), alongside Jo Han-chul as Seok-dong (Hamlet), Min-ho as Romeo, and Bok-soon as Juliet. The play explores a complex web of conflicting love in a contemporary setting that cleverly combines Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet.

Lee collaborated with Director Seo Jae-hyung and Playwright Han Ah-reum from Theater Company Run to Death (극단-죽도록 달린다) in the premiere of play "Youth, 18 to 1." She played the role of Natsuka, a Japanese woman deeply in love with Kim Kun-woo, a Korean man planning to assassinate the mayor of Tokyo. The play received positive feedback from the audience, but unfortunately, the performance had to end prematurely due to Lee fracturing her foot. This happened three weeks ahead of schedule, when audience enthusiasm was at its peak. She reprised her role as Natsuka in 2009.

After she recovered, in September, she reprised her role Ahn So-yi in Jang Yu-jeong's play Melodrama.

In late 2008, Lee collaborated once again with director Seo Jae-hyeong and playwright Han Ah-reum in the encore performance play "Hoya" (好夜). This play was selected as part of the 2008 Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture's stage performance production support project. Lee portrayed the character of Eo Gwi-in, the king's concubine. The play was performed at the Daehakro Theater until November 30.

In 2009, Lee joined acclaimed omnibus play by Yoji Sakate titled Attic. It was performed in Sakateyoji Festival at the small theater of the Arko Arts Theater in Daehangno, Seoul.

In April 2010, Lee Jin-hee reunited with director Seo Jae-hyeong and playwright Han Ah-reum to portray Jin-kyung in the play "Tournament." Once again, she was paired with Jo Han-chul. The play took place at the LG Arts Center in Yeoksam-dong as part of the scheduled performances commemorating the 10th anniversary of the venue's opening.

Best Play and career in film and television
In 2010, Lee made her cinematic debut with a minor role in Jang Yu-jeong's film Finding Mr. Destiny. Her first leading role in a feature film came in 2013 with 48 Meters (2014), directed by director Min Baek-doo. 48 Meters is a human rights film based on a true story about North Koreans risking their lives for freedom by crossing the Yalu River, which is called the distance between life and death. which spans a distance of 48 meters and represents the line between life and death. In the film, Lee portrayed Ryu Hwa-young, a character who lost her parents while attempting to escape from North Korea as a child. She starred alongside of Park Hyo-joo who played the role of broker Park Seon-hee.

In 2014, Lee worked again Jang Yu-jeong in encore performance of Musical Those Days. It was performed at Daehangno Musical Center Grand Theater from October 21 to January 18, 2015.

In 2015, Lee was double cast with actress Lim Kang-hee for the role of Sylvia in an encore performance of the play The Pride. The story unfolded back and forth between 1958 and the present, focusing on Philip, Oliver, Peter, and Sylvia, characters who lived in two different eras. The play talked about the socially underprivileged, represented by sexual minorities. Directed by Kim Dong-yeon, the play ran from August 6 at the Daehakro Soohyun Theatre.

The Pride is the debut work and second play of Greek-British author Alexi Kaye Campbell. In November 2008 it was produced for the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs for which he was awarded The Critics' Circle Prize for Most Promising Playwright and the John Whiting Award for Best New Play. The production, directed by Jamie Lloyd, was also awarded a Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an affiliate theatre. South Korean adaptation was written by Ji Yi-seon and translated by Kim Soo-bin and premiered in The 5th Best Plays Festival, the Art One Theater in 2014.

In 2016, Lee would join the two production of The 6th Best Plays Festival, Kill Me Now and Hamlet—The Play. In Kill Me Now, Lee Jin-hee plays the role of Twyla, who is the younger sister of Jake and the aunt of Joy, and takes care of the two. The play 'Kill Me Now' is the latest work released in 2013 by famous Canadian playwright Brad Fraser. During his performance in London in 2015, she received rave reviews from the British press for her honest and bold approach to difficult topics such as sex, disability, and death.

Lee acted dual role as Ophelia and Getrude in a play "Hamlet—The Play". It was a reinterpretation of Shakespeare's classic "Hamlet," directed by Kim Dong-yeon, and was released to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. The play was based on a university performance titled "Hamlet —The Story of a Sad Clown," which was originally adapted and directed by Kim Dong-yeon in 2001. Writer Ji Seon joined the project and created a fresh version of the play after 15 years.

In addition to her theater work, Lee took on several minor roles in television dramas. She appeared in the SBS drama Glorious Day (2014), SBS drama Entertainer (2016) and tvN drama Memory (2016). In 2017, she was cast in a supporting role in MBC mini-series Two Cops, playing the character Woo Hye-in, the widow of detective Cho Hang-joon and former partner of detective Cha Dong-tak (played by Jo Jung-suk). In 2018, Lee appeared in another MBC drama A Pledge to God in a supporting role as Na Hae-jim's mother, Ha Ji-mo. She made a return to SBS dramas in 2019 with the series VIP. She portrayed Kang Ji-young, the head of VIP concierge, a bold and outspoken woman unafraid of her manager.

In 2016, Lee was double cast with actress Son Ji-yoon in the role of Lily, a patient with echolalia in Asian Premiere of play Toc Toc. Derived from the English expression of OCD (Troubles Obsessionnels Compulsifs, TOC), 'Toc Toc' is a riotous comedy about obsessive-compulsive patients. The play was written by Laurent Baffie, a famous French writer, actor, and TV show host.

In 2017, Lee Jin-hee was experiencing the extremes of emotion, going back and forth between Twyla in the play 'Kill Me Now' (Theater Black, Chungmu Arts Center until July 16) and Sylvia in 'Pride' (Daehangno Art One Theater 2, until July 2).

In 2018, Lee participated in The 7th Best Play Festival, featuring the adaptation of The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. The play is based on Jonas Jonasson's bestselling Swedish novel with the same name, which has sold over 10 million copies worldwide since its release in 2009. Lee embraced the challenge of portraying multiple characters within the production, showcasing her versatility. The ensemble also included Son Ji-yoon, Seo Hyeon-cheol, Oh Yong, Jang Yi-joo, Yang So-min, Kim Do-bin, Ju Min-jin, Kwon Dong-ho, and Lee Hyung-hoon.

The play involved "character juggling" as five actors onstage seamlessly transformed into various roles, including the centenarian protagonist Alan and the individuals he encounters. Lee portrayed characters such as the authoritative police chief "Captain Arunson" and Kim Il Sung, among others. This production marked the first time Lee and Son Ji-yoon shared the stage. In their previous projects together, They usually engaged in double casting, alternating their appearances in the play.

Her brief appearance the KBS drama When the Camellia Blooms as the owner of a tanning salon and a friend of Dong-baek was quite memorable. In episode 8 of the KBS drama Sell Your Haunted House (2021), she made a cameo appearance as the mother of Won-gwi Byul-i, a child ghost. Her appearance in episodes 2 and 9 of tvN drama series Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha as Hye-jin's mother, left lasting impression to viewers.

In 2021, Lee joined the television drama series Here's My Plan as Kim Bok-hee, a grandmother caregiver. The drama's screenplay won the Outstanding Work award at the 2020 MBC Drama Screenplay Contest and received high praise from the judges. It aired on MBC TV from May 19 to 27, 2021.

Recent theater works
In 2019, Lee made a comeback with the play Turn Around and Leave. This two-hander play is based on the 1998 film A Promise, which starred Park Shin-yang and Jeon Do-yeon. It tells the story of Gong Sang-du, a gangster who is preparing to surrender himself after committing a murder and meets his lover Hee-joo for the last time.

In 2020, Lee was double cast as character woman in Lungs alongside Kwak Sun-young. The play Lungs is a two-hander play made up of a conversation between a man and a woman. They engage in discussions about various topics such as emotions, childbirth, the environment, and the state of the earth.

In May 2022, it was announced that Lee would be joining the third production of The 9th Best Plays Festival, featuring the play Touching the Void by David Greig. The play is based on the true story of two British mountain climbers, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, and their struggle for survival. Lee was double cast with actress Son Ji-yoon in the role of Sara, Joe Simpson's sister. The Korean premiere of the play, directed by Kim Dong-yeon, took place at Art One Theater 2 in Daehangno from July 8 to September 9, 2022.

Personal life
Lee Jin-hee met her husband, fellow actor Ahn Se-ho, while working on the Open Run Musical ''Oh! While You Were Sleeping'' in 2007. They collaborated on numerous projects together thereafter. Both of them are represented by the same agency, Alien Company.