12 Lee Min Ho Dramas and Movies You'll Love to Re-Watch
Lee Min-ho is one of the most popular Korean stars in the world today. Two years have passed since we've seen him in a drama, and now that he's been discharged from the military service, fans are celebrating the fact that our Min-ho oppa will return to the small screen. But have you watched all of his famous films and series? If yes, now is the time to see it once more!
Here are the 12 most popular dramas and movies of Lee Min-ho that you'll enjoy watching again.
Dramas:
- Legend of the Blue Sea (2017)
- The Heirs (2013)
- Faith (2012)
- City Hunter (2011)
- Personal Taste (2010)
- Boys Over Flowers (2009)
- I Am Sam (2007)
Movies:
- Bounty Hunters (2016)
- Gangnam Blues (2015)
- Get Up (2008)
- Public Enemy Returns (2008)
- Our School's E.T (2008)
1. Legend of the Blue Sea
This widely-popular romantic fairy tale story is about a man and a mermaid from Joseon era, and continues their legendary love in the modern times. Though it is a classic fantasy, it has became one of the hottest dramas of 2017. Together with Hallyu actress, Jun Ji-hyun, Lee Min-ho plays Heo Joon-jae, a handsome con-artist who brilliantly uses his looks to set-up a scam. Back in the past days, he was Kim Dam-ryung, and he is in love with the mermaid named Se-hwa, who saved his life. Because they cannot end up with each other, Se-hwa erased his memories. But love is stronger than trials, and in the future they met each other. Will Joon-jae recognize the only girl he loves from the past?
Legend of the Blue Sea became popular overseas, as worldwide fans of the two leading actors supported them along the way. It reached a pretty high rating of 23% on its 17th episode. It also features a special episode, making it a total of 21 episodes for the whole series.
Other Cast:
- Jun Ji-hyun as Se-hwa / Shim Cheong
- Lee Hee-joon as Jo Nam-doo / Park Moo
- Shin Hye-sun as Cha Shi-ah
- Shin Won-ho as Tae-oh
- Lee Ji-hoon as Heo Chi-hyun
2. The Heirs
Min-Shin couple became insanely popular because of this 2013 phenomenal hit series. Also known as The Inheritors, it is a teenage drama set in a prestigious high school where the sons and daughters from wealthy families study. LMH takes the role of Kim Tan, the heir to a large empire group. Just like the typical rich son, he has a hot temper and a childish, immature personality. While in California, he meets Cha Eun-sang (played by Park Shin-hye), who came from a poor family. Despite their huge gap in social status, Kim Tan became attracted to her. But they have no idea that their journey has a long road ahead, because Eun-sang goes to the same school as Kim Tan.
This award-winning drama is an all-time favorite to K-drama lovers. Though the plot is simple, the performance of the star-studded actors made it wonderful. The main couple has a wonderful chemistry on screen because Park Shin-hye and Lee Min-ho looks so good together. The drama ended with a 28.6% rating, making it a huge success.
Other Cast:
- Park Shin-hye as Cha Eun-sang
- Kim Woo-bin as Choi Young-do
- Kim Ji-won as Rachel Yoo
- Kang Min-hyuk as Yoon Chan-young
- Kang Ha-neul as Lee Hyo-shin
- Krystal Jung as Lee Bo-na
3. Faith
Also known as The Great Doctor, this is a time-travelling story between a present-day surgeon and a warrior from Goryeo period, and inspires us that a hundred years is not that long when it comes to love. LMH is General Choi Young, a young general who is reckless, brave, and smart, but doesn't have any interest in money, fame, or women. He jumped into the modern day and kidnapped a 33-year old doctor, Yoo Eun-soo (played by Kim Hee-sun).
Well, if you think Min-ho is already good looking as a student or as a con-man, I assure you that he shines even more in this, because of the battle and action scenes while wearing the traditional royal guard costume. Plus, he's riding the horse, holding the sword, and looking extremely cool in the past!
"Faith" kicked off with a mediocre start. It has elements of politics and dynasties, but it has an interesting love line between Choi Young and Eun-soo. In romance, age doesn't matter. The two leads seemed so close and comfortable with each other too!
Other Cast:
- Kim Hee-sun as Yoo Eun-soo
- Yoo Oh-sung as Ki-chul
- Ryu Deok-hwan - King Gongmin
- Park Se-young - Queen Noguk
4. City Hunter
Japanese illustrator Tsukasa Hojo wrote a manga that was brought to life in this Korean adaptation of City Hunter, and it was a big success. Starring LMH as Lee Yoon-sung, this action-packed drama was praised for its top-notch acting and performance from the cast. It is the drama that brought our oppa the Best Actor Award at the 4th Korea Drama Awards, thanks to his excellent portrayal of Yoon-sung. Up until now, it is one of the best romantic-thriller dramas ever made.
An orphaned boy who grew up to be an IT genius, Lee Yoon-sung discreetly worked inside South Korea's President, with an ultimate goal to avenge his father. To execute his plans smoothly, he promised himself not to trust anyone, and especially not to fall in love. But his strong resolve is swayed when he met Kim Nana, the president's bodyguard. Will his plans work until the end, or will it fail?
Other Cast:
- Park Min-young as Kim Nana
- Lee Joon-hyuk as Kim Young-joo
- Kim Sang-joong as Lee Jin-pyo
- Kim Sang-ho as Bae Man-duk / Bae Shik-joong
- Hwang Sun-hee as Jin Sae-hee
- Goo Ha-ra as Choi Da-hye
- Chun Ho-jin as Choi Eung-chan
5. Personal Taste
A highly-recommended romantic-comedy with a nice story and funny scenes. If you need some enjoyable and heartwarming drama, you'll definitely have to see this. It is a must-see Korean drama, because it is totally different from the usual "high school student" and "rich man's son" Lee Min-ho. In this series, you'll see a different side of him.
Introducing Architech Jeon Jin-ho, a young but mature man trying to find a way to protect a company. In order to find success, he pretends to be a gay to get close to a furniture designer, Park Kae-in (Son Ye-jin) just to gather secret and confidential information. Kae-in is a kind person, but she has a sad history of being heartbroken. Meanwhile, Jin-ho is a perfectionist, and he hates the clumsy side of Kae-in. These two become roommates and under one roof, they started living together. What will happen to Jin-ho, the man who’s pretending to be gay, and Kae-in, the woman who thinks he’s gay? Will they be able to keep their composure, or will the end up falling in love with each other?
Other Cast:
- Son Ye-jin as Park Kae-in
- Kim Ji-seok as Han Chang-ryul
- Wang Ji-hye as Kim In-hee
- Ryu Seung-ryong as Choi Do-bin
6. Boys Over Flowers
Lee Min-ho began his career as a child actor, but it wasn't until BOF that he had a breakthrough as a lead. Inspired from the shoujo Japanese manga, Hana Yori Dango, this is about four handsome guys known as "F4", and their encounter with an average girl, Geum Jan-di. LMH plays the rich son of Shinhwa Group, Gu Jun-pyo, who is very arrogant. As the leader of F4, he likes teasing and bullying his classmates at school, showing how his influence and power is way above the other rich kids. But when Jan-di enters Shinhwa High, there is a huge twist in Jun-pyo's attitude, because unlike the other kids, Jan-di dislikes F4 and she endures the bullying against her. Her strong personality caught his interest. Initially, he wanted to crush her ego, but he ended up liking her.
BOF is an international hit, with big influence to its viewers and creating a fan-base for F4. As it features a Cinderella-like romance, the audiences were attracted to it as the story goes, and it reached its highest rating of 35.7%.
Other Cast:
- Ku Hye-sun as Geum Jan-di
- Kim Hyun-joong as Yoon Ji-Hoo
- Kim Bum as So Yi-jung
- Kim Joon as Song Woo-bin
7. I Am Sam
Going back to the days when LMH is only playing minor roles in high school dramas, but his appearances adorably catches the viewer's hearts. Though he isn't one of the main leads here, "I Am Sam" is a good drama to watch if you want to see a young Min-ho on screen. But take note, he doesn't have much screen time here, and this is not the series that launched him into stardom, so don't expect too many scenes of him in here! Nevertheless, this 16-episode series is a funny teen show, and it is also the first time that Park Min-young appeared with him before City Hunter.
Main cast:
- Yang Dong-geun as Jang Yi-san
- Park Min-young as Yoo Eun-byul
- Son Tae-young as Shin So-yi
- Park Jun-gyu as Yoo Jae-gon
- T.O.P as Chae Moo-shin
8. Bounty Hunters
Brace yourselves as Lee Min-ho becomes a martial arts expert in this action-comedy Chinese film with lots of exciting scenes! A crazy funny journey of Lee San and his master started when they were framed in a terrorist bombing incident and they are pursued by a rival group of bounty hunters. To escape and clear their names, the two joined forces with weird but skilled anti-terrorist trio to track down the culprit behind the bombing incidents.
Though Chinese language is hard, LMH was able to pulled it of in a sexy way! His Mandarin sounds good. The film has grossed US$31.1 million, and gained a fairly positive review.
Other cast:
- Wallace Chung as Ayo
- Tiffany Tang as Kat
- Jeremy Jones Xu as Tommy
- Karena Ng as Swan
- Louis Fan as Babe
9. Gangnam Blues
Our Lee Min-ho stars in this 2015 noir film, Gangnam Blues, showcasing a serious social and political era of distress in the 1970's. Two orphaned friends, Kim Jong-dae and Baek Yong-ki (Kim Rae-won) struggled to survive in a world full of hardships. They lost their homes and got involved in the issue of violent, corrupted politicians and become separated. Three years later, the two childhood brothers face each other, with different backgrounds and status, but together they carried out a big plan to become rich. But they become entangled with a group of thugs, rebellious gangs, and greedy political parties.
It is a successful film which topped the box office on its opening day, earning US$20 million, despite classifying as restricted "R" rating by Korea Media Rating Board.
Other cast:
- Kim Rae-won as Baek Yong-ki
- Jung Jin-young as Kang Gil-soo
- Kim Ji-soo as Min Seong-hee
- Kim Seolhyun as Kang Seon-hye
10. Get Up
"Get Up" is a 2008 MBC television film about two high school students, Min Wook-gi and Lee Doo-heon (played by Rhyme). The two boys had a pretty intense argument, and they ended up fighting with each other. They got into trouble when the school learned about it. They were given punishments: Doo-heon is suspended, while Wook-gi is assigned to clean the teacher's car. But they instantly needed each other's help when Wook-gi learned that his girlfriend is going on a trip with her new boyfriend. Feeling frustrated and desperate, Wook-gi is in a hurry. He can actually steal the teacher's car, but he doesn't know how to drive. Thank goodness, Doo-heon is with his motorcycle, and Wook-gi hops on to begin the chase.
Other Cast:
- Rhyme as Lee Doo-heon
- Choi Ah-jin as Chura
11. Public Enemy Returns
Another movie which LMH appeared before his rising popularity is the third sequel to Director Kang Woo-suk's "Public Enemy" film series. LMH is not one of the main characters, and he only has a minimal appearance, but as a young actor at that time, he showed his talent by playing Jung Ha-yeon, a boy recruited to do some dirty work. This film is like the Korean version of Bruce Willis' "Die Hard", where a detective named Kang Chul-joong solves some case and fights crime. In this sequel, Chul-joong is about to retire, but he was offered to do one last job - to solve the case of a high school murder incident. Turns out, there is some big and powerful people behind the scene that he should take care of.
Main cast:
- Sol Kyung-gu as Kang Chul-joong
- Jung Jae-young as Lee Won-sool
- Kang Shin-il as Squad chief Uhm
12. Our School’s E.T.
A cute film starring a young Lee Min-ho together with young Park Bo-young and young Moon Chae-won is the 2008 teen movie, Our School's E.T. It is set on a private high school where Chun Sung-geun teaches physical education classes. He is just a chill person who is quite ignorant and quirky. The kids find him funny so they called him "E.T.", since he's like an alien to them. Everything seems fine until the school board decided to get rid of gym classes and hold an English class instead. Teacher Chun can't lose his job, so he applied for the English teacher position and exercised himself into a challenging English speaking classes.
LMH is one of the adorable students in the movie. It has a box office gross of US$3.6 million.
Other cast:
- Kim Su-ro as Chun Sung-geun
- Lee Han-wi as Principal Joo Ho-shik
- Baek Sung-hyun as Baek Jung-goo
- Park Bo-young as Han Song-yi
- Moon Chae-won as Lee Eun-shil
That's It!
Seeing the success and the achievements of Lee Min-ho through the years brings us into one conclusion: We want more! We hope that there will be many more dramas and movies of him to come in the future. We can't wait to see him in his new and upcoming projects. Share your thoughts and show your support by leaving a comment below.
© 2019 Mare-sensei
