Lee Se-young

Lee Se-young (born December 20, 1992) is a South Korean actress. She debuted as a child actress in 1997 and was best known for her roles in Dae Jang Geum (2003), When I Turned Nine (2004), Lovely Rivals (2004), and The Wonder Years (2007). She is best known for her leading roles in The Crowned Clown (2019), The Red Sleeve (2021), The Law Cafe (2022), and The Story of Park's Marriage Contract (2023).

Beginnings
Lee began her career as a child actress; and was best known for the films When I Turned Nine, Lovely Rivals, and The Wonder Years.

As she entered her early twenties, Lee also appeared in the television series Puberty Medley, Missing You and Goddess of Marriage, as well as films Horror Stories 2 and Hot Young Bloods. Lee got increasingly larger roles in music romance drama Lovers of Music and fantasy mystery thriller The Vampire Detective.

2016–present: Rising popularity
Lee gained increased popularity after starring in the family drama The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop (2016), where she received favourable reviews. She and co-star Hyun Woo were dubbed as The Ahchoo Couple by fans. Lee also won the Best New Actress award in the television category at the Baeksang Arts Award for her performance.

In 2017, Lee starred in her first leading role in free-to-air TV station with KBS2's youth drama Hit the Top. Lee then starred in the fantasy romantic comedy drama A Korean Odyssey by the Hong sisters, and was praised for her portrayal of three different characters.

In 2018, Lee played her first big-screen leading role in the comedy film Duck Town.

In 2019, Lee starred in the tvN historical drama The Crowned Clown, based on the 2012 Korean historical film Masquerade, where she played the role of Queen Yoo So-woon. The same year, she appeared in the horror film Lingering and the medical drama Doctor John.

In 2020, Lee starred in the mystery thriller Memorist as a genius profiler. She then reunited with Shin Sung-rok, whom she previously worked with in Lovers of Music, for the MBC drama Kairos.

In 2021, Lee played the role of Sung Deok-im in MBC hit historical romance drama The Red Sleeve, co-starring alongside Lee Jun-ho.

In 2022, Lee made a special appearance as a cinema employee in the film Seoul Vibe. Lee also played the lead role as a lawyer named Kim Yu-ri in KBS romantic comedy drama The Law Cafe, reuniting with A Korean Odyssey co-star Lee Seung-gi.

In November 2023, she also appeared in the time-traveling historical fantasy drama titled The Story of Park's Marriage Contract.